The Halloween Franchise: Michael Myers and Haddonfield
John Carpenter's original was shot in about 20 days on a budget of roughly $300,000 and grossed around $70 million, which is why the franchise never really stopped. Thirteen films exist, spread over several incompatible timelines: the 1981–2002 run, Rob Zombie's 2007 and 2009 remakes, and the 2018–2022 trilogy that ignores every sequel and treats the 1978 film as the only prior event. These questions stay on the details that hold true regardless of which timeline your group swears by.
Q1.In what year was John Carpenter's original Halloween released?Tap to reveal
Answer: 1978
Q2.What fictional Illinois town is the Halloween series set in?Tap to reveal
Answer: Haddonfield
Q3.Which actress played Laurie Strode in the 1978 original, in her film debut?Tap to reveal
Answer: Jamie Lee Curtis
Q4.Michael Myers's mask was made from a store-bought mask of which TV character?Tap to reveal
Answer: Captain Kirk from Star Trek
A William Shatner mask, widened at the eyes and painted white
Q5.Who played Dr. Samuel Loomis across the original films?Tap to reveal
Answer: Donald Pleasence
Q6.Which actor wore the mask as "The Shape" in the 1978 film?Tap to reveal
Answer: Nick Castle (Tony Moran played the unmasked face at the end)
Q7.Who co-wrote and produced Halloween alongside John Carpenter?Tap to reveal
Answer: Debra Hill
Q8.Carpenter's Halloween theme is written in what unusual time signature?Tap to reveal
Answer: 5/4 (often counted as 10/8)
Q9.Which entry in the series contains no Michael Myers at all?Tap to reveal
Answer: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
The only entry in which Michael Myers is not a character, though two brief scenes from the 1978 film appear inside a TV commercial in the movie
Q10.The Silver Shamrock jingle in Halloween III is set to the tune of which nursery rhyme?Tap to reveal
Answer: London Bridge Is Falling Down
Slasher Classics: Freddy, Jason and Ghostface
The three franchises that defined the slasher era all built their identity on a single visual, and all three got there differently — Freddy's glove was designed, Jason's hockey mask was a late accident, and Ghostface was a mass-market Halloween mask the production licensed. The first-film details are where most people slip, especially on Friday the 13th, where the killer is not who casual viewers assume.
Q1.Which director made both A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream?Tap to reveal
Answer: Wes Craven
Q2.In what year was A Nightmare on Elm Street released?Tap to reveal
Answer: 1984
Q3.Who played Freddy Krueger in the original film series?Tap to reveal
Answer: Robert Englund
Q4.Which future star made his film debut in A Nightmare on Elm Street?Tap to reveal
Answer: Johnny Depp
Q5.Which studio's success with Elm Street earned it the nickname "The House That Freddy Built"?Tap to reveal
Answer: New Line Cinema
Q6.Who is the killer in the first Friday the 13th (1980)?Tap to reveal
Answer: Pamela Voorhees, Jason's mother
Q7.Which actress played Mrs. Voorhees?Tap to reveal
Answer: Betsy Palmer
Q8.What is the summer camp in Friday the 13th called?Tap to reveal
Answer: Camp Crystal Lake
Q9.In which film does Jason first wear the hockey mask?Tap to reveal
Answer: Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
Q10.Which actress plays the victim in Scream's opening scene?Tap to reveal
Answer: Drew Barrymore, as Casey Becker
Hocus Pocus, Beetlejuice and the Family Halloween Canon
Hocus Pocus underperformed on release — it opened in July 1993, competing with Jurassic Park — and only became a fixture through years of television reruns. Beetlejuice went the other way, a hit that made Michael Keaton a star despite him being on screen for a fraction of the runtime. Both are now unavoidable in October, which makes their casting details fair game for any crowd.
