Halloween & Pop Culture
What is the name of the child, bald, friendly ghost created by Harvey Comics?
Casper.
What was the name of the ancient Celtic festival that influenced Halloween?
Samhain.
What do vampires traditionally drink?
Blood (human blood).
In which year did the Candyman case take place?
1974.
In what year was Slender Man created?
2009.
In the film Coco, which Mexican celebration plays a central role in the story?
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).
What two seasonal events did Samhain mark?
The end of the harvest and the beginning of winter.
What natural process can make a dead body’s abdomen swell and cause other changes that people once found frightening?
Decomposition.
What was the name of the sweet that Timothy O’Bryan received?
A Pixy Stix.
What internet horror genre does Slender Man belong to?
Creepypasta — horror stories shared and copied online.
What is the name of the fictional town where the Stranger Things story takes place?
Hawkins.
What was the evening before All Saints’ Day originally called?
All Hallows’ Eve.
What is hypertrichosis, and why might it have contributed to werewolf stories?
A rare condition involving excessive hair growth; people with unusual physical characteristics were sometimes feared or treated as monsters.
What poisonous substance was found in Timothy’s sweet, and what happened to him?
Cyanide; he became seriously ill and died.
What happened to Payton Leutner in Wisconsin in May 2014?
Two twelve-year-old classmates lured her into a wooded area and stabbed her nineteen times. She survived and got help.
In The Addams Family, what is the name of the disembodied hand that helps the family?
Thing.
Why did pumpkins replace turnips as popular lanterns among Irish immigrants in America?
Pumpkins were larger and easier to carve.
What is the difference between hypertrichosis and clinical lycanthropy?
Hypertrichosis causes excessive hair growth, whereas clinical lycanthropy is a psychiatric phenomenon in which someone believes they are transforming into an animal.
What did Ronald O’Bryan do that put other children at risk, even though they survived?
He gave poisoned sweets to several other children.
Why did the two girls say they had attacked Payton?
They believed that attacking her would please Slender Man and help them become his servants.
Which horror writer created the fictional towns of Chamberlain, Castle Rock and Derry, among many others?
Stephen King.
What does Halloween’s history reveal about the way traditions change over time?
Traditions evolve as people move, religions spread and societies develop, while some older themes remain.
What conditions or differences might have led people in the past to believe that a child was a changeling?
Autism, communication difficulties, disabilities or developmental differences.
Why did investigators believe Ronald O’Bryan had poisoned his son?
He had taken out life insurance policies on his children and hoped to collect the money.
What were the different legal outcomes for Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier?
Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide and was committed to psychiatric care. Weier was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect and committed to a psychiatric institution.