With Halloween just around the corner, we thought we’d get you in the mood with our spook-tacular trivia quiz about the famous festival celebrated on the final day of October.
#1 Is a pumpkin a fruit or vegetable?
#2 Which 1962 novelty Halloween song begins with the lyrics, “I was working in the lab, late one night, when my eyes beheld an eerie sight”?
#3 A full moon on Halloween only comes around every 19 years. When was the last time we had one?
#4 M&Ms are one of the most popular trick-or-treat sweets; how many different colours of M&Ms are there in each packet?
#5 Who played the female lead in the original Ghostbusters film?
#6 There are three species of vampire bat in the world, and they all feed exclusively on what?
#7 Which ancient festival, starting with “S”, is thought to be the origin of Halloween?
#8 Which model and TV host is renowned for her elaborate Halloween costume each year?
#9 In some US states (particularly in the northeast), the night before Halloween is called what: Carriage Night, Carnage Night or Cabbage Night?
#10 The character of Dracula is thought to be based on a 15th-century Romanian ruler known as “Vlad the …” what?
#11 What do you call a group of witches?
#12 The original spelling of Halloween had an apostrophe between which two letters?
#13 What type of vegetable is said to frighten vampires away?
#14 Who wrote the book It?
#15 Starting with “W”, what’s the name of the modern Pagan religion associated with witchcraft and the worship of nature?
#16 What two colours are most commonly associated with Halloween?
#17 Which Mexican holiday shares some characteristics of Halloween and is celebrated around the same time?
#18 Match the song with the artist: “Bad Moon Rising”, “Bloody Mary”, “Thriller”, “Sympathy for the Devil”; Lady Gaga, The Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Michael Jackson
#19 What’s the name of a ghost who moves things around your house?
#20 What’s the world record for the fastest carving of a Jack-O’-Lantern (with a full face of eyes, ears, nose and mouth): 6 seconds, 16 seconds or 26 seconds?
BONUS
Who am I?
(If you can answer correctly on the first clue, you get 10 points, but you lose a point for each additional clue you require after that.)
I died on Halloween in 1926. (10)
I was born 52 years before that, in Hungary. (9)
My birth name was Erik Weisz. (8)
I moved to America as a child. (7)
Aside from what I’m best known for, I was also an aviation pioneer, being one of the first people to fly a powered, controlled airplane in Australia, during a visit there in 1910. (6)
I also helped the American war effort during the First World War, by instructing troops on how to escape if captured. (5)
The cause of my Halloween death remains a mystery, but it may have been connected with one of my final performances. (4)
These performances usually involved tricks, illusions and amazing escapes from handcuffs and other restraints. (3)
My initials are HH. (2)
I an Harry who? (1)
All the answers!
#1 Technically, it’s a fruit
#2 “Monster Mash”
#3 Last year – 2020 (the next occurrence will be 2039)
#4 Six: brown, yellow, green, red, orange and blue
#5 Sigourney Weaver
#6 Blood; don’t worry, they’re not native to Asia – they’re all in South America
#7 Samhain
#8 Heidi Klum
#9 Cabbage Night (it’s named for the pranks that people play on the night, including leaving rotten cabbages on doorsteps)
#10 Impaler
#11 Coven
#12 Between the two e’s (“Hallowe’en”)
#13 Garlic
#14 Stephen King
#15 Wicca
#16 Black and orange
#17 Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos)
#18 “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Bloody Mary” by Lady Gaga, “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, and “Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones
#19 Poltergeist
#20 Sixteen seconds
Bonus: Harry Houdini
See more in our Things to Do section!
