Hardcore Horror & Cinema
Before settling on the iconic William Shatner Captain Kirk mask, the prop department for the 1978 film Halloween considered a mask of this classic clown character.
Who is Weary Willie (Emmett Kelly)?
In Irish folklore, the jack-o'-lantern is named after a trickster named Jack, who was condemned to roam the earth with a burning coal inside a turnip after making a deal with this entity.
Who is the devil?
Washington Irving's 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow takes place in a valley near this real-world New York village.
What is Tarrytown
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Halloween was closely associated with matchmaking, and young women would toss the fruit's peel over their shoulders to see the first letter of their future husband's name.
What is an apple?
The classic, low-budget ghost costume traditionally involves cutting eyeholes in this bedding item.
What is a bedsheet?
This 1922 German Expressionist film by F.W. Murnau was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, leading to a lawsuit that nearly destroyed the film.
What is Nosferatu?
This terrifying female spirit from Irish folklore does not attack people, but her piercing wails and shrieks warn of an impending death in a family.
What is a Banshee?
This 1897 Gothic novel is written entirely in an epistolary format, told through journal entries, letters, ship logs, and newspaper clippings.
What is Dracula?
The ancient Celtic festival of Samhain marked the transition between these two halves of the Celtic year.
What are the light half and the dark half (or summer and winter)
To complete a classic vampire look, you will need a long black cape and a pair of these fake, pointed teeth.
What are fangs?
In the 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead, director George A. Romero never actually uses this 6-letter word to describe the undead; he calls them "ghouls."
What is zombie?
In German folklore, this goat-horned, demonic figure punishes naughty children during Christmas, serving as the dark counterpart to St. Nicholas.
Who is Krampus?
Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Mary Shelley famously challenged each other to write ghost stories during a rainy summer at a villa near this European lake, leading to the creation of Frankenstein.
What is Lake Geneva
In 1950, a group of children in Philadelphia famously chose to collect money for this international charity instead of asking for candy, sparking a nationwide tradition.
What is UNICEF?
To transform into a mummy, kids frequently wrap themselves from head to toe in this bathroom paper product.
What is toilet paper?
This famous Master of Horror directed the 1982 cult classic anthological horror film Creepshow, which was written by Stephen King.
Who is George A. Romero?
In Slavic mythology, this elderly witch lives in a movable hut that stands on giant chicken legs.
Who is Baba Yaga?
This 19th-century American author wrote The King in Yellow, a collection of weird fiction stories that heavily influenced H.P. Lovecraft and modern cosmic horror.
Who is Robert W. Chambers?
This specific, historic church holiday, celebrated on November 2nd, focuses on praying for the souls of all the faithful departed in purgatory.
What is All Souls' Day?
This traditional medieval mask features a long, bird-like beak originally meant to hold aromatic herbs.
What is a plague doctor mask?
In the movie Scream (1996), this actor, famous for playing a different iconic horror villain, makes an uncredited cameo as a high school principal.
Who is Robert Englund (Freddie Krueger)?
According to 17th-century European witch-hunting manuals, this term refers to an animal companion, such as a black cat or toad, believed to serve a witch.
What is a familiar?
In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven," the narrator mourns the loss of a woman named what?
Who is Lenore?
In 19th-century Scotland and Ireland, the practice of dressing in disguise and performing a short trick or song in exchange for food or coins was known by this term.
What is guising?
In 1937, this mass-market costume company became the first to license pop-culture characters such as Mickey Mouse and Popeye.
Who is Ben Cooper?