THE SOUTHWORTH
PLANETARIUM
207-780-4249 www.usm.maine.edu/planet
70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103
43.6667° N
70.2667° W
Founded January 1970
Julian date: 2457691.16
"The
tub had caught all. ha ha!"
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, October 28,
2016
Quiz IX: The
Annual Halloween Quiz!
At the beginning of the DA "school year" we vowed not to post any repeats.* Well, that didn't include our annual "Halloween Quiz." A quirky, thirty question quiz about all things sinister, scary, spooky, creepy, shadowy, seething and supernatural. We would have sent this quiz yesterday, but we were too busy rummaging through our deepest catacombs trying to find the accursed thing. Once we found it concealed under the floorboards where we generally stow the zombie parts, we had to blow away the dust, pick off the cobwebs, negate the residue of black magic with sage treatments and generally disinfect the funk of 40,000 years out of it.
So, here is ancient quiz that we're glad to say is neither mold-stained nor redolent of swamp gas. Be sure not to recite this quiz aloud, lest you summon the dead from their blissful repose. If you do, however, please remind the conjured corpses to vote.
Happy Halloween!
1. William Henry Pratt was the actual name of the famed horror movie actor who used the stage name of _________________
a. Lon Chaney
b. Dick Cheney
c. Boris Karloff
d. Vincent Price
2. The term "Pandemonium" now means a great frenzy of activity.
Originally, it referred to a gathering of reveling___________
a. Minor league ball players
b. bats
c. demons
d. ghosts
e. werewolves
3. In the book "Turn of the Screw," two children were haunted by:
a. librarians
b. other children
c. planetarium staff members
d. servants
e. their parents
4. In the movies, the Bates Motel (featured in "Psycho") was in California. In the novel upon which the movie was based, the Bates Motel was in ___________
a. Maine
b. Texas
c. Wyoming
d. North Dakota
5. Where did the origin of dressing up on Hallowe'en come from?
a. A practical joke that backfired
b. To scare away bad demons
c. To frighten your neighbors
d. Boredom
6. The mythological Count Vlad Dracul was based on a real life prince, Vlad the Impaler. Of what Romanian county was Vlad the beloved but feared ruler?
a. Transylvania
b. Crisana
c. Banat
d. Wallachia
e. Hungary
7. The Baltimore Ravens derived their name from a poem written by one of the city's most famous former residents, Edgar Allan Poe. How else do the Ravens pay homage to one of America's most celebrated horror writers?
a. Poe died at the age of 40 and the team is determined to score only 40 points this season.
b. They have a mascot named "Poe."
c. They've hanged a black cat by the goalposts for good luck
d. They have a play named "Pits and Pendulums"
8. Somebody afflicted with Bogyphobia is mortally afraid of what?
a. The Bogey Man
b. Suave movie actors who wear trench coats and smoke unfilitered cigarettes
c. Golf
d. Waterfalls
9. Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is the irrational fear of ______________
a. long words
b. Jungle safaris
c. the alphabet
d. Disney show tunes
10. What was the name of the principal text once used as a guide by witch hunters?
a. Wytches of Earthe
b. Malleus Maleficarum
c. Dr Phil's book entitled "Hunting Witches guide for all men, even those who owe their fame to one."
d. Plasmacarion
11. Linda Blair portrayed the little girl Regan in "The Exorcist." However, she was not the first choice. Which actress was originally offered, but declined, the part?
a. Shirley Temple
b. Dana Plato, the daughter in "Diff'rent Strokes"
c. Demi Moore
d. Michelle Pfeiffer
12. "Psycho" was the first movie to do what?
a. Show a woman in a bra and slip
b. Use the word "transvestite"
c. Show a toilet being flushed
d. All of the above
e. Only a and c
13. Which is the only horror movie to be nominated for 10 Academy awards?
a. Saw XIV
b. Psycho
c. The Exorcist
d. Jaws
14. Poe's poem "The Raven" was supposed to have taken place in what month?
a. October
b. October
c. October
d. Only a and b
e. December
f. Nobody knows
15. The line "They're coming to get you, Barbara" is from what movie?
a. Funny Girl
b. Yentl
c. Evil Dead
d. Night of the Living Dead
e. Poltergeist
16. In Greco-Roman mythology, a fugitive criminal was often pursued by three grotesque, hair covered snakes called
a. IRS agents
b. Furies
c. Larry, Mo and Curly
d. Harpies
e. Dragwore
17. What was the name of the very first werewolf movie?
a. Silver Bullet
b. The Wolfman
c. Werewolf of London
d. Nosferatu
18. Ancient legend indicates that a person could be transformed into a werewolf by being bitten by a werewolf, or eating the brain of a werewolf (with or without fava beans) or by doing what?
