How well do you know your Halloween trivia? Are you willing to find out? Then give our Halloween quiz a try. We cover everything from the original werewolf to the most popular costumes to whether the "Monster Mash" is a song or a dance or both. Good luck (crash of thunder, lightning, scream in distance), you'll need it. So, let's begin.
1. Who was the first werewolf on the big screen?
A) Lon Chaney Jr.
B) Lon Chaney Sr.
C) Henry Hull
D) Boris Karloff
Answer: Ha! Wrong! The answer is C. The most famous werewolf was Lon Chaney Jr., but the first werewolf movie was "Werewolf of London," made in 1935. It's so deucedly English that when they plug Hull's werewolf at the end, he manages to say, "Thanks for the bullet" before he dies.
2. Movies again: What was Dr. Frankenstein's first name?
A) Henry
B) Victor
C) Joe-Bob
D) Baron von Beansen
Answer: A. Henry Frankenstein, who also appears in "Bride of Frankenstein." Victor was the name of the character in Mary Shelley's book and, of course, in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein."
3. In "Dracula," which line did not occur?
A) "Ah, the cheeldren uf the night, vhat sveet mooosic they make."
B) "I don't drink" — dramatic pause, eyebrows arching — "wine."
C) "It's a naive Type O without any breeding, but I think you'll be amused by its presumption."
D) "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Answer: C. That's a paraphrase of a James Thurber cartoon caption. But it would work if Bela Lugosi read the line; he could make anything sound cultured and unnervingly threatening.
4. What was the Mummy's real name?
A) Imhotep, an ancient high priest
B) Ihpobob, an ancient pancake cook
C) Ol' Wrinklepuss
D) Mum E. O'Shambles
Answer: Of course, A. There was a real Imhotep in ancient Egypt; he was an architect. So this is like a movie in 4000 A.D. where people are terrorized by the revived corpse of Frank Lloyd Wright.
5. What was the most popular Halloween costume last year, according to Google?
A) Sexy Electoral College elector
B) Harley Quinn
C) Dude Who Still Thinks It's Clever to Say He's Dressed as a Guy Who Doesn't Have a Costume
D) Something something "Star Wars"
E) Wonder Woman
F) Last-minute Ragstock Shopper
Answer: Harley Quinn, the psychotic character from the "Suicide Squad" movie. Cute 'n' sexy 'n' crazy, with a bat!
6. What's the most popular costume this year?
A) Witch, again, I suppose
B) Pirate, but not Johnny Depp pirate
C) Vampire, because they're classy and cultured and romantic, even though you know they'd have breath that smells like maggots and scabs
D) Zombies
Answer: It's A, a witch, because that really is a classic, the cackling character astride a broom, wide-brimmed hat fluttering in the breeze, summoning ancient curses because the Uber surge pricing is just ridiculous tonight.
7. Speaking of witches: Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of "Oz" fame, brought her character back only once. For what show?
A) "I'll Get You Too, Magoo"
B) "Abbott and Costello Milk This Monster Comedy Franchise"
C) "Paul Lynde's Halloween Special," featuring Kiss and Betty White
D) "The Couple Next Door"
Answer: C. The "Halloween Special" is a painful thing to watch. Even on YouTube. But D is also right, in a way. Margaret Hamilton played Aunt Eva in Peg Lynch's radio sitcom, "The Couple Next Door." In the final episode she took everyone on a plane ride, cackling with delight, a sly little nod to the role that would follow her all her life.
8. In the song "Monster Mash," we never actually hear the song "Monster Mash." We only know a song about someone discovering monsters doing the Monster Mash, which could be an entirely different tune.
A) Who cares? The story was popularized by BuzzFeed, a clickbait septic tank that usually runs stories like "Beyoncé Instagrammed her broken nail and People Are Shook" (alternately, "People Can't Even," or "People Are Losing Their Damned Minds").
B) The "Mash" is not a song, it is a dance. So while it's technically true that the "Monster Mash" is a song about a specific event, there is no lost "Monster Mash" song.
Answer: B. The composer, Bobby "Boris" Pickett, tried to recapture the success of "Mash" with such tunes as "Blood Bank Blues," but nothing ever worked as well. He did a rap version, "The Monster Rap" in 1985. It did not catch on in a flash.
9. The theme for "The Addams Family" was written by:
A) Ric Fizzy
B) Dic Bizzy
C) Vic Mizzy
D) John Williams (credited as Bix Izzy)
Answer: C. Vic Mizzy, a marvelous composer who also wrote the score for "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken," a Don Knotts comedy. (Although it wasn't a comedy if you were 7, and that organ played and you saw a painting with garden shears buried in the subject's neck. Then you had to leave the theater right now!)
Your score:
1-3 correct? Pathetic. Go back to ghoul!
4-6 correct: You can make fun of the people who got 1-3 correct now.
7-9 correct: You are a Halloween expert, a meaningless designation that has no actual value, there being no regulatory body that certifies such things.
But thanks for playing.
