50 Spooky Fun Halloween-Themed Trivia Questions and Answers
From pop culture references to horror film facts, we may have you stumped.
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If Halloween is your favorite holiday, then you're probably familiar with a fair amount of interesting and spooky facts that you toss out at your annual Halloween costume party. But we've got some Halloween trivia questions and answers that will definitely entertain (and maybe even surprise) you, your guests, and your trick-or-treaters if they dare to ask.
But regardless of how you feel about the holiday, it's fun (and educational!) to learn more about a day's history, especially one as ancient as Halloween. There are so many traditions, customs, rituals, and myths associated with Halloween that even the biggest Halloween whizes among us might not know about. From less common pumpkin facts and statistics to costume trends and award-winning horror movie Easter eggs, any one of these Halloween questions (answers) will have trick-or-treaters scratching their heads. Some are easier than others, making this round-up an ideal collection to have on-hand for all ages year after year.
And remember, whether you are reading off questions about Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, or Easter, trivia is a great way to celebrate any holiday.
Question: What Celtic celebration does Halloween stem from?
Answer: Halloween-type behavior dates back centuries to the Celtic festival Samhain, which was a pagan New Year of sorts celebrated from October 31 to November 1. Celts would celebrate together with feasts, bonfires, and animal sacrifices.
Question: What are the top-producing pumpkin states in the U.S.?
Answer: Halloween wouldn't be the same without pumpkins, and thankfully, there are plenty of gourds to go around. According to the United States Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service, in 20202 the top pumpkin-producing states — Illinois, California, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, and Virginia — produced 1 billion pounds of pumpkins.
RELATED: How to Preserve Your Carved and Uncarved Pumpkins This Halloween
Question: What inspired the name "Jack-o'-lantern"?
Answer: According to the History Channel, the name Jack-o'-lantern first originated from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack who tricked the Devil over and over again. When Jack died, he was forced to walk the Earth with only a carved-out turnip and a burning coal in it to help light his way.
Question: Which administration was the first to decorate the White House for Halloween?
Answer: The Eisenhower administration in 1958. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower decorated the State Dining Room with hanging skeletons, jack-o'-lanterns, stalks of corn, and more for a luncheon on October 30.
RELATED: 75 Easy Halloween Decorations You Can DIY Faster than a Witch on Her Broom
Question: Why are the colors of Halloween black and orange?
Answer: The association of black and orange with Halloween all goes back to the Celts. It's believed that black not only represented the coming darkness of winter, but also death. Meanwhile, orange represents fall as well as the color of the Celts' fall-time bonfires.
Question: What is the term for having a fear of Halloween?
Answer: As OfficeHolidays.com points out, the term for having a deep fear of the holiday of Halloween is called 'Samhainophobia.' Just don't confuse it with sanguivoriphobia (fear of vampires), selenophobia (fear of the moon), or skelephobia (fear of skeletons).
Question: What U.S. town holds the record for most lit Jack-o'-lanterns?
Answer: In 2013, Keene, New Hampshire, broke its own Guinness World Record for the most lit Jack-o'-lanterns on display at 30,581.
Question: Where is the biggest Halloween parade in the United Sates:
Answer: Manhattan's Greenwich Village has been hosting its annual Halloween parade since 1973, each year going even more above and beyond than the previous one.
Question: Where did the tradition of pumpkin carving come from?
Answer: People in Ireland and Scotland began carving turnips, beets, and potatoes with Stingy Jack's scary "face" to replicate the carved-out turnip he roamed the Earth with, the History Channel reported. When the Irish brought the tradition to America, pumpkins were carved more often because since the squash is native to the United States, there were more of them.
RELATED: 59 Easy and Fun Pumpkin Carving Ideas for Halloween
Question: What are other possible origins of the name "Jack-o'-lantern"?
Answer: For those who don't believe the Stingy Jack folktale, let us present an alternative: The term Jack-o'-lantern comes from the idea of a night watchman, who would light the street lanterns every evening, CNN noted.
