Halloween History
The name "Halloween" is a shortened version of this specific evening in Christian lore
What is All Hallows' Eve?
This colorful, three-layered candy was originally sold under the name "Chicken Feed" in the late 1800s.
What is candy corn?
This caped, blood sucking villain created by Bram Stoker is the ultimate culprit behind countless vampire legends.
Who is Count Dracula?
A brutal 1974 crime in this Long Island home inspired a book and movie franchise about the demonic haunting.
What is the Amityville Horror house? (Accept: Amityville)
This fictional, eccentric pirate captain portrayed by Johnny Depp is constantly searching for his beloved ship, the Black Pearl.
Who is Jack Sparrow?
This ancient Celtic festival marked the end of the harvest and the start of winter, inspiring modern Halloween.
What is Samhain?
On Halloween in 1926, this legendary escape artist and illusionist tragically passed away in Detroit, sparking an annual tradition of Halloween seances.
Who is Harry Houdini?
Witnesses in the Pacific Northwest frequently report sightings of this tall, hairy, ape-like being
What is Bigfoot? (AKA: Sasquatch)
Built by an heiress to confuse spirits, this California mansion features staircases that lead to nowhere and doors that open into walls.
What is the Winchester Mystery House?
Early filmmakers and magicians used this 17th-century projector to make scary images of ghosts and monsters onto walls using glass slides and oil lamps.
What is a magic lantern?
Borrowed from older European practices, this popular neighborhood youth tradition became mainstream in the United States during the 1950s.
What is trick or treating?
Inventors of the PEZ dispenser created the candy in 1927 as an alternative to this bad habit, which is why the original dispensers looked like lighters.
What is smoking?
This notorious, still unidentified culprit terrorized the Whitechapel district of London in 1888, sending taunting letters to the police.
Who is Jack the Ripper?
In the basement of Casper's home, his father built an eccentric invention called the Lazarus, designed to do this to a ghost.
What is bring them back to life? (Accept: make them human again/resurrect them)
The jack-o-lantern gets its name from this trickster character in Irish folklore who was doomed to wander the earth.
Who is Stingy Jack?
In 1920, this town became the first U.S. city to host an official Halloween celebration, with its goal being to divert teenagers from pulling annoying pranks.
What is Anoka?
Meaning "to double" in Latin, this specific type of magic trick, like pulling a coin from behind an ear, relies on manual dexterity and misdirection.
What is sleight of hand? (AKA: prestidigitation)
Sailors for centuries have feared this legendary, sea monster cryptid said to pull entire ships down into the ocean depths.
What is the Kraken?
Rather than a simple doorbell, visitors to the Addams Family home pull a cord that triggers this sound
What is a foghorn?
This famous passenger falls in love before a tragic icy collision takes his life.
Who is Jack Dawson?
On October 31 of this year, a historic blizzard began dropping over 28 inches of snow on the Twin Cities area, canceling trick or treating for many of our older brothers and sisters.
What is 1991?
Famously played by David Bowie in the 1986 film Labyrinth, this mythical title figure rules over a magical maze.
Who is the Goblin King?
Folklore says this Victorian era culprit was a demonic entity who could jump impossibly high and breathe blue flames... though some historians believe he was actually a real life serial groper or prankster.
Who is Spring-Heeled Jack?
In Sinister, a writer seals his and his family's fate when he moves them into a new house and discovers a box of Super 8 film reels hidden in this area of the home
What is the attic?
The legendary "one if by land, two if by sea" lantern signal was famously hung in the steeple of this Boston church on April 18, 1775.
What is the Old North Church?