Q1.In what year was Hocus Pocus released?Tap to reveal
Answer: 1993
Q2.What are the first names of the three Sanderson sisters?Tap to reveal
Answer: Winifred, Sarah and Mary
Q3.Which actress played Winifred Sanderson?Tap to reveal
Answer: Bette Midler
Q4.Which actresses played Sarah and Mary Sanderson?Tap to reveal
Answer: Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy
Q5.What object must be lit to resurrect the Sanderson sisters?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Black Flame Candle
Q6.What is the name of the immortal black cat in Hocus Pocus?Tap to reveal
Answer: Thackery Binx
Q7.What Massachusetts city is Hocus Pocus set in?Tap to reveal
Answer: Salem
Q8.Who played Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice?Tap to reveal
Answer: Winona Ryder
Q9.How many times must Beetlejuice's name be said to summon him?Tap to reveal
Answer: Three
Q10.Beetlejuice won a single Academy Award — in which category?Tap to reveal
Answer: Best Makeup
Stop-Motion Halloween: Jack Skellington and Beyond
The most common error in this whole category is the credit on The Nightmare Before Christmas: Tim Burton wrote the original poem, developed the story and produced it, but did not direct. The stop-motion lineage that follows — Corpse Bride, Coraline, and Laika's later films — shares crew and sensibility, and rewards anyone who reads the credits.
Q1.In what year was The Nightmare Before Christmas released?Tap to reveal
Answer: 1993
Q2.Who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas?Tap to reveal
Answer: Henry Selick
Q3.What is Jack Skellington's title in Halloween Town?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Pumpkin King
Q4.Who provides Jack Skellington's speaking voice?Tap to reveal
Answer: Chris Sarandon
Q5.Who provides Jack Skellington's singing voice and composed the score?Tap to reveal
Answer: Danny Elfman
Q6.Which actress voices Sally?Tap to reveal
Answer: Catherine O'Hara
Q7.What is the name of the film's boogeyman villain?Tap to reveal
Answer: Oogie Boogie
Q8.In Corpse Bride (2005), who voices the title character, Emily?Tap to reveal
Answer: Helena Bonham Carter
Q9.Coraline (2009) was which animation studio's first feature film?Tap to reveal
Answer: Laika
Q10.In Coraline, what do the Other World's inhabitants have in place of eyes?Tap to reveal
Answer: Buttons
Hauntings, Possessions and Party Staples
This section spans the films that get put on for atmosphere rather than jump scares — the possession and haunted-house canon, plus the costume-party regulars that half the room can quote. The Exorcist was the first horror film nominated for Best Picture, and Get Out is one of the very few to actually win an Oscar in a major category, which makes both useful tiebreakers.
Q1.In what year was The Exorcist released?Tap to reveal
Answer: 1973
Q2.Which actress played the possessed Regan MacNeil?Tap to reveal
Answer: Linda Blair
Q3.Who provided the demon's voice in The Exorcist?Tap to reveal
Answer: Mercedes McCambridge
Q4.Which film features a young girl announcing "They're here" to a television set?Tap to reveal
Answer: Poltergeist (1982) — the line is Carol Anne's
Q5.What giant creature attacks New York at the end of Ghostbusters (1984)?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
Q6.What is the name of the famous dance number in The Rocky Horror Picture Show?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Time Warp
Q7.Who played Wednesday Addams in the 1991 film The Addams Family?Tap to reveal
Answer: Christina Ricci
Q8.What is the name of the small trick-or-treater who enforces the rules in Trick 'r Treat?Tap to reveal
Answer: Sam
Q9.Get Out won an Academy Award in which category?Tap to reveal
Answer: Best Original Screenplay
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Halloween movies are there?
Thirteen, released between 1978 and 2022. They do not form a single story: the series has been rebooted several times, so Halloween II (1981), Halloween H20 (1998), Rob Zombie's 2007 remake and the 2018 film are all direct sequels to the original in mutually incompatible timelines.
Why is there no Michael Myers in Halloween III?
It was a deliberate attempt to turn Halloween into an anthology series, with a new standalone story each year rather than a recurring killer. Audiences rejected it in 1982, Michael Myers returned in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), and the anthology idea was abandoned. Season of the Witch has since been substantially reappraised.
Is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween film or a Christmas film?
By the checkable facts: it opened in October 1993, its protagonist is the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, and the plot begins the day after Halloween when he wanders into Christmas Town. Which holiday it belongs to is the argument; the release date and setting are not.
How do I run a movie trivia round for a group with mixed horror tolerance?
Split the round into a franchise block, a family block and a modern block, and alternate between them rather than running all the slasher questions together. Mixing an easy anchor question with a production-credit question in each block keeps casual watchers scoring while still separating the top few players by the end.
