Halloween Trivia Questions

Halloween trivia questions for the party table: tap a choice to see the answer and the reason why.

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All Souls' Day follows All Saints' Day. On which date is it observed?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with any school, exam board or quiz show. Bank checked October 2, 2026.

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How it works

These Halloween trivia questions cover the history and folklore of the night: Samhain and All Hallows' Eve, pumpkins and trick-or-treating, witches and vampires in old books, spooky words and unlucky numbers. Each has four choices and a reason.

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Five rounds, from Samhain to Friday the 13th

Samhain, All Hallows' Eve and October 31 has Hop-tu-Naa and Punkie Night. Pumpkins, lanterns and trick-or-treating asks what stalled trick-or-treating in the 1940s. Witches, vampires and other folklore runs from Baba Yaga to the banshee. Spooky words and Superstitions and numbers close the set.

Halloween trivia questions and answers: free printable sheet

Finish a set of ten. The end card has Print question sheet, a mixed sheet of 20. Open More options for Print answer key, or to pick one Topic first.

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  • Spooky words suits a table that likes languages: each answer is where a word such as ghost, bonfire or gargoyle comes from.

Questions and answers

What are some Halloween trivia questions?

Three from this pack: Which state was admitted to the Union on October 31, 1864? Nevada. What does Stingy Jack carry inside a hollowed turnip? An ember. What does the German word poltergeist mean? Rumbling ghost or noisy spirit.

Is Halloween the same as Samhain?

No. Samhain is a Gaelic festival on November 1 that marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. The word Halloween comes from the Scots form of All Hallows' Eve, the evening before All Hallows' Day.

Why do we carve pumpkins at Halloween?

Carving pumpkin jack-o'-lanterns developed from a custom in Ireland, Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom of carving lanterns from the turnip, mangelwurzel or swede. An Irish tale tells of Stingy Jack, who roams with an ember inside a hollowed turnip.

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All 65 questions with answers

Samhain, All Hallows' Eve and October 31 14

  • The 'een' at the end of Halloween is a short form of which word? Answer: Evening. Source: Wikipedia: Halloween
  • All Souls' Day follows All Saints' Day. On which date is it observed? Answer: November 2. Source: Wikipedia: All Souls' Day
  • At Allantide, a Cornish festival, what was given to family and friends as a token of good luck? Answer: A large polished red apple. Source: Wikipedia: Allantide
  • At Samhain the boundary with the Otherworld was thought to blur, making contact with the aos sí more likely. Who were the aos sí? Answer: Spirits or fairies. Source: Wikipedia: Samhain
  • Hop-tu-Naa is a Celtic festival celebrated on October 31. Where? Answer: The Isle of Man. Source: Wikipedia: Hop-tu-Naa
  • In 835 the emperor Louis the Pious made All Saints' Day on November 1 a holy day across the Frankish Empire. Which pope had urged it? Answer: Gregory IV. Source: Wikipedia: All Saints' Day
  • In Britain, a night of bonfires and fireworks follows Halloween within a week. On which date is Guy Fawkes Night? Answer: November 5. Source: Wikipedia: Guy Fawkes Night
  • In most of New Jersey and some other regions of the United States, what is the night of pranks around Halloween called? Answer: Mischief Night. Source: Wikipedia: Mischief Night
  • In the Irish language today, Samhain is the name of which month? Answer: November. Source: Wikipedia: Samhain
  • In Wales, November 1 is Calan Gaeaf. What does the name mark? Answer: The first day of winter. Source: Wikipedia: Calan Gaeaf
  • Of the Gaelic seasonal festivals, Samhain marked the turn into winter. Which one marked the turn into summer? Answer: Bealtaine. Source: Wikipedia: Samhain
  • Punkie Night is kept on the last Thursday of October in which English county? Answer: Somerset. Source: Wikipedia: Punkie Night
  • Which Scottish poet wrote the poem 'Halloween' in 1785? Answer: Robert Burns. Source: Wikipedia: Halloween (poem)
  • Which state was admitted to the Union on October 31, 1864? Answer: Nevada. Source: Wikipedia: Nevada Day

