Halloween quiz questions and answers
Two rounds of ten for a Halloween quiz night: one on where the traditions came from, one on horror films and books. Answers are under each round. Use them as they are, print them, or swap in your own.
Round 1: Halloween traditions and history
- Halloween grew out of which Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest?
- Before pumpkins took over, which vegetable did people in Ireland and Scotland carve into lanterns?
- "Halloween" is a shortened form of which phrase?
- Which day in the Christian calendar falls on 1 November, the day after Halloween?
- What is the Halloween game where you try to catch apples floating in water using only your teeth?
- In Scotland, what is the traditional name for children going door to door in costume at Halloween?
- The jack-o'-lantern is named after Stingy Jack, a character in an Irish folk tale. Who did Jack trick?
- Which US state grows the most pumpkins?
- Which Mexican holiday, held on 1 and 2 November, honours family members who have died?
- Which Irish fruit bread is traditionally baked at Halloween with a ring hidden inside?
Answers
- Samhain
- Turnips (swedes in Scotland also accepted)
- All Hallows' Eve (or All Hallows' Evening)
- All Saints' Day (All Hallows' Day)
- Apple bobbing (bobbing for apples; "dooking" in Scotland)
- Guising
- The Devil
- Illinois
- Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead)
- Barmbrack (barm brack)
Round 2: Horror on screen and on the page
- Who wrote the novel "Frankenstein", first published in 1818?
- In which decade was Bram Stoker's "Dracula" first published?
- What is the name of the masked killer in John Carpenter's 1978 film "Halloween"?
- Which Stephen King novel features Pennywise the clown?
- What is the name of the hotel in Stephen King's "The Shining"?
- Which actor played the title role in the 1931 Universal film "Dracula"?
- In "Ghostbusters" (1984), what giant figure marches through New York in the final act?
- In which Edgar Allan Poe poem does a bird keep repeating the word "Nevermore"?
- Which 1993 stop-motion film, produced by Tim Burton, follows Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town?
- Which horror film actor performs the spoken-word section of Michael Jackson's "Thriller"?
Answers
- Mary Shelley
- The 1890s (1897)
- Michael Myers
- "It"
- The Overlook Hotel
- Bela Lugosi
- The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
- "The Raven"
- "The Nightmare Before Christmas"
- Vincent Price
Want a Halloween round built for your crowd?
Tell TriviaFoundry who's playing and what they like, and it writes the rounds in minutes: a scary-films round for film buffs, Halloween for kids, or a costume round for your regulars. You get the full pack, a presenter script and answer sheets to print. On the night, teams answer on their phones (no app to download), tables that prefer paper play in the same game, and you run it round by round with the scores up on the TV.
AI can slip on a fact. Every question is yours to edit, so give the pack a read before the night.
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