Halloween Trivia Questions and Answers

On this page

1. How to play Halloween trivia
2. Halloween history and traditions
3. Jack-o’-lanterns and pumpkins
4. Candy and treats
5. Spooky books and legends
6. Halloween movie trivia
7. Halloween songs and music
8. Creepy creatures
9. Halloween around the world
10. Easy Halloween trivia for kids
11. Scoring ideas and tiebreakers
12. Questions hosts ask

For a party, the printable quiz is the easiest way to play. Add your party name, print one sheet per team, and read the answers from the key at the end.

How to play Halloween trivia

1. Split into teams of two to five. Mix ages on each team at a family party so the kids have someone to confer with.
2. Pick three or four rounds from the lists below, or hand out the printable quiz.
3. Read each question twice. Teams write their answers on a sheet of paper.
4. After each round, read the answers and let teams mark their own sheets (or swap with a neighbor if the room is competitive).
5. One point per correct answer. Keep a running score on a whiteboard so everyone can see the standings.

A 10-question round takes about 8 minutes with a relaxed pace and a little arguing. Three rounds fits nicely between dinner and dessert.

Halloween history and traditions

1. Which ancient Celtic festival, held at the end of the harvest, is Halloween’s oldest ancestor? Answer: Samhain, pronounced roughly “SOW-in”
2. Where does the name “Halloween” come from? Answer: It’s a Scottish shortening of “All Hallows’ Eve.” “Even” was the Scots word for evening, cut down to “e’en.”
3. Which church holiday falls on November 1, the day after Halloween? Answer: All Saints’ Day, also called All Hallows’ Day
4. Which holiday falls on November 2? Answer: All Souls’ Day
5. Which pope moved the feast honoring all saints and martyrs from May 13 to November 1? Answer: Pope Gregory III
6. In the old custom of “souling,” poor people went door to door promising to pray for a family’s dead. What did they get in return? Answer: Soul cakes, small pastries
7. “Guising,” going door to door in disguise for treats, was recorded in Scotland in 1895. What did the guisers carry to light their way? Answer: Lanterns made from scooped-out turnips
8. The earliest known use of “trick or treat” in print appeared in 1917 in a newspaper in which country? Answer: Canada (The Sault Daily Star in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario)
9. Which group of immigrants, many of them fleeing a famine, helped spread Halloween across the US in the 1800s? Answer: Irish immigrants
10. In what year and city did kids first carry cartons door to door for Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF? Answer: 1950, in Philadelphia. They raised $17 that first year.
11. Which Minnesota city calls itself the “Halloween Capital of the World”? Answer: Anoka, which held one of the first Halloween parades in 1920
12. What are Halloween’s two traditional colors? Answer: Black and orange (purple sometimes joins them)
13. Which famous escape artist died on Halloween in 1926? Answer: Harry Houdini, in Detroit

Jack-o’-lanterns and pumpkins

1. Before pumpkins, what did people in Ireland and Britain carve into lanterns? Answer: Turnips, and mangel-wurzels (a large beet)
2. In Irish folklore, who is the jack-o’-lantern named after? Answer: Stingy Jack, a trickster who fooled the devil and was left to wander the earth with only a hollowed-out lantern
3. Before it meant a carved pumpkin, “jack-o’-lantern” described two other things. Name one. Answer: A night watchman carrying a lantern, or the flickering lights over marshes known as will-o’-the-wisp
4. In what year does the term “jack-o’-lantern” first show up in American English for a carved pumpkin? Answer: 1837
5. Why did immigrants in North America switch from turnips to pumpkins? Answer: Pumpkins are native to North America and are much larger and softer, so they’re easier to carve.
6. Botanically, is a pumpkin a fruit or a vegetable? Answer: A fruit. It’s a type of berry called a pepo.
7. Pumpkins grow on what kind of plant? Answer: Vines
8. Which US state grows the most pumpkins? Answer: Illinois, by a wide margin. In 2021 it grew 652 million pounds, more than the next five states combined, according to the USDA Economic Research Service.
9. Most of Illinois’ pumpkins don’t become jack-o’-lanterns. What are they used for? Answer: Processing, mostly into canned pumpkin and pie filling

Candy and treats

1. What was candy corn called when it first went on sale in the 1880s? Answer: Chicken Feed
2. Which candy company first produced candy corn? Answer: The Wunderle Candy Company, where employee George Renninger is credited with inventing it
3. Which company started making candy corn in 1898 and is known today as Jelly Belly? Answer: The Goelitz Confectionery Company
4. The National Confectioners Association named which day National Candy Corn Day? Answer: October 30, the day before Halloween
5. In Ireland, what’s traditionally baked into a Halloween barmbrack loaf? Answer: A ring. Whoever finds it is supposed to marry within the year.
6. What does a teal pumpkin on a porch mean? Answer: The house offers non-food treats, like glow sticks or small toys, for kids with food allergies. The Teal Pumpkin Project began in 2014.