Pumpkins, lanterns and trick-or-treating 14

  • A program in which trick-or-treaters collect small change for the United Nations children's fund started on Halloween 1950. In which city? Answer: Philadelphia. Source: Wikipedia: Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF
  • About how much of a pumpkin is water? Answer: About 92 percent. Source: Wikipedia: Pumpkin
  • At the end of Washington Irving's tale of the headless horseman, what is found near the bridge beside the schoolmaster's hat? Answer: A smashed pumpkin. Source: Wikipedia: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
  • In Des Moines, Iowa, children go out on Beggars' Night, October 30. What do they do after saying 'Trick or Treat'? Answer: Tell a riddle or a joke. Source: Wikipedia: Beggars Night
  • In the Irish tale of Stingy Jack, what does Jack carry inside a hollowed turnip to light his way? Answer: An ember. Source: Wikipedia: Jack O'The Lantern
  • The jack-o'-lantern mushroom is notable for which property? Answer: It is bioluminescent. Source: Wikipedia: Omphalotus olearius
  • Neewollah, an annual festival in Independence, Kansas, takes its name from which word spelled backward? Answer: Halloween. Source: Wikipedia: Neewollah
  • New York's Village Halloween Parade was started in 1974 by Ralph Lee. What was his trade? Answer: Puppeteer and mask maker. Source: Wikipedia: New York's Village Halloween Parade
  • The oldest evidence of the pumpkin species Cucurbita pepo is fragments dated between 7,000 and 5,500 BC. Where were they found? Answer: Mexico. Source: Wikipedia: Pumpkin
  • On Ragamuffin Day in New York, children dressed as beggars went door to door asking for candy or money. On which holiday did it take place? Answer: Thanksgiving. Source: Wikipedia: Ragamuffin parade
  • One of the first recorded purpose-built haunted attractions, the Orton and Spooner Ghost House, opened in 1915. In which country? Answer: England. Source: Wikipedia: Haunted attraction
  • Trick-or-treating spread across the United States but stalled from April 1942 to June 1947. What stalled it? Answer: Sugar rationing. Source: Wikipedia: Trick-or-treating
  • Which Minnesota city is nicknamed the Halloween Capital of the World? Answer: Anoka. Source: Wikipedia: Anoka, Minnesota
  • The word pumpkin derives, by way of French and Latin, from a word in which language? Answer: Greek. Source: Wikipedia: Pumpkin

Witches, vampires and other folklore 20

  • The banshee of Irish folklore takes her name from the Irish bean sí. What does that mean? Answer: Woman of the fairy mound. Source: Wikipedia: Banshee
  • The ghoul of folklore came into English from which language? Answer: Arabic. Source: Wikipedia: Ghoul
  • How many living species of bat feed solely on blood? Answer: Three. Source: Wikipedia: Vampire bat
  • In an 1818 Gothic novel, a young scientist named Victor creates a living creature. What is Victor's surname? Answer: Frankenstein. Source: Wikipedia: Frankenstein
  • In European folklore, what is a witch's familiar? Answer: A spirit that helps a witch. Source: Wikipedia: Familiar
  • In German folklore, witches gather on Walpurgis Night on the highest peak of the Harz Mountains. What is the peak called? Answer: The Brocken. Source: Wikipedia: Walpurgis Night
  • In Irish folklore, what kind of rider is the dullahan? Answer: A headless horseman. Source: Wikipedia: Dullahan
  • In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga flies around in what? Answer: A wooden mortar. Source: Wikipedia: Baba Yaga
  • In Slavic folklore, the hut of Baba Yaga stands on what? Answer: Chicken legs. Source: Wikipedia: Baba Yaga
  • In the 1897 novel, Count Dracula is a nobleman of which region? Answer: Transylvania. Source: Wikipedia: Dracula
  • In the 1897 novel, Count Dracula moves to England and plagues which seaside town? Answer: Whitby. Source: Wikipedia: Dracula
  • The jiangshi of Chinese legends is known in English as which kind of vampire? Answer: A hopping vampire. Source: Wikipedia: Jiangshi
  • Lycanthrope, another word for a werewolf, comes from a word meaning wolf-human in which ancient language? Answer: Greek. Source: Wikipedia: Werewolf
  • Salem Village, where the accusations of 1692 began, is known today as which Massachusetts town? Answer: Danvers. Source: Wikipedia: Salem witch trials
  • The Three Witches, also known as the Weird Sisters, are characters in which play by Shakespeare? Answer: Macbeth. Source: Wikipedia: Three Witches
  • Translate poltergeist from the German. Answer: Rumbling ghost or noisy spirit. Source: Wikipedia: Poltergeist
  • 'The Vampyre', a short work of prose fiction, was written in 1819 by whom? Answer: John William Polidori. Source: Wikipedia: The Vampyre
  • Walpurgis Night stands half a year away from Halloween. On the night of which date is it kept? Answer: April 30. Source: Wikipedia: Walpurgis Night
  • Werewolf comes from the Old English werwulf. What does werwulf mean? Answer: Man-wolf. Source: Wikipedia: Werewolf
  • The zombie entered English from the folklore of which Caribbean country? Answer: Haiti. Source: Wikipedia: Zombie