a. Climbing an ash tree
b. Being born on Christmas Eve
c. Being born on the night of a Full Moon
d. Buying the "Lycanthropy for Dummies" book
19. In France between 1520 - 1630, how many people were put on trial on suspicion of being werewolves?
a. There was no such thing as a werewolf trial
b. Only 1 in 1619
c. 156
d. None of the above
20. Vincent Price's last movie was "Edward Scissorhands." His second to last movie. "The Whales of August" is noteworthy because it was
a. shot in Maine
b. only contained 10 severed heads as opposed to the traditional 13
c. had Vincent Price in a non speaking role
d. featured Vincent Price in multiple roles: something that he swore he would never do in a movie
21. What was the other title of Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein?"
a. Bimbos of the Death Sun
b. The Modern Prometheus
c. The Geneva Experiment
d. Victor
22. Shirley Jackson's novel about a haunted house investigated by a paranormal investigator named Dr. John Montague was titlted __________________
a. Capulet Home
b. The Haunting of Hill House
c. One Foot in The Grave
d. Child in the Window Pane
23. How many Best Director Oscars did Alfred Hitchcock win? (No choices)
24. In pre-Christian Celtic tradition, the Halloween season marked a festival called Samhain. What does this word mean?
a) god of the dead
b) time for candy
c) round up the cattle
d) summer's end
25. In medieval Europe, people went from door to door on All Soul's Day (Nov. 2) asking for "soul cakes" (currant buns). What did you get if you gave out soul cakes?
a) prayers for your soul
b) immunity from the plague
c) new shoes
d) freedom from "tricks"
26. In traditional Mexican celebrations of the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), people parade through the streets carrying a coffin. What's in the coffin?
a) candy
b) skulls
c) a live person
d) candles
27. Animal shelter workers notice something special about black cats. What is it?
a) They are easy to find in the snow.
b) They don't require Halloween costumes.
c) They bring good luck to the people who feed them.
d) They are the least likely to be adopted.
28. What creature was believed to have set upon unsuspecting young women as they slept?
a. (Insert the name of your least favourite ex-president here)
b. Maoir
c. Incubus
d. Manor Fly
29. One astronomy question: The Sun appears to be in which constellation on Halloween?
a. Virgo
b. Libra
c. Scorpious
d. Gemini
30. In any given year, Halloween will always fall on the same day of the week as which other holiday?
a. Independence Day
b. St Patrick's Day
c. Christmas
d. New Year's Day
ANSWERS (As this article is long enough already, we're going to go very light on the explanations.)
1. c. Boris Karloff
(Finally, this answer is actually the right one!)
2. c. demons
3. d. servants
(Peter Quint, you devil!)
4. b. Texas
(No, it wasn't in Crawford.)
5. b. To scare away bad demons
(You tell us how well it works.)
6. d. Wallachia
(RAH! Surprise! He was never a ruler in Transylvania.)
7. b. They have a mascot named "Poe."
(You see, my beloved brother lives in Md and subscribes to the DA. Every once in awhile, I feel the need to give him a little poke to determine if he actually reads these silly things.)
8. a. The Bogey Man
9. a. long words
(enough said)
10. b. Malleus Maleficarum
(Roughly translated, it means "The Witch Hammer")
11. b. Dana Plato, the daughter in "Diff'rent Strokes"
12. d. All of the above
13. c. The Exorcist
14. e. December
15. d. Night of the Living Dead
16. b. Furies
17. c. Werewolf of London
18. b. Being born on Christmas Eve
19. d. None of the above
(There were approximately 30,000 werewolf trials during this period of time in France)
20. a. shot in Maine
(On Cliff Island, to be exact. Cliff Island is in Casco Bay and is considered a part of Portland.
The movie was "Whales of August." This movie, though rather quiet, was stuffed to the hull with movie legends, such as Betty Davis and Lillian Gish.)
21. b. The Modern Prometheus
22. b. The Haunting of Hill House
23. 0.
(Hitchcock was nominated six times for a Best Director Oscar, but never won.)
24. d. A persistent legend says the word "Samhain" refers to a Celtic god of the dead, but no, it really just means "summer's end."
A lot less scary, isn't it?
25. a. The recipients of soul cakes offered prayers for the giver's soul.
26. c. A live person is in the coffin, and parade-goers pelt him with candy.
27. They are the least likely to be adopted.If you are considering adding a cat to your household, give an extra look to the black ones at the shelter -- they don't care what color you are!
28. c. Incubus
29. b. Libra
The Sun moves out of Virgo into Libra on October 31st.
30. a. Independence Day
*Sometimes we will take passages from previous DAs and incorporate them into new articles. In our defense, it is easier to steal from past DAs than future ones.