Night of Frights › Halloween trivia questions
For office parties, team events and quiz nights
50 Halloween Trivia Questions and Answers
Fifty Halloween trivia questions with answers, written for office parties, team events and family quiz nights. They cover classic monsters, horror movies, candy, witches, creepy creatures and Halloween traditions from Canada and around the world.
Questions get harder within each category: the first ones warm everyone up, and the last ones decide who wins. Each answer comes with a short explanation, so the reveal is half the fun. Read them aloud, print them, or play them on a big screen as a team game with scores, a timer and a narrator.
Monster MashClassic monster trivia · Round One, 100–500 points
Dracula, Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde: questions about the monsters that started it all.
- 1.100 pts
In Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, which count travels from Transylvania to England?
Show answer
Count Dracula
Stoker's count sails to Whitby, England, looking for new victims.
- 2.200 pts
What is the first name of Dr. Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's novel?
Show answer
Victor
The monster itself never gets a name.
- 3.300 pts
In Robert Louis Stevenson's story, Dr. Jekyll's evil alter ego is Mr. ___?
Show answer
Hyde
Jekyll drinks a potion that turns him into the cruel Edward Hyde.
- 4.400 pts
According to legend, a bullet made of which metal can stop a werewolf?
Show answer
Silver
Silver has long been linked to purity and protection from evil, and werewolf films made the silver bullet famous.
- 5.500 pts
Ancient Egyptians stored a mummy's organs in special containers. What are these jars called?
Show answer
Canopic jars
The jars held the stomach, intestines, lungs and liver. The heart stayed inside the body.
Pumpkin PatchPumpkin and jack-o’-lantern trivia · Round One, 100–500 points
Where jack-o’-lanterns came from, and what a pumpkin really is.
- 6.100 pts
Botanically speaking, is a pumpkin a fruit or a vegetable?
Show answer
A fruit
It grows from a flower and holds seeds, so botanists call it a fruit.
- 7.200 pts
Before pumpkins, people in Ireland and Scotland carved lanterns out of which root vegetable?
Show answer
Turnips
Irish and Scottish immigrants switched to pumpkins in North America, which were bigger and easier to carve. Rutabagas count too.
- 8.300 pts
In the Irish legend of "Stingy Jack", who did Jack trick?
Show answer
The Devil
Jack tricked the Devil, so heaven and hell both turned him away. He wanders with a coal inside a carved turnip.
- 9.400 pts
What is the Spanish name for hulled pumpkin seeds, a popular snack?
Black Cat in the BagShow answer
Pepitas
Short for "pepitas de calabaza", meaning little squash seeds. They are popular in Mexican cooking.
- 10.500 pts
Pumpkin pie spice usually mixes cinnamon, ginger, cloves and which spice that originally came from the Banda Islands?
Show answer
Nutmeg
Nutmeg comes from a tree native to the Banda Islands in Indonesia, once the world's only source.
Spooky CanadaCanadian Halloween trivia · Round One, 100–500 points
Halloween from coast to coast, from orange UNICEF boxes to a haunted hotel in the Rockies.
- 11.100 pts
For decades, Canadian kids carried small orange boxes while trick-or-treating to collect coins for which organization?
Show answer
UNICEF
UNICEF Canada started the program in 1955 and retired the boxes in 2006.
- 12.200 pts
The earliest known record of kids in English-speaking North America going door to door on Halloween is a 1911 newspaper report from which Ontario city?
Show answer
Kingston
Kids went "guising" and got nuts and candy for songs and rhymes.
- 13.300 pts
Which wafer chocolate bar, a Canadian favourite, has a coffee-flavoured filling?
Black Cat in the BagShow answer
Coffee Crisp
Layers of vanilla wafer and foamed coffee-flavoured candy in milk chocolate, made by Nestlé in Toronto.
- 14.400 pts
Legend says a ghostly bellman named Sam still helps guests at which castle-like hotel in the Rockies?
Show answer
The Fairmont Banff Springs
Guests say he helps with stuck doors and directions, then vanishes. The legend is based on a real bellman.
- 15.500 pts
From 1999 to 2019, people in Windsor, Nova Scotia raced across a lake sitting in what?
Show answer
Giant hollowed-out pumpkins
The Windsor Pumpkin Regatta on Lake Pisiquid used giant pumpkins grown at the Dill family farm.
Scream ScreenHalloween movie trivia · Round One, 100–500 points
Famous scenes and characters from horror and Halloween films.
