Language
What is a group of witches called?
A coven = шабаш ведьм, ковен
What is the original reason for wearing a spooky costume at Halloween?
To disguise the wearer from evil spirits
Ghosts and spirits abound on Halloween, and one superstition claims that all you need if you want to know if there are ghosts near you is a simple candle. Light the wick, and keep an eye on it. If the flame turns ..., you very likely are in the company of a spirit or two. Remember to have a treat on hand should one come knocking.
blue
A full moon brightens the sky once every ... Halloweens.
a) 7
b) 13
c) 19
d) 25
19
The last Halloween full moon was in 2020. According to EarthSky, we can expect the next Halloween full moon to happen on October 31, 2039.
If you were born on Halloween, what star sign would you be?
Scorpio
What does the word 'Halloween' mean?
It is a contraction of "All Hallows' Eve," meaning the evening before "All Hallows' Day" (All Saints' Day), a Christian holy day on November 1.
In the early 1600s, Welsh families used to throw marked stones into a Halloween fire and dig them out in the morning. What did it mean if a person's stone was missing?
that person would die during the coming year.
If you hear footsteps behind you on Halloween, it's said you should not look back, as it could be ...
the dead following you.
What are traditional Halloween colours and what do they symbolize?
orange symbolizes the colors of the crops and turning leaves
black marks the "death" of summer and the changing season
'Samhainophobia' is an intense fear of ...
a) Halloween
b) death
c) spiders' webs
d) pumpkins
e) dead people
Halloween
'Werewolf' is derived from the Old English words wer and wulf. 'Wulf' means wolf, but what does 'wer' mean?
Man. It's literally 'manwolf'
In the Middle Ages, trick and treaters would receive a soul cake in return for doing what?
Praying for the dead, reciting a poem or singing a song
if a bat flies into your house on Halloween, it is a sign that ...
your house was haunted because ghosts had let the bat in.
A survey found that ... of parents admit to stealing some of their kids' Halloween candy. And ... sneak the candy after their kids are in bed or when they're at school.
a) 30%, 76%
b) 45%, 54%
c) 52%, 23%
d) 76%, 79%
e) 81%, 26%
81%, 26%
The 600-metre wide Halloween asteroid was spotted flying by Earth on the 31st of October 2015. What did it rather appropriately resemble?
A skull
The word "witch" comes from the Old English wicce, meaning:
a wise woman
In Germany, it's common for people to hide their knives on Halloween night. Why?
There are two explanations:
1) The goal is to prevent returning spirits from getting injured.
2) Lest malevolent spirits attack the living with them.
If you see ... on Halloween, it means that the spirit of a deceased loved one is watching over you.
a) a flickering candle light
b) a spider
c) a falling star
d) a black cat
e) a shadow
a spider
The heaviest jack o'lantern was carved from a pumpkin grown by Travis Gienger (USA) that weighed:
a) 735.2 kg
b) 846.1 kg
c) 1046.5 kg
d) 1246.9 kg
The heaviest jack o'lantern was carved from a pumpkin grown by Travis Gienger (USA) that weighed 1,246.9 kg.
This record was confirmed at the 50th Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, held in Half Moon Bay, California, USA, on 9 October 2023.
Trick-or-treating as we know it today started to emerge in the late 1920s and became widespread in the 1930s in North America. However, there was a time when it was temporarily paused. When was it and for what reason?
Trick-or-treating was paused during World War II because of sugar rationing, which made candy scarce.
What does the Grim Reaper carry?*
A scythe (коса)
What vegetable was originally carved to create Jack-o-lanterns before pumpkins?
Turnip (репа)
Seeing a black cat cross your path on Halloween is a widespread omen of bad luck or misfortune. Why?
1) it's a witch - witches can transform into black cats to avoid detection.
2) cats are a witch’s “familiar”–supernatural entities that would assist in their practice of dark magic
How did Jack-o'-lanterns got their name?
a) An Irish legend says that jack-o’-lanterns are named for a man called Jack who could not go to heaven or hell and was forced to walk the earth forever with only a coal from hell to light his lantern.
b) The name comes from old English farmers who used lanterns to scare away a mischievous spirit called “Jack of the Fields,” believed to steal their crops at night.
c) It was first used by sailors, who called the lights they saw flickering over the sea on foggy nights “Jack’s lanterns,” thinking they were carried by ghosts guiding lost ships.
d) It was derived from the night watchman who would light the street lanterns every evening.
The Jack-o'-lantern story comes from an Irish folktale about a man named "Stingy Jack" who tricked the Devil twice. After his death, Jack was denied entry into both Heaven and Hell. The Devil gave him a burning coal from hell to light his way, which Jack placed inside a carved-out turnip. He was then doomed to wander the earth forever with this lantern.
Which famous magician died on Halloween in 1926?
Harry Houdini