Halloween History
Monsters
Movies
Witchcraft
Squirrels?
100
The word "Halloween" comes from this holiday/phrase.
All Hallows Eve
100
The villain character's name in the movie SCREAM
Ghostface
The driving concept behind the iconic costume was to have the costume look "easily purchasable," making it possible that anyone in the movies could be Ghostface.
100
This man is the creator behind Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (one of Myca's least favorite movies), The Nightmare before Christmas (one of Myca's favorite movies), Sweeney Todd, and many other spooky and odd films.
Tim Burton
Fun Fact: Tim Burton reports wearing striped socks to every one of his movie premieres for good luck
100
The name of a group of witches
A coven
100
To deceive potential food thieves, squirrels do this deceptive move.
Dig fake holes!
This is called "deceptive caching," in which a squirrel pretends to bury a nut, but hides NOTHING.
200
Before pumpkins, Irish & Scottish folks carved this root vegetable on Halloween
Turnips!
People began carving turnips as a means to prevent "Stingy Jack," a tricky spirit, as well as other spirits, from bothering them as summer turned to winter. Most people couldn't afford lanterns, and they began carving faces into turnips and other vegetables, placing a candle inside.
(fun fact, Stingy Jack is likely why we call carved pumpkins "Jack O'Lanterns!)
200
Transylvania, Count Dracula's home, is located in this country.
Romania.
200
The group of witches in Hocus Pocus.
The Sanderson Sisters.
Bonus fact: Hocus Pocus was actually first released in July, to avoid crossing over other famous releases on Halloween (Nightmare Before Christmas, and Addams Family Values)
200
This woman, a slave at the time, was one of the first accused of witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials
Tituba
(Not so) Fun Fact: Tituba did confess in some ways to knowing "witchcraft," but the things she described were protection rituals for safety she learned in Barbados. While it's possible this was false or misinterpreted (she had been imprisoned and harmed significantly to confess), it is also possible that she had carried over her own beliefs and values that simply did not align with Puritanical ones in Massachusetts at the time.
200
Squirrels like beavers, are constantly gnawing on food and bark. Why is this?
Their teeth are constantly growing.
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Squirrels' teeth grow 6 inches every year.
300
This vegetable was once thought to have supernatural powers on Halloween. (Hint: it's not pumpkins)
Cabbage
Because cabbage grew best in cooler climates, it would often be harvested around Halloween. Some believed that you could divine (see the future) with a cabbage. Some would put the cabbage in front of the door of the person they had a crush on, and if the cabbage fell over when the door opened, they were meant to be married.
300
This famous book was written on a vacation to the Swiss Alps, where the author was challenged to write a ghost story.
Frankenstein, Or The Modern Prometheus
Fun fact: Mary Shelley was a goth queen, who after the death of her beloved husband, carried a piece of this body (presumably his heart) with her and kept it in her writing desk.
300
[Daily Double!!!! Worth 600 pts]
The Other Mother's true name in Coraline.
The Beldam.
Fun fact: the name Coraline comes from the original author, who mistyped "Caroline" and decided to keep it :)
300
Witches aren't just a part of Halloween! This witch, famous in Greek Mythology, cursed men into pigs when they set foot on her island.
Circe.
Fun Fact: Circe is one of many witches in Greek Mythology, although perhaps she is the most famous. Others include Pasiphae and Medea.
300
What percent of buried food do squirrels lose to thieves every year?
25%
400
Many traditions during Halloween were inspired by this Gaelic festival.
What is Samhain (pronounced Sah-win)?
Samhain is the celebration of the harvest season and beginning of winter. Beliefs in magical/supernatural creatures during Halloween are thought to come from the Samhain belief that the veil between us and the "Otherworld" (fairies, ghosts, etc) thinned.
400
What beast did Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, write a poem about that was later incorporated into the live-action film by Tim Burton?
The Jabberwocky!
(I would also accept the Bandersnatch :) )
Fun fact: Alice in Wonderland is such a universal story, that it has become a common themed episode (or "trope") in 2000s Animes.
400
To make the horrifying mask for Michael Meyers for Halloween, costumer designers painted a mask of what famous science fiction character?
Captain Kirk from Star Trek
(fun fact, I did not post of a picture of this in this, because it was so spooky!)
400
This circus art was considered witchcraft during the 16th century in Europe.
Juggling!
Fun fact: Other signs of witchcraft included women who had...
- birth marks
- disinterest in marriage
- too much interest in marriage
- too many friends
- too few friends
- no children
- too many children
- no talent for domestic tasks
- too good at domestic tasks
(Aka, it was impossible not to be accused :()
400
A group of squirrels is called a...
Scurry or a dray
500
Original Trick-Or-Treaters dressed up like these creatures when going out on Halloween.
Fairies and Spirits
Also known as the Aos Si (pronounced Oss Shee), they were the supernatural creatures in Europe. People would dress as these creatures to "disguise" themselves from the real Aos Si that may walk the earth.
Second fun fact, this used to be called "souling!"
500
This monster is a Celtic spirit, also known as the "old washing woman." She is to be an omen of death, who screams loudly ("keening.")
Banshee
The name and creature originates from bean-nighe (pronouced "bon-nee") which literally means "old washing woman, " and bean sidhe/ci ("bon-shee") which means "fairy woman."
Bean nighe were said to wash the blood out of clothes of those about to pass, while Bean sidhe would "keen" or wail sadly. Both morphed into The Banshee that we talk about today!
500
Because mass amounts of plastic skeletons were very costly, the director of the movie Poltergeist use these instead.
REAL HUMAN SKELETONS :O
I cannot believe this, but it is true (and gross!)
Apparently the actors DID NOT KNOW this when they filmed
500
Through the witch trials in Europe, there was a subsection of "good witches" known as benandanti. They were said to use this vegetable to fight the "evil witches."
Fennel!
Fun Fact: the benandanti fought with fennel, while the bad witches used sorghum (wheat) stalks.
500
The word "squirrel" has Greek origins! It is the modified combination of the word oura which means tail, and the word skia which means...
Shadow!