Terrifying Traditions
What is bobbing for apples?
In "Hocus Pocus," these are the first names of the three Sanderson sisters, the witches brought back to life by the black-flamed candle.
Who are Winifred, Mary, and Sarah?
He's the U.S. President who jokingly told children who were touring the White House that Abraham Lincoln's ghost still haunted the place. Spooky! Scary!
Who is George H.W. Bush?
Animated or otherwise, it's the average number of bones in the human skeleton.
What is 206?
This is the country in which the province of Transylvania, home to Count Dracula, is located.
What is Romania?
To ward off evil spirits, early New Englanders would hide these articles of clothing in their walls.
What are their shoes?
According to Rotten Tomatoes users, this "novel" film tops the list of the scariest horror movies ever.
What is "The Exorcist?"
Per the Department of Agriculture, it's the U.S. state that produces the most pumpkins every year.
What is Illinois?
It was a "graveyard smash" for Boris Pickett when he released his Halloween staple song "Monster Mash" in this year.
What is 1962?
Before composing the scores for Halloween classics like "Beetlejuice" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas," Danny Elfman was the lead singer of this "weird" 1980s band.
What is Oingo Boingo?
An old Gaelic superstition suggests that by wearing your clothes inside-out and walking backwards on Halloween, you'll see one of these in the midnight sky.
What is a witch?
It's the film for which actor-turned-talk-show-host Drew Barrymore actually auditioned before ending up instead taking a role in "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial."
What is "Poltergeist?"
From 1947 to 1969, the U.S. Air Force investigated unidentified flying objects as part of this project with an "academic" name.
What is "Project Blue Book?"
Charlie Brown "got a rock" in his trick-or-treat bag in this year, when the Peanuts classic special "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" first aired on television.
What is 1966?
Though his most famous work is a proper horror novel, Bram Stoker also authored stories in this genre of literature.
What is romance?
The first recorded use of the traditional Halloween greeting "trick-or-treat" occurred in this country in 1927.
What is Canada?
According to box office reports, this film, based on a Stephen King novel of the same name, is currently the highest-grossing horror movie of all time.
What is "IT?"
The historic "Halloween Blizzard" of this year dumped three feet of snow and another two inches of ice across the American Midwest.
What is 1991?
In 2023, Travis Gienger nabbed the Guinness World record for heaviest pumpkin, as his specimen weighed this many pounds.
What is 2,749?
It was the working title during filming for John Carpenter's genre-defining slasher flick, "Halloween."
What is "The Babysitter Murders?"
It's the traditional pre-Halloween celebration in Des Moines, Iowa, where children go door-to-door entertaining with jokes and songs for sweet treats.
What is "Beggar's Night?"
This fictional town, the "Murder Capital of the World," is the setting for 1987's "The Lost Boys."
What is Santa Clara?
In a 2021 YouGov poll, 21% of Americans -- that's about one in five -- admitted to doing this on Halloween night.
What is pretending not to be home?
According to the National Retail Federation, it's the amount in dollars that the average American will spend on Halloween this year, including costumes, candy, and/or decorations.
What is $102.67?
It's the proper "phobia-fied" name for having a fear of the holiday of Halloween.
What is Samhainophobia?