literature trendsetters
this spooky author is known for inventing detective fiction with his story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"
Edgar Allan Poe
The Byronic Hero, a character archetype in Gothic lit, was inspired by this writer, who was characterized by his ex as "mad, bad and dangerous to know"
Lord Byron
The first gothic novel to be adapted to film (and also the first American horror film!)
Bonus: what year did the film come out?
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1908
How much did Americans spend on Halloween in 2023?
$12.2 billion
Where and when was the first recorded use of the phrase “trick-or-treat”?
Canada - 1927
How did Shakespeare influence Gothic writers?
a lot of his tragedies had plots revolving around the supernatural, revenge, murder, ghosts, witchcraft, and omens.
Which of the following novels started as a literary competition?
a. The Old English Baron
b. The Castle of Otranto
c. Frankenstein
c. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley, 1818)
In 1991 the novel American Psycho was rejected by Bret Easton Ellis’s publisher because of its violent content. The squeamish publisher was
a. Vintage Books
b. Simon & Schuster
c. Harper Collins
d. Alfred A. Knopf
b. Simon & Schuster
How many pounds of candy corn are produced each year? (Bonus: how many pieces of candy corn is this?)
35 million pounds. about 9 billion pieces.
In what American state is it illegal to be a priest or nun for Halloween?
Alabama
Which of the following novels was written first, and is considered to be the beginning of the Gothic novel genre?
a. The Castle of Otranto
b. The Monk
c. The Old English Baron
d. The Mysteries of Udolpho
a. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, 1764
Which of the following do Frankenstein and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have in common?
a. both were loosely based on real-life cases
b. both were inspired by nightmares
c. both were written under the influence of drugs
b. both were inspired by nightmares
Richard Matheson published a novel in 1954 that was later adapted as a film about the only human being still untouched by a deathly plague that transmitted vampirism. Name the novel/movie.
I am Legend
When is Halloween thought to have originated?
over 2,000 years ago!
What U.S. state produces the most pumpkins each year?
Illinois
The first vampire tale in English was written by
a. John Polidori
b. Lord Byron
c. Thomas de Quincey
d. Anne Radcliffe
a. John Polidori - "The Vampyre" 1819
Bram Stoker’s Dracula was inspired by
a. Joseph Sheridan le Fanu’s novella Carmilla
b. James Malcolm Rymer’s serial Varney the Vampyre; or the Feast of Blood
c. R.L. Stevenson’s novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
a. Joseph Sheridan le Fanu’s novella Carmilla, 1872
This movie is frequently considered one of the scariest and most influential horror films. It was also the the first horror movie to be nominated for an Academy Award
The Exorcist
When was Halloween first celebrated in the United States?
Around the 1840s, thanks to Irish immigrants!
What were the first-ever “fun-size” candy bars?
Snickers and Milky Way
The title (or year or author) of the first widely known zombie story in English, which inspired the movie White Zombie (1932), which started the zombie movie genre
William Seabrook's 1929 non-fiction book, The Magic Island
Alexander Pope was the first significant poet of the 18th century to write a poem in an authentic Gothic manner: "Eloisa to Abelard." What year was this poem published?
1717
The first haunted house movie is Georges Méliès' 18__ silent film, The House of the Devil (Le Manoir du diable), which is also considered the first horror film.
1896
Which U.S. state holds the record for the largest pumpkin ever grown? (as of 2023)
Bonus: how much did it weigh?
Minnesota! And it weighed 2,749 pounds.
What horror movie was the first American film ever to show a toilet on screen?
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960)