It’s often said to be the spookiest day of the year and widely celebrated all over the world – but how much do you know about Halloween celebrations and the way they’ve infiltrated popular culture over the years?
York-based quiz company SpeedQuizzing, whose software is used to run thousands of quizzes across the UK every week, has compiled 15 devilishly tricky Halloween-themed questions – so how many can YOU answer correctly?
1. What country is the birthplace of Halloween?
2. In Britain, the Witchcraft Act of 1735 forbid the consumption of which of the following on Halloween?
a) Frogs
b) Eyeballs
c) Spiders’ legs
d) Pork pastries
3. According to legend, which monsters can only enter a house after being invited?
a) Ghosts
b) Zombies
c) Vampires
d) Werewolf
4. In the ‘Halloween’ series of films, the mask that the killer Michael Myers wears is a $2 mask of what famous actor?
5. In some parts of Ireland, Halloween is better known as what?
a) Ghouly night
b) Pooky night
c) Parky night
d) Boogie night
6. By what name are the Halloween specials on ‘The Simpsons’ known?
7. What name means ‘son of the Devil’?
a) Frankenstein
b) Samhain
c) Dracula
d) Damian
8. Which legendary magician died in Detroit of peritonitis on Halloween in 1926?
9. What would you traditionally ‘bob’ for at Halloween?
10. It is illegal to dress up as a witch on Halloween in the US state of Alabama. Is this…?
a) True
b) False
11. Which country celebrates ‘The Day of the Dead’ instead of Halloween? The celebration includes the tradition of passing a live person in a coffin through the streets.
12. In which Halloween-themed film is it up to two teenagers, a young girl, and an immortal cat to put an end to three witches’ reign of terror once and for all?
13. Halloween is also known as All Hallows’ Eve. What does ‘hallow’ mean?
a) Sad
b) Spirits
c) Sins
d) Saints
e) Scary
14. These feast days form part of the Allhallowtide season in Western Christianity. Put them in the correct date order: All Souls’ Day, Halloween, All Saints’ Day
15. Something you might want to stock up on in Halloween week, what member of the onion family is used in folklore to ward off vampires?
Answers
1. A – Ireland (Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain)
2. D – pork pastries
3. Vampires
4. William Shatner
5. B- Pooky night
6. Treehouse of Horror
7. C – Dracula
8. Harry Houdini
9. Apples
10. B – False (it is illegal to dress up as a priest)
11. Mexico
12. Hocus Pocus
13. D- Saints
14. Halloween (Oct 31), All Saints’ Day (Nov 1), All Souls’ Day (Nov 2)
15. Garlic