Spooky words 9

  • An early book of festivals describes the fire that gave us the word bonfire. It was made of what, 'and no wood'? Answer: Bones. Source: Wikipedia: Bonfire
  • The Ancient Greek word behind 'skeleton' described something in which state? Answer: Dried up. Source: Wikipedia: Skeleton
  • The English word mummy goes back, through Latin and Arabic, to a Persian word. What did it mean in Persian? Answer: Asphalt. Source: Wikipedia: Mummy
  • Gargoyle comes from the French gargouille, built on an Old French word, goule. What did goule mean? Answer: An animal's mouth or throat. Source: Wikipedia: Gargoyle
  • In the word nightmare, what was a 'mare' in old folklore? Answer: A being that sits on sleepers' chests. Source: Wikipedia: Mare (folklore)
  • One of the first appearances of the word abracadabra is in a second-century work by which Roman physician? Answer: Serenus Sammonicus. Source: Wikipedia: Abracadabra
  • Warlock goes back to the Old English wǣrloga. What did that mean? Answer: Breaker of oaths. Source: Wikipedia: Warlock
  • The word cemetery is taken from Greek. Which kind of place did the Greek word name? Answer: A sleeping place. Source: Wikipedia: Cemetery
  • The word ghost comes from the Old English gāst. Which of these did gāst mean? Answer: Spirit or soul. Source: Wikipedia: Ghost

Superstitions and numbers 8

  • A month has a Friday the 13th only when it begins on which day? Answer: Sunday. Source: Wikipedia: Friday the 13th
  • How many captive ravens, at least, live at the Tower of London? Answer: Six. Source: Wikipedia: Ravens of the Tower of London
  • In 1921 Margaret Murray promoted the idea that witches across Europe met in groups called covens. How many witches did she say made a coven? Answer: Thirteen. Source: Wikipedia: Coven
  • In Italy the number 17 is unlucky. Its Roman numeral, XVII, is an anagram of VIXI. What does vixi mean in Latin? Answer: I have lived. Source: Wikipedia: Heptadecaphobia
  • October 31 is the 304th day of an ordinary year. Which day of a leap year is it? Answer: The 305th. Source: Wikipedia: October 31
  • Tetraphobia, a superstition most common in East Asian nations, is the practice of avoiding which number? Answer: 4. Source: Wikipedia: Tetraphobia
  • What is the amulet called a nazar believed to protect against? Answer: The evil eye. Source: Wikipedia: Nazar (amulet)
  • What is the greatest number of Friday the 13ths that one calendar year can hold? Answer: Three. Source: Wikipedia: Friday the 13th
How this list was compiled

Written for this site; nothing was copied from another list. Every question, wrong choice and explanation is our own wording. Each answer agrees with a sentence in the English Wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org, text under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license) named and linked beside the question, read on 2026-10-02; every extra claim in an explanation was read the same day on that page. Folklore is asked as folklore: what a tale says, where a word comes from and when a book was printed. The church days around October 31 are asked plainly, as calendar facts. Left out on purpose: films, shows and candy makers, living people, gore, and records and sales figures that change by year. Novels, a play and a poem that are more than a century old are named as dated history. Facts that the site's Halloween pack for kids and its fall, workplace, school and general packs already ask were dropped, so no question here repeats one of theirs word for word as they stood on 2026-10-02. Levels are our estimate for a table of adults; each round is stored easiest first. Licence: own work