- 16.100 pts
In John Carpenter's 1978 film "Halloween", what is the masked killer's name?
Show answer
Michael Myers
He escapes a psychiatric hospital and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois.
- 17.200 pts
Which 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film made a shower at the Bates Motel terrifying?
Show answer
Psycho
Janet Leigh's shower scene is one of the most famous scenes in film history.
- 18.300 pts
In "The Nightmare Before Christmas", what is the Pumpkin King's full name?
Show answer
Jack Skellington
The 1993 stop-motion film, produced by Tim Burton, is set in Halloween Town.
- 19.400 pts
In which 1982 film does a little girl turn to the TV and announce "They're here"?
Show answer
Poltergeist
Little Carol Anne says it to the static on the family's TV screen.
- 20.500 pts
In "Ghostbusters" (1984), which giant creature stomps through New York in the finale?
Show answer
The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
Ray tries to think of something harmless, and the villain Gozer takes that shape.
PhobiasFear and phobia trivia · Round One, 100–500 points
Name the fear. Some of these words are scarier than the fears themselves.
- 21.100 pts
What is the fear of spiders called?
Show answer
Arachnophobia
From the Greek word "arachne", spider.
- 22.200 pts
What is the fear of the number 13 called?
Show answer
Triskaidekaphobia
From Greek: "tris" (three), "kai" (and), "deka" (ten).
- 23.300 pts
"Nomophobia" is the fear of being without what?
Show answer
Your mobile phone
Short for "no mobile phone phobia".
- 24.400 pts
"Coulrophobia" is the fear of what?
Show answer
Clowns
Often traced to a Greek word for a stilt-walker.
- 25.500 pts
What is the name for the fear of Halloween?
Deal with the WitchShow answer
Samhainophobia
Named after Samhain, the Celtic festival that Halloween grew from.
Witches & WizardsWitch trivia · Round Two, 200–1,000 points
Witches in history, literature, film and folklore.
- 26.200 pts
What do witches traditionally fly on?
Show answer
A broomstick
Old folk tales and woodcuts showed witches riding brooms to secret gatherings.
- 27.400 pts
In 1692, a famous series of witch trials took place in which Massachusetts town?
Show answer
Salem
About 200 people were accused, and 20 were executed.
- 28.600 pts
How many witches appear at the start of Shakespeare's "Macbeth"?
Show answer
Three
The Weird Sisters predict that Macbeth will become king.
- 29.800 pts
In "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), what makes the Wicked Witch of the West melt?
Show answer
A bucket of water
Dorothy throws water to put out a fire on the Scarecrow and splashes the witch.
- 30.1000 pts
In Slavic folklore, which witch lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs?
Show answer
Baba Yaga
In the tales, Baba Yaga flies in a mortar and steers with a pestle.
Candy CrushHalloween candy trivia · Round Two, 200–1,000 points
The stories behind the treats in a trick-or-treat bag, including a few Canadian favourites.
- 31.200 pts
Name the three colours of classic candy corn.
Show answer
White, orange and yellow
From the tip down: white, orange, then a yellow base.
- 32.400 pts
The Snickers bar was named after what kind of animal owned by the Mars family?
Show answer
A horse
The Mars family named the bar after their favourite horse, Snickers, around 1930.
- 33.600 pts
The bar we now call Kit Kat was launched in 1935 under a different name. In which country was it made?
Black Cat in the BagShow answer
England (United Kingdom)
Rowntree's of York sold it as "Chocolate Crisp". It became Kit Kat in 1937.
- 34.800 pts
In Canada, Smarties are candy-coated chocolates. What are Smarties in the United States?
Show answer
Tart sugar tablets sold in rolls
Canadian Smarties are made by Nestlé. The American candy with the same name is a completely different sweet.
- 35.1000 pts
This New Brunswick company, Canada's oldest candy maker (founded 1873), is credited with the first wrapped chocolate bar. Name it.
Show answer
Ganong
Ganong Bros. of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, began selling its first chocolate bars in 1910.
Creatures of the NightBats, owls and spiders · Round Two, 200–1,000 points
Real animals with a spooky reputation.
- 36.200 pts
Which flying mammal finds its way in the dark using echolocation?
Show answer
The bat
Bats make high-pitched calls and listen for the echoes to find insects in the dark.
- 37.400 pts
What is a group of owls called?
