History & Folklore
This phrase first appeared in print in Alberta, Canada, in 1927, describing kids demanding treats in exchange for not playing pranks.
What is "trick or treat"?
According to legend, this classic monster can be repelled by garlic, holy water, and a wooden stake through the heart.
What is a vampire?
He is the glove-wearing, dream-stalking slasher of the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.
Who is Freddy Krueger?
This chocolate and peanut butter treat consistently ranks as the number-one selling Halloween candy in the United States.
What are Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
This Gothic author wrote "The Raven," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and "The Fall of the House of Usher."
Before North Americans switched to pumpkins, people in Ireland and Scotland traditionally carved these root vegetables.
What are turnips?
This is the clinical or scientific term for a person who physically transforms into a werewolf.
What is a lycanthrope?
The iconic white mask worn by Michael Myers in the 1978 film Halloween was actually a modified mask of this famous Star Trek actor.
Who is William Shatner?
When candy corn was first invented in the late 1880s by the Wunderle Candy Company, it was marketed under this agricultural name.
What is "Chicken Feed"?
Mary Shelley was only 18 years old when she began writing this classic monster novel during a stormy summer in Switzerland.
What is Frankenstein?
In Irish folklore, the original "Jack" of Jack-o'-lantern fame was barred from both heaven and hell, forced to wander Earth with a coal given to him by this figure.
Who is the Devil?
This medical condition, which causes extreme sensitivity to sunlight and receding gums, is historically tied to vampire and werewolf folklore.
What is porphyria?
This 1973 horror classic was the very first horror film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
What is The Exorcist?
This long, chewy candy roll was invented in 1896 and became the first individually wrapped penny candy in America.
What is a Toostie Roll?
This is the name of the fictional town in Maine where Stephen King sets many of his terrifying stories, including It and Insomnia.
What is Derry?
In 1962, Pope John XXIII officially removed this saint (often associated with Halloween because of his feast day on October 31) from the official Roman calendar.
Who is Saint Wolfgang / Saint Foillan
In Egyptian mythology, this jackal-headed god is the protector of graves and the guide to the underworld.
Who is Anubis?
In Hocus Pocus, this is the full name of the immortal black cat who helps Max and Dani fight the Sanderson sisters.
Who is Thackery Binx?
From bottom to top, this is the correct order of the three colors on a standard piece of candy corn.
Yellow, Orange, White
In Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, this schoolmaster is chased by the Headless Horseman.
Who is Ichabod Crane?
This ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest is widely considered the true origin of Halloween.
What is Samhain?
This specific type of malevolent spirit from Scottish folklore is said to haunt lonely roads and can be warded off by salt or iron.
What is a Bogle?
This 1922 German Expressionist film is famously known as an unauthorized, silent adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
What is Nosferatu?
This specific candy brand was famously used by Elliott to lure the alien out of hiding in the 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
What are Reese's Pieces?
This 1897 novel features the fictional Demeter, a Russian schooner that washes ashore in Whitby, England, with no living crew left on board.
What is Dracula?