75 Best Halloween Trivia Questions and Answers - Halloween Quiz

July 21, 2022, 7:38 PM UTC / Updated Oct. 27, 2023, 4:16 PM UTC

It's Halloween and we couldn't be more excited!

If you missed TODAY's Kellyoke-inspired costume reveal on the Plaza, not to worry, you can get caught up right here. We promise, you'll find all the fabulous costumes, details and everything else you need to know about this year's extravaganza.

Either way, we're guessing you're here because you love Halloween as much as we do. Not that we blame you. Halloween is arguably the best holiday of the year.

If your heart beats black and orange, you've come to the right place because this collection of Halloween trivia is nothing short of a veritable Samhain feast.

Don't know what Samhain is? Well, it's a Celtic celebration that dates back to 600 AD and is considered by many to be the origin of Halloween.

Depending on your Halloween IQ, you might already have known that one. So, let's raise the stakes, shall we?

Which Halloween candy was once referred to as "chicken feed?" Or what about this one: What was the original working title of the classic 1978 movie "Halloween"?

Bet you don't know the answers. But if you do, by all means, go to the head of class because your Halloween knowledge is frightfully good.

However, if you're like the rest of us, you'll need to read on to learn about those and other Halloween facts that run the gamut from movies and music to history and horticulture (yes, we're talkin' about pumpkins).

So, put on your thinking cap and get ready to dive into these Halloween trivia tidbits that, if we do say so ourselves, are positively fang-tabulous.