Show answer
A parliament
Owls usually live alone, but a group of them is called a parliament.
- 38.600 pts
Which spider is known for a red hourglass mark on its belly?
Show answer
The black widow
The red hourglass is on the underside of the female's abdomen.
- 39.800 pts
Vampire bats really exist. What do they feed on?
Black Cat in the BagShow answer
Blood
Usually from livestock and birds. They lap it up rather than suck it.
- 40.1000 pts
About how many degrees can an owl turn its head?
Show answer
About 270 degrees
Owls have twice as many neck bones as people, so they can look over their backs.
Around the WorldHalloween traditions around the world · Round Two, 200–1,000 points
Where Halloween came from, and how other countries mark the season.
- 41.200 pts
Which Mexican holiday on November 1–2 honours loved ones who have died?
Show answer
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
Families build altars called ofrendas with photos, marigolds and the favourite foods of the dead.
- 42.400 pts
Halloween grew out of which ancient Celtic festival?
Show answer
Samhain
Samhain marked the end of the harvest, when the line to the spirit world was believed to grow thin.
- 43.600 pts
Decorated sugar skulls made for the Day of the Dead have what Spanish name?
Show answer
Calaveras (de azúcar)
"Calavera" is Spanish for skull. The sugar skulls often carry the name of a loved one.
- 44.800 pts
On what date does Britain celebrate Guy Fawkes Night with bonfires and fireworks?
Show answer
November 5
It marks the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605 to blow up the Houses of Parliament.
- 45.1000 pts
The word "Halloween" is a shortened form of which phrase?
Deal with the WitchShow answer
All Hallows' Eve
"Hallow" is an old word for saint. October 31 is the evening before All Saints' Day.
Lights, Camera, ScreamHorror movie trivia, harder · Round Two, 200–1,000 points
Tougher film questions for horror fans.
- 46.200 pts
In the "Scream" films, what is the masked killer called?
Show answer
Ghostface
The mask is often compared to Edvard Munch's painting "The Scream".
- 47.400 pts
How many times must you say his name to summon Beetlejuice?
Show answer
Three
Saying "Beetlejuice" three times calls him into the world of the living.
- 48.600 pts
In "Hocus Pocus" (1993), what is the name of the boy turned into an immortal black cat?
Show answer
Thackery Binx
The Sanderson sisters cursed Thackery in 1693 for trying to save his little sister.
- 49.800 pts
Which Stephen King novel features the clown Pennywise?
Show answer
It
Stephen King published "It" in 1986. Pennywise returns to Derry, Maine, every 27 years.
- 50.1000 pts
What is the name of the hotel in "The Shining"?
Show answer
The Overlook Hotel
Jack Torrance becomes the winter caretaker of the Overlook, high in the Colorado Rockies.
Bonus: the final questionMidnight round · teams wager points before they see it
In the game, every team secretly wagers part of its score on the category alone, then sees the question. The category is The Real Dracula.
- 51.wager
Bram Stoker borrowed Dracula's name from a 15th-century ruler of Wallachia who was infamous for punishing enemies on wooden stakes. What was this ruler's name?
Show answer
Vlad the Impaler
Also known as Vlad III, or Vlad Dracula. "Dracula" means "son of the dragon".
- 52.closest wins
Tiebreaker: In what year was Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula" first published?
Show answer
1897
Dracula was first published in London in May 1897.
Play these questions as a team game
Every question on this page is part of Victoria’s Night of Frights, a free quiz game for the big screen. Instead of reading from a list, teams pick categories and point values on a game-show board and race the clock.
- Scores and turnsThe board keeps the score and shows whose turn it is. A wrong answer costs the points.
- A narratorA spooky voice reads every question and answer aloud, so the host can play too.
- 30-second timerTeams talk it over, then answer. The game keeps moving.
- Two surprisesThe Black Cat in the Bag and the Deal with the Witch hide on the board.
- Midnight finalSecret wagers, one last question and a podium for the winners.
- Your own questionsChange any question or answer right in the game, for example to add questions about your office.
More for your Halloween party
- How to host a Halloween game night at work: equipment, teams, timing and prizes.
- Halloween games for remote and hybrid teams: how to include coworkers on a video call.
- Questions about the game: players, time, browsers and editing questions.
Turn this list into a game
Fifty of these questions are already on a game board with a narrator, a timer and scores. Open it on the big screen, name your teams and press Start.