50 Halloween Trivia Questions and Answers for a Night of Spooktacular Fun
Updated: Feb. 17, 2022
Test your knowledge of October 31 with these Halloween trivia questions—answers included.
There’s a lot to love about Halloween—Halloween party games, the best Halloween movies, dressing up in the best Halloween costumes, playing Halloween bingo, bobbing for apples, and indulging in a bit of Halloween trivia! But how much do you really know about Halloween in the first place? The October holiday may be one of the most popular holidays in the United States now, but Halloween has very international origins and a rich history. There’s actually a lot of fascinating Halloween trivia that you’ve probably never learned, going back to the history and touching on some of the most popular traditions tied to the holiday.
After you’ve mastered this Halloween trivia, you can bring it out at your next Halloween party to wow all your friends and family. Run through these Halloween questions and answers to test everyone’s knowledge to see who’s the master of Halloween trivia. By the end of all 50 of these Halloween trivia questions, someone’s bound to come out on top and be named the pumpkin king. Ready to see how much Halloween trivia you know? Let’s get into it.
Historical Halloween trivia
1. What is the name of the legend that jack-o’-lanterns originated from?
Answer: Stingy Jack
2. Before jack-o’lanterns were carved as pumpkins, what other root vegetable was commonly used?
Answer: Turnips
3. Halloween can be traced back to a Celtic holiday. What’s the name of that holiday?
Answer: Samhain
4. What century was Halloween first introduced?
Answer: The 19th century
5. How did the tradition of dressing up for Halloween start?
Answer: It was once believed that at the end of October, ghosts and demons would be able to walk the Earth again. To protect themselves, people would dress up as the spirits to blend in.
6. Where did the game of apple bobbing originate?
Answer: England
7. On Halloween during the 18th century, why would women throw apple peels over their shoulders?
Answer: To see if they would land in the pattern of a man’s initials who would become their husband.
8. Who brought the Halloween tradition to the United States?
Answer: The Irish, during the potato famine
9. Which Roman goddess is thought to be honored on Halloween?
Answer: Pomona
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General Halloween trivia
10. What is another name for Halloween, Oct. 31?
Answer: All Hallows’ Eve
11. What is another name for the day after Halloween, Nov. 1?
Answer: All Saints’ Day
12. What are the Halloween colors?
Answer: Black, orange, and purple.
13. Who was the first first lady to decorate the White House for Halloween?
Answer: Mamie Eisenhower in 1958.
14.. What was Bram Stoker’s original name for Dracula?
Answer: Count Wampyr
15. When is the next time there will be a full moon on Halloween?
Answer: 2039
16. What do you call a fear of Halloween?
Answer: Samhainophobia
17. What is the name of Ireland’s traditional Halloween bread?
Answer: Barmbrack
18. Which state produces the most pumpkins?
Answer: Illinois
19. Where in the United States can you traditionally find the biggest Halloween parade?
Answer: New York City
20. Halloween is the second most commercial holiday in the United States. Which holiday is #1?
Answer: Christmas
21. When was “Monster Mash” first recorded?
Answer: 1962
22. Who are the guests of the Halloween party, according to the lyrics of “Monster Mash”?
Answer: Wolfman, Dracula, and his son
23. Where did real mummies originate?
Answer: Ancient Egypt
24. Which story originated the Headless Horseman?
Answer: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
25. Who wrote the novel, Frankenstein?
Answer: Mary Shelley
RELATED: The History of Jack-o-Lanterns and How They Became a Halloween Tradition
Halloween movie trivia
26. Michael Myers’ mask in Halloween was that of a famous actor. Which one?
Answer: William Shatner—the studio didn’t have much of a budget, so his mask was a Shatner mask from Star Trek painted white and distorted.
27. How many Michael Myers movies are there?
Answer: 12
28. Which actor turned down the role of Max Dennison in Hocus Pocus?
Answer: Leonardo DiCaprio
29. Which famous boy band used the mansion from Casper for one of their music videos?
Answer: The Backstreet Boys for the “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” video
30. What year did Halloweentown premiere on Disney Channel?
Answer: 1998
31. Where was Halloweentown filmed?
Answer: Oregon
32. Who did Tim Burton want to play Betelgeuse in Beetlejuice?
Answer: Sammy Davis Jr.
33. What was Beetlejuice almost called?
Answer: Scared Sheetless
34. Which TV network airs the 31 Nights of Halloween?
Answer: Freeform
35. What colors are Freddy Krueger’s shirt in A Nightmare on Elm Street?
Answer: Red and green
36. How long did it take to put on Freddy Krueger’s makeup in A Nightmare on Elm Street?
Answer: 3 1/2 hours
37. How many takes did it take to get the puking scene right in The Exorcist?
Answer: Just one
38. Which horror movie earned the most at the box office?
Answer: It
Halloween candy trivia
39. What is the most popular Halloween candy in America?
Answer: Skittles
40. About how much money does the United States spend on Halloween candy annually?
Answer: More than $4 billion
41. What was the original name of candy corn?
Answer: Chicken feed
42. What two candy bars were the first to come in fun size?
Answer: Snickers and Milky Way
43. In which decade did the term “trick-or-treat” originate in the United States?
Answer: The 1920s
44. How does Dum-Dums make the mystery flavor lollipop?
Answer: At the end of the production run, the leftover candy is mixed together to form a new flavor that’s put on the sticks.
45. What is the least popular Halloween candy?
Answer: Candy corn
46. On average, how many cups of sugar from Halloween candy do kids consume each year?
Answer: 3 cups
47. How far in advance does Hershey’s start production on Halloween candy?
Answer: Six months in advance
48. How many pounds of candy corn are produced each year?
Answer: 35 million pounds
49. What day is National Candy Corn Day?
Answer: Oct. 30
50. How many pounds of chocolate are sold during Halloween week?
Answer: 90 million pounds
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