Which of the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" played the role of Lindsey Wallace in the 1978 movie "Halloween?" Answer: Kyle Richards
What's another name for a lycanthrope? Answer: A werewolf
What year did Charles M. Schulz's classic Halloween TV special, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," first air? Answer: 1966
What do you call a group of witches? Answer: A coven
Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore star in what movie about the afterlife? Answer: "Ghost"
Which U.S. city hosts the world's largest Halloween parade? Answer: New York City, which puts on the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade annually
How did early New Englanders protect their homes from evil spirits? Answer: By hiding their shoes in the walls
What vegetable was once thought to have supernatural powers on Halloween? Answer: Cabbage
What day does All Saints' Day fall on? Answer: Nov. 1
What do call a man who practices witchcraft? Answer: A warlock
What does a magician say when performing a magic trick? Answer: Hocus-pocus
Edward Cullen is a vampire in what popular movie and book series? Answer: "Twilight"
Who wrote the 1818 classic book "Frankenstein?" Answer: Mary Shelley
What is another name for a large kettle or boiler? Answer: A cauldron
What actor played Laurie Strode in the 1978 movie "Halloween?" Answer: Jamie Lee Curtis
Vincent Price provides the spooky monologue at the end of what popular Halloween song? Answer: Michael Jackson's "Thriller"
What percentage of Americans pretend they're not home on Halloween? Answer: One in five adults (21%) said they play pretend in a 2021 YouGov poll
Which movie tops Rotten Tomatoes' list of the Scariest Horror Movies Ever? Answer: "The Exorcist"
Why do some people wear their clothes inside out on Halloween? Answer: Superstitious folks believe they'll see a witch at midnight
Which comedian inspired Jordan Peele to write "Get Out"? Answer: Eddie Murphy. Peele told "Entertainment Tonight" that the movie references "one of the best bits of all time" from Murphy's 1983 comedy special, "Delirious"
Are pumpkins technically a fruit or vegetable? Answer: Fruit
What movie serial killer is immortalized with a statue at the bottom of a lake? Answer: According to a YouTube video, there's a Jason Voorhees ("Friday the 13th") statue at the bottom of a mine pit in Crosby, Minnesota
What Halloween spending category was expected hit a record high in 2022? Answer: Pet spending was estimated to top more than $700 million, per the National Retail Foundation
Which Halloween candy is considered the worst? Answer: Candy corn, followed by circus peanuts, according to a survey of 17,000 CandyStore.com customers
Which first lady was the first to decorate the White House for Halloween? Answer: In 1958, Mamie Eisenhower decorated the White House for a Halloween luncheon
Which U.S. president told a group of schoolkids that the White House was haunted by the ghost of Abraham Lincoln? Answer: In 1989, George H.W. Bush jokingly told a group of children that Lincoln was rumored to haunt the White House
When did Halloween start? Answer: Though opinion varies, Halloween is thought to have started around 600 AD with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain
How much money were consumers expected to spend on Halloween decorations in 2022? Answer: $3.4 billion, per the NRF
Which actor said that “Hocus Pocus” was one of her favorite movie roles of all time? Answer: Bette Midler
Which U.S. state produces the most pumpkins? Answer: Illinois, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture
What percentage of people planned to celebrate Halloween in 2022? Answer: 69%, according to the NRF
Why are the Halloween colors orange and black? Answer: While there are competing theories, it’s thought that orange is for pumpkins and harvest, and black represents night, death or darkness
How much money were consumers expected to spend on Halloween costumes in 2022? Answer: $3.6 billion, according to the NRF
Where was “Hocus Pocus” filmed? Answer: The most famous "Hocus Pocus" scenes were filmed on location in Salem, Massachusetts
Where does the mask that Michael Myers wears in “Halloween" come from? Answer: It’s a modified Captain Kirk mask from "Star Trek"
What does the word “Halloween” come from? Answer: Halloween was known as "All Hallows’ Eve” until 1773, when the Scots began referring to it as Hallow-e’en. The first known use of the word is in the poem “Halloween," written in 1786
What was the original title of the movie “Halloween"? Answer: “The Babysitter Murders"
How many pounds of fresh pumpkins did the U.S. produce in 2021? Answer: Nearly 1.2 million pounds, according to the USDA
Who wrote the “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”? Answer: Washington Irving
When was the song "Monster Mash" released? Answer: 1962
What is the most popular Halloween costume for pets? Answer: Pumpkin (followed by hot dog, bat, bumblebee and witch) according to the NRF
Where does the quote “Double, double toil and trouble” come from? Answer: William Shakespeare's “Macbeth”
What's the most popular Halloween costume in the U.S., according to Google? Answer: A witch
On average, how much money do Americans spend annually on Halloween? Answer: Approximately $10 million, per the NRF
When was the first known guide on celebrating Halloween published? Answer: "Halloween: How to Celebrate It" was published in 1897
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, how many potential trick-or-treaters are there? Answer: Approximately 41 million kids between the ages of 5 and 14 or 73.1 million children under the age of 18
Where is Transylvania, otherwise known as home to Count Dracula, located? Answer: In Romania
What’s the most popular adult Halloween candy? Answer: M&M’s, according to YouGov's 2021 survey
What’s the most popular kids' Halloween candy? Answer: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, according to YouGov's 2021 survey
Approximately how much money were Americans expected to spend on candy in 2022? Answer: $3.1 billion, per the NRF
On average, what percentage of Americans carve a pumpkin for Halloween? Answer: 45%, according to the NRF
How many minutes does Michael Keaton appear on screen in Beetlejuice"? Answer: Approximately 17
What was the original working title of the movie “Beetlejuice"? Answer: “House Ghosts"
Which two fears from his own childhood did Steven Spielberg incorporate into the 1982 movie, “Poltergeist"? Answer: A clown doll and the tree with long branches outside the window of his childhood home
What actor and talk show host auditioned for a role in “Poltergeist” but ended up in “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” instead? Answer: Drew Barrymore
How much candy does the average American consume each year? Answer: Roughly 8 pounds, according to a study published in Advances in Nutrition
Which 1980s band did “The Nightmare Before Christmas” composer Danny Elfman perform in? Answer: Oingo Boingo
How long did it take to make the movie “A Nightmare Before Christmas"? Answer: Three years
What was the original title of the Michael Jackson song “Thriller”?Answer: “Starlight"
Which film inspired Michael Jackson to collaborate with director John Landis on the “Thriller” video? Answer: “An American Werewolf in London”
What is having a fear of Halloween called? Answer: Samhainophobia
What did Americans use for Halloween decorations in the early 1900s? Answer: Crepe paper, cardboard cutouts, corn stalks, pumpkins, gourds and hay
What's the top grossing horror movie of all time? Answer: According to Box Office Mojo, the 2017 Stephen King movie "It"
Before pumpkins, which root vegetable did the Irish and Scottish carve on Halloween? Answer: Turnips
Why do we carve jack-o’-lanterns? Answer: The tradition comes from the tale of “Stingy Jack,” a man who cheated the devil and was sentenced to carry a glowing ember in a hollowed-out turnip for eternity
Why was Halloween nearly canceled as a holiday in the 1930s? Answer: Pranksters and vandals were causing millions of dollars of damage to U.S. cities on Halloween night
Why do we trick or treat? Answer: Trick-or-treating is thought to have began as a way for homeowners to reward pranksters for not vandalizing their home on Halloween
Which Halloween candy was originally referred to as “chicken feed"? Answer: Candy corn
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, how many potential stops for trick-or-treaters were there in 2020? Answer: There were 126.8 million occupied homes for trick-or-treaters to visit.
Besides horror, what other genre did “Dracula” author Bram Stoker publish books under? Answer: Romance
What's the name of the fictional town in the movie "The Lost Boys"? Answer: Santa Clara, aka the "Murder Capital of the World"
What 1984 song returned to the charts on Billboard's "Hot 100" in October of 2021? Answer: Michael Jackson's "Thriller"
When selling a house, is the homeowner obligated to disclose that it's haunted? Answer: No. A majority of states don't require sellers to disclose paranormal activity or any other dubious stigmas like murder or ghosts
What historic weather event occurred on Halloween in 1991?Answer: The "Halloween Blizzard" of 1991, which dumped three feet of snow and two inches of ice across parts of the Midwest