spooky origins
The modern word "Halloween" is a contraction of this phrase.
What is All Hallows' Eve?
Despite being commonly used as a vegetable in cooking, a pumpkin is technically classified as this.
What is a fruit?
In autumn, leaves lose their green color because they stop producing this pigment.
What is chlorophyll?
This tri-colored candy was originally called "chicken feed" when it was invented in the 1880s.
What is candy corn?
This 1982 music video is a Halloween favorite and features a famous dance sequence with zombies.
What is "Thriller"?
This ancient Celtic festival, celebrating the end of harvest and the start of winter, is the root of Halloween.
What is Samhain?
This U.S. state is the largest producer of pumpkins, growing about 90% of all pumpkins grown in the country.
What is Illinois?
The full moon closest to the autumnal equinox is traditionally given this "harvest-related" name.
What is the Harvest Moon?
According to the National Retail Federation, this is the most popular Halloween costume for adults in recent years.
What is a witch?
This character is the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town in the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Who is Jack Skellington?
Before pumpkins were common in the U.S., the Irish and Scottish originally carved this root vegetable for their jack-o'-lanterns.
What is a turnip?
This popular fall spice blend usually contains cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, but traditionally contains no actual pumpkin.
What is pumpkin spice?
The practice of bobbing for this fruit originated as a Celtic fortune-telling game to predict who would marry next.
What are apples?
This famous magician, who made a living from escaping elaborate traps, died on Halloween in 1926.
Who is Harry Houdini?
This author wrote the classic Gothic novel Frankenstein, which was published in 1818.
Who is Mary Shelley?
The act of going door-to-door and asking for food in exchange for reciting verses or prayers for the dead was a medieval custom called this.
What is Souling?
Pumpkins are one of the best sources of this vitamin, which is good for eyesight.
What is Vitamin A?
The traditional colors of Halloween are black, representing darkness and death, and this color, representing the harvest.
What is orange?
The fear of Halloween itself is known as this, named after the ancient Celtic festival.
What is Samhainophobia?
This holiday special features Charlie Brown's friend Linus waiting in a pumpkin patch for a benevolent supernatural being.
What is It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown?
According to legend, the jack-o'-lantern is named after this man who successfully tricked the Devil but was denied entry to both heaven and hell.
Who is Stingy Jack?
The scientific term for the fear of pumpkins is this.
What is cucurbitophobia?
This autumnal German folk festival, featuring beer and traditional foods, starts in September and lasts for 16–18 days.
What is Oktoberfest?
The first U.S. First Lady to decorate the White House for Halloween was this president's wife in 1958.
Who is Mamie Eisenhower (Dwight D. Eisenhower's wife)?
The mask worn by Michael Myers in the original 1978 film Halloween was a cheap, repurposed mask of this famous science fiction actor.
Who is William Shatner (as Captain Kirk)?