Halloween Quiz

Modern Halloween traces its earliest roots back to which ancient pre-Christian Celtic festival?

AnswerSamhain

NoteCelts believed the barrier between our world and the spirit realm was at its thinnest during this time.

Before pumpkins became the carving vegetable of choice, which root vegetable was traditionally carved into lanterns in Ireland and Scotland?

AnswerTurnips

NoteImmigrants switched to pumpkins in America because they offered more space for a face and were easier to find.

Which medieval English custom involved going door to door on All Souls' Day offering prayers for the dead in return for food?

AnswerSouling

NoteTogether with guising, souling is widely seen as an early ancestor of modern trick-or-treating.

Which historic hill located in central Ireland is thought to be the site where Celtic priests gathered to light great ceremonial Samhain bonfires?

AnswerHill of Ward (or Tlachtga)

NotePriests distributed embers from the central hill fire to households across the surrounding realm.

Which UK party game, involving retrieving floating fruit using only one's teeth, predates modern Halloween celebrations?

AnswerApple bobbing

In Mexico, colonial-era contact between Indigenous ancestor celebrations and All Souls' Day helped form which holiday?

AnswerDía de Muertos (or Day of the Dead)

Which popular Halloween symbol was historically regarded by sailors as a sign of good luck at sea?

AnswerBlack cats

NoteThough widely associated with bad luck or witches in folklore, sailors welcomed them on voyages.

During which global conflict did the growing practice of trick-or-treating temporarily drop off in Canada?

AnswerWorld War II

NoteThe earliest known printed use of the phrase 'trick or treat' comes from Alberta, Canada, in 1927.

In the 1993 film Hocus Pocus, what specific act breaks Winifred's curse and resurrects the Sanderson sisters in Salem?

AnswerA virgin lighting a black-flame candle

NoteThe resurrected sisters make their return after an absence of three hundred years.

What is the name of the eight-year-old boy whom Laurie Strode babysits on Halloween night in the classic 1978 horror film?

AnswerTommy Doyle

NoteYoung Tommy is actually the one who spots Michael outside and tries to warn Laurie that the boogeyman has arrived.

In the 1993 stop-motion classic The Nightmare Before Christmas, what prestigious royal title is held by Jack Skellington in Halloween Town?

AnswerThe Pumpkin King

NoteDespite holding his royal title, Skellington grows tired of repeating the same annual routine each year.

Friendship, Maine is the setting for the 1995 family film Casper. What is the name of the haunted manor house where the friendly ghost resides?

AnswerWhipstaff Manor

NoteCasper made cinematic history in 1995 by becoming the very first lead feature-film character generated entirely by computer.

In the 1984 film A Nightmare on Elm Street, what distinct two-color pattern makes up Freddy Krueger's iconic striped sweater?

AnswerRed and green

NoteThe supernatural slasher torments and attacks Elm Street's teenagers specifically through their dreams.

In the 1973 horror classic The Exorcist, what is the first name of the twelve-year-old girl who becomes possessed by a demon?

AnswerRegan

NoteThe ancient demon possessing the young girl is identified as Pazuzu.

In Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of The Shining, what is the name of the isolated Colorado hotel where Jack Torrance descends into madness?

AnswerThe Overlook Hotel

NoteThe Shining gave cinema one of its most quoted ad-libs when Jack utters the line 'Here’s Johnny!'

Before Chucky becomes possessed in the Child's Play series, what specific fictional brand of doll is he packaged and sold as?

AnswerA Good Guy doll

NoteThe doll comes alive when the soul of on-screen serial killer Charles Lee Ray is transferred into it.

What is the name of the fictional New Jersey summer camp where the slaughter takes place in the original Friday the 13th?

AnswerCamp Crystal Lake

NoteKiller Jason Voorhees later adopted a distinctive hockey mask as his trademark disguise.

What is the name of the fictional town in Maine terrorized by the malevolent clown Pennywise in Stephen King's It?

AnswerDerry

NotePennywise is actually a shape-shifting creature who chose the guise of a circus clown.

In the 1960 psychological horror classic Psycho, what is Norman Bates' morbid personal hobby when he is not running his roadside motel?

AnswerTaxidermy

NoteDue to the film being shot entirely in black and white, the crew used chocolate syrup as blood during the shower scene.

What name is traditionally given in folklore to a male witch?

AnswerWarlock

In Irish folklore, what is the name of the female spirit whose wailing is said to warn of an imminent death?

AnswerBanshee

In Charles Dickens's tale 'A Christmas Carol', who is the very first ghost to appear before Ebenezer Scrooge?

AnswerJacob Marley

In Haitian folklore, what name is given to a reanimated corpse?

AnswerZombie

Which many-headed monster of Greek mythology was famously said to possess nine heads?

AnswerHydra

Which term originating from the German language literally translates into English as 'noisy ghost'?

AnswerPoltergeist

In William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', which Scottish nobleman is accompanying Macbeth when he first encounters the three witches?

AnswerBanquo

Which biblical figure is described in the Old Testament as raising the spirit of the prophet Samuel at the bidding of King Saul?

AnswerWitch of Endor

According to popular folklore, which specific metal is traditionally believed to be capable of killing a werewolf?

AnswerSilver