Spooky books and legends

1. Who wrote the novel Frankenstein, first published in 1818? Answer: Mary Shelley
2. How old was Mary Shelley when she started writing Frankenstein? Answer: 18 (she was 20 when it was published)
3. The idea for Frankenstein came from a ghost story contest in the summer of 1816. Who proposed the contest? Answer: Lord Byron, at Lake Geneva
4. What’s the full title of Mary Shelley’s novel? Answer: Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
5. In the novel, what is the creature’s name? Answer: It doesn’t have one. Frankenstein is Victor, the scientist who makes it.
6. Who wrote Dracula, and in what year was it published? Answer: Bram Stoker, 1897
7. In Dracula, which English seaside town does the count reach? Answer: Whitby
8. Who leads the group hunting Dracula? Answer: Abraham Van Helsing
9. Dracula isn’t told like a regular novel. How is the story told? Answer: Through letters, diary entries and newspaper articles
10. Who wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and when was it published? Answer: Washington Irving, 1820
11. In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, what’s found near the bridge after Ichabod Crane’s ride? Answer: A shattered pumpkin (along with his hat)

Halloween movie trivia

1. Who directed Halloween (1978) and also composed its famous theme music? Answer: John Carpenter
2. Which actress made her film debut in Halloween (1978)? Answer: Jamie Lee Curtis
3. In which fictional town is Halloween (1978) set? Answer: Haddonfield, Illinois
4. The white mask in Halloween (1978) started as a cheap mask of which character? Answer: Captain Kirk from Star Trek. The crew paid $1.98 for it, painted it white and widened the eyes.
5. In Ghostbusters (1984), what giant creature stomps through New York City? Answer: The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
6. Who plays Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters (1984)? Answer: Bill Murray
7. Who directed Beetlejuice (1988)? Answer: Tim Burton
8. In Beetlejuice (1988), how many times do you have to say his name to summon him? Answer: Three
9. In Beetlejuice’s famous dinner party scene, the guests are forced to perform which Harry Belafonte song? Answer: “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)”
10. Hocus Pocus (1993) is set in which town? Answer: Salem, Massachusetts
11. Who plays Winifred Sanderson in Hocus Pocus (1993)? Answer: Bette Midler
12. In Hocus Pocus, what’s the name of the boy cursed to live forever as a black cat? Answer: Thackery Binx
13. Who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)? Answer: Henry Selick. Tim Burton came up with the story and produced it.
14. In The Nightmare Before Christmas, what’s the name of Jack Skellington’s ghost dog? Answer: Zero
15. Who directed the comedy Young Frankenstein (1974)? Answer: Mel Brooks
16. In Young Frankenstein (1974), how does Igor say his name should be pronounced? Answer: “Eye-gore”
17. In which state was Night of the Living Dead (1968) filmed? Answer: Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. George A. Romero directed it in black and white.

Halloween songs and music

1. Who recorded “Monster Mash” in 1962? Answer: Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers
2. “Monster Mash” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in which month of 1962? Answer: October, just before Halloween
3. Who sang the theme song for Ghostbusters (1984)? Answer: Ray Parker Jr.
4. Which horror film star performs the spoken-word section of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”? Answer: Vincent Price
5. Who directed the “Thriller” music video, which premiered in December 1983? Answer: John Landis

Creepy creatures

1. What are the only mammals capable of true, sustained flight? Answer: Bats
2. True or false: bats are blind. Answer: False. No bat species is truly blind, and many also find their way by echolocation.
3. What is a group of crows called? Answer: A murder
4. What is a group of owls called? Answer: A parliament
5. About how far can an owl turn its head? Answer: About 270 degrees
6. Are spiders insects? Answer: No. They’re arachnids, with eight legs instead of six.

Halloween around the world

1. Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is celebrated mainly in which country? Answer: Mexico
2. On which days is Día de los Muertos mainly celebrated? Answer: November 1 and 2
3. Which orange and yellow flower decorates Day of the Dead altars, or ofrendas? Answer: The marigold (cempasúchil)
4. In what year did UNESCO add Mexico’s Day of the Dead traditions to its list of the world’s intangible cultural heritage? Answer: 2008

Easy Halloween trivia for kids

These work for kids around 5 to 9. Let them shout the answers, or give a candy corn for every right one.

1. What do you call a baby bat? Answer: A pup
2. How many legs does a spider have? Answer: Eight
3. What color are most ripe pumpkins? Answer: Orange
4. What do kids say when a door opens on Halloween night? Answer: “Trick or treat”
5. What vegetable did people carve before pumpkins? Answer: Turnips
6. What is the only mammal that can really fly? Answer: The bat
7. What animal can turn its head almost all the way around? Answer: The owl
8. What do you call a carved pumpkin with a light inside? Answer: A jack-o’-lantern
9. What three colors are the stripes on a piece of candy corn? Answer: Yellow, orange and white
10. What month is Halloween in? Answer: October

Scoring ideas and tiebreakers

Straight scoring works for most groups: one point per answer. A few tweaks for different crowds:

• Adults and teens: make the movie round worth two points per question. Offer a half point for close answers (“Carpenter” without “John” still counts).
• Mixed family teams: the kids’ round is worth double if a kid gives the answer.
• Big groups: give each team a small whiteboard and have everyone hold up answers at once. It’s faster than collecting sheets.
• Classrooms: skip the movie round (a few of these films aren’t meant for young kids) and use the history, pumpkin, creature and kids’ rounds. Our classroom Halloween party games has more ideas for school parties.

For a tiebreaker, ask a number question and give the win to the closest guess: “In what year did Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF start?” (1950) or “How much did the crew of Halloween (1978) pay for the original mask?” ($1.98).

Want more to do after the quiz? Our Halloween bingo prints unique cards for up to 60 players, and our Halloween party games for adults list has games for the rest of the night. Trivia fans can also play our Thanksgiving trivia questions and answers next month, and you’ll find every holiday game on the Halloween games page.

Questions hosts ask

By the Party Game Book editors. Every game here is free to print for personal, classroom and non-commercial use. How we make and check our games.