Question: Where did the superstition around black cats come from?
Answer: It's been said that it's bad luck for a black cat to cross your path, especially on Halloween night. In the U.S., this superstition stems from the Protestant beliefs of the Puritan Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony, according to pet supply company Hartz. They disapproved of anything associated with witchcraft, and some believed the legend that witches could transform into black cats and back — hence the inspiration for pop culture characters like Salem on Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Binx in Hocus Pocus.
Question: True or false, women used to perform spooky rituals aimed at finding their future husbands?
Answer: True. While couples costumes are about as romantic as Halloween gets these days, women used to perform "rituals" to help them find their future husbands. Want an example? Women tossed apple peels over their shoulders in the hopes that they'd see the shape of their future hubby's initials on the ground. Another involved women standing in front of a mirror in a dark room and holding up a candle to see their future husband's face.
Question: What is the most-hated Halloween candy?
Answer: When buying Halloween candy for trick-or-treaters, stay away from the no. 1 most-hated candy of 2021, according to CandyStore.com: candy corn (no surprise there). Other "worst Halloween candy" picks? Circus Peanuts, wax Coke bottles, Necco Wafers, Tootsie Rolls, and black licorice.
Question: What is the most-loved Halloween candy?
Answer: It's not surprising that Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were 2021's most popular Halloween candy, according to CandyStore.com — nobody can get enough of that chocolate and peanut butter goodness! Other "best Halloween candy" picks include Snickers, Twix, Nerds, Sour Patch Kids, and Skittles.
Question: What are "soul cakes," and how do they relate to Halloween?
Answer: During early All Souls' Day parades in England, the Church encouraged wealthier families to give out "soul cakes" to the less fortunate in exchange for prayers for dead relatives, the History Channel reported. It was a tradition known as "going a-souling," and later, children were the ones who went to houses to ask for food, ale, and money.
Question: What did people used to do for Halloween treats?
Answer: At one time, it was customary to perform dances, songs, prayers, and plays — a practice called "mumming" — in order to receive their treats, according to E.J.W. Barber's The Dancing Goddesses: Folklore, Archaeology, and the Origins of European Dance.
Question: What was almost the title of the Disney classic 'Hocus Pocus'?
Answer: If you're a fan of this classic Disney Halloween film, you might be surprised to learn that it was supposed to be a much darker, scarier movie with the title Halloween House, IMDb noted.
Question: What toy is banned in Hollywood on Halloween?
Answer: Silly string fans should stay far away from Hollywood on Halloween. A ban on the toy was instated in 2004 and is enforced on October 31, according to the The New York Times. If you're caught with sticky hands, expect to pay a $1,000 fine.
Question: How much do parents spend on Halloween on average?
Answer: In 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated there were 41.1 million trick-or-treaters ages 5 to 14 in America. According to the National Retail Federation's 2021 report, Halloween party-goers spend an average of $102 each, making the total expected estimate about 10 billion on the holiday overall.
Question: What is the most produced Halloween candy?
Answer: Despite being one of the most-hated candies since its 1898 invention by then-confectionary company Herman Goelitz, candy corn has been widely produced. Today, nearly 35 million pounds of the stuff is produced each year.
Olivia Muenter is a freelance writer and former fashion and beauty editor who writes about fashion, beauty, lifestyle, relationships, travel, home decor, and more for Woman's Day and beyond. Her work has appeared in Bustle, Refinery 29, Glamour, Byrdie, Apartment Therapy, Philadelphia Magazine, and more. When she's not reading (or talking about reading on Bad on Paper, the bookish podcast she co-hosts), you can find Olivia working on her first novel, curating the perfect playlist, or shopping online.
Elizabeth Berry (she/her) is the Updates Editor at the Good Housekeeping Institute where she optimizes lifestyle content across verticals. Prior to this role, she was an Editorial Assistant for Woman’s Day where she covered everything from gift guides to recipes. She also has experience fact checking commerce articles and holds a B.A. in English and Italian Studies from Connecticut College.
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