Halloween is mostly traced back to which ancient Celtic festival?

Samhain. Samhain marked the end of the harvest and the start of winter, when the boundary with the spirit world was thought to be at its thinnest.

The word “Halloween” is a shortened form of what?

All Hallows’ Eve. “Hallow” is an old word for a saint, so it’s the evening before All Saints’ Day on 1 November.

Before pumpkins, what did people in Ireland and Scotland traditionally carve?

Turnips. Turnips and swedes were hollowed out as lanterns. Irish emigrants switched to pumpkins in America because they were bigger and easier to carve.

In Irish folklore, the jack-o’-lantern is named after Stingy Jack. Who did he trick?

The Devil. Legend says Jack was turned away from both heaven and hell, so he wandered the earth with a glowing coal inside a carved turnip.

Which US state grows the most pumpkins?

Illinois. Illinois grows more than any other state, and most of its crop ends up as canned pumpkin for pies.

What is the fear of Halloween called?

Samhainophobia. It’s named after Samhain. Coulrophobia is a fear of clowns, and nyctophobia is a fear of the dark.

In medieval “souling”, people went door to door offering prayers in exchange for what?

Soul cakes. Soul cakes were small spiced buns, and souling is often seen as an ancestor of trick-or-treating.

In Scotland, what is going door to door in costume traditionally called?

Guising. Guisers, from “disguise”, were expected to perform a song, a joke or a poem before they got their treat.

Which party game has you grabbing apples from a tub of water using only your teeth?

Apple bobbing. In Scotland it’s called “dooking”, and one version has you drop a fork from above to spear an apple instead.

Which American sweet was once sold as “Chicken Feed”?

Candy corn. Candy corn dates back to the 1880s, when corn was mostly thought of as farm feed. Hence the cheeky name.

Which Mexican holiday in early November honours loved ones who have died?

Día de los Muertos. Families build ofrendas, altars decorated with marigolds, photos and the favourite foods of the people they remember.

What is a group of witches traditionally called?

A coven. In folklore a coven was often said to have 13 members.

Roughly how often is there a full moon on Halloween?

About every 19 years. The last one was in 2020, and the next won’t be until 2039.

Trick-or-treating really took off across the US in which decade?

1950s. The phrase appeared in print in the 1920s, but it became a nationwide habit once sugar rationing ended after the Second World War.

In the UK, which celebration on 5 November long overshadowed Halloween?

Bonfire Night. Bonfire Night marks the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Halloween has grown hugely in the UK in recent decades.

Botanically speaking, a pumpkin is a…

Fruit. It grows from a flower and holds seeds, which makes it a fruit, from the same family as cucumbers and melons.

In which country are black cats traditionally seen as good luck?

Japan. Black cats are linked with good fortune in Japan, and in parts of Britain one crossing your path is lucky too.

Escape artist Harry Houdini died on which day in 1926?

Halloween. Fans have held a séance for him every Halloween since, hoping he’ll make one last great escape.

What kind of creature is a pipistrelle?

A bat. The common pipistrelle is one of the UK’s most widespread bats, and it weighs about the same as a sugar cube.

Which 1938 radio play, broadcast the night before Halloween, famously alarmed some listeners?

The War of the Worlds. Orson Welles’s drama about a Martian invasion aired on 30 October 1938. Reports of mass panic were later found to be exaggerated.