Quiz: 5 Halloween Myths

By Eric J. Leech

Test Your Halloween Knowledge

According to a poll from CNN, 48 percent of adults believe in ghosts, and 22 percent claim to have either seen or felt the presence of one. In addition, over 50 percent of people believe in the existence of intelligent life outside of earth, and the same percentage is fairly certain aliens regularly visit our planet, abducting people for observation. These are some pretty impressive statistics, considering that only 50 percent of couples believe in their own partner, as some recent divorce studies would indicate. However, we’re not here to talk about the ghouls in our relationships, but rather the ones that exist in myth and imagination. How much do you know about the popular superstition behind Halloween? Let’s find out:

1. Legend has it, the best way to meet a witch is to…

a) Stand in front of a mirror and recite “Bloody Mary” three times

b) Wear your clothes inside out and walk backwards on Halloween night

c) Insert a broom between your legs and prance through a graveyard at the stroke of midnight

d) Call your ex-wife/mother-in-law and ask her to accompany you to dinner.

Answer: B. According to popular myth, wearing your clothes inside out and walking backwards is the best way to come across a witch during Halloween night. That is, of course, unless you happen to run into a tree first. Saying “Bloody Mary” three times will only get you a vengeful spirit, and prancing through a graveyard with a broom between your cheeks will only get you a one-night stay in a padded cell.

2. Spider sightings on Hallows Eve are believed by some to represent…

a) Good luck

b) A good time to call the exterminator

c) The spirit of a deceased loved one checking in on you

d) The devil coming to take you

Answer: C. Spiders on Hallows Eve are believed to be the spirits of loved ones who are returning to watch over and protect us on Halloween. Depending on how well you got along with your relatives, you may or may not want to swat these little critters with a rolled-up newspaper.

3. What are these human traits a sign of, including a unibrow, hairy palms, tattoo, and a long middle finger?

a) A sign that you haven’t had sex in awhile

b) A werewolf

c) An indication your Aunt Matilda could be in town

d) All the above

Answer: B. While I don’t know your Aunt personally, she may or may not meet these specifications. However, to be on the safe side, I’ll stick with the werewolf as the best answer. Back in the days of witch and werewolf hunts people would look for these telltale signs that a person was not as they appeared. Many an Aunt Matilda was burned needlessly at the stake during this stark and superstitious period of time.

4. Who was the “real” Candyman?

a) A slave in the Southeast who ended up being hung for having a relationship with a plantation owner’s daughter

b) A father who fed his own children cyanide tainted candy to receive money from a life policy he’d taken out on them

c) A sugar-pop warehouse worker who was accidentally pulled into a machine, ending up incrementally dispersed over 25,000 pops

d) There is no such individual in any myth or folklore

Answer: B. Ronald Clark O’Bryan (a.k.a. “The Candyman”) of Waco, Texas, added cyanide to the candy of his four children, in expectation of collecting from a large life policy he had taken out on them. He distributed the poison on Hallows Eve, and his son, Timothy O’Bryan, would later die from its ingestion. The Candy Man never received a dime from Timothy’s policy, and he was put to death by lethal injection in March of 1984.

Just for fun:

5. What percent of parents have admitted to stealing treats out of their own kid’s Halloween bag?

a) 10 percent

b) 36 percent

c) 77 percent

d) 90 percent

Answer: D. According to surveys, 90 percent of parents have admitted to taking candy from their own kid without asking. At last, we finally know where all our Tootsie Rolls disappeared to, and why the black licorice and taped penny rolls seemed to increase in number by the day!

Happy Halloween!