Friday 31 October 2008

Soul Cake Archeology

Which I know sounds a little odd, but apparently, it was an old tradition on November first – children would beg for Soul Cakes, which would, upon being eaten, release a soul from Purgatory and is generally seen as the origin of Trick or Treating, this time of year.

Which is a minor piece of trivia, compared to … this little lot!   As ever, by now, you’ll’ve realised I’m gonna post this weeks Halloween quiz.   Here goes!

ROUND ONE.   I SEE DEAD PEOPLE!



Q1) Hazel Court died this year; – she was the star of “The Raven”, a film based on a poem by which horror writer; – James Herbert, H.P Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, or Stephen King?

A1) Edgar Allen Poe.


Q2) The late Roger Delgado played which villain, in the original version of the tv series, “Doctor Who”; †he Master, Davros, or the Dalek Emperor?

Q2) The Master


Q3) Which Australian rock star was found hanging from a door knob?   (Bonus point for the band he was in)

A3) Michæl Hutchence of InXS


Q4) The late Tony Hall died in 2007.   Which children’s favourite, and Ventriloquist dummy did he operate?

A4) Lenny the Lion


Q5) Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops died this year; – which character did he voice, in  Little Shop Of Horrors”?

A5) Audrey 2, the singing carnivorous alien plant.


Q6) What exactly is pseudocide?

A6) Faking your own death


Q7) Scientist claim this year that they’ve found the grave of which Australian hero?

A7) Ned Kelly



Q8) Mike Smith died at the age of 64, this year; – which sixties band was he the lead  singer of?

A8) The Dave Clark Five


Q9) Which chess champion died this year?

A9) Bobby Fischer


Q10) Albert Hoffman died this year, at the age of 102; – what drug did he invent?

A10) LSD




ROUND TWO.   THE HEMP FANDANGO.



Q11) Old Smoky, Sizzling Sally and Gruesome Gerty, were all nicknames for what?

A11) The electric chair.



Q12) Joseph Ignace Guillotin, inventor of the guillotine, was originally a what; – a doctor, a nurse, or a jailer?

A12) He was a doctor. 


Q13) In which film did Susan Sarandon win an Oscar as a nun who befriends a man on Death Row?   (Bonus for telling the actor who played the killer she was interviewing)

A13) Dead Man Walking.”   (Sean Penn, as Matthew Poncelet)


Q14) Who was the last KNOWN Official Chief Hangman for the United Kingdom?

A14) Albert Pierrepoint.


Q15) Who was known as ‘the Hanging Judge’; – Judge Judy, Judge Jeffreys, or Judge Dredd?

A15) Judge Jeffreys


Q16) In 18th century Britain, how many crimes were punishabble by the death sentance; – 122, 222, or 322?

A16) 222


Q17) In which year of the 60’s was Britain’s last hanging?

A17) 1964.   (It was a 2 for 1; – Peter Allen & Gwynne Evans were hung on 13th August, 1964, for the murder of John West)


Q18) More to the point, in which year of the 1990’s was the last death sentence handed out in the British Isles?

A18) 1994, on the Isle of Mann


Q19) When capital punishment was resumed in the USA, in 1976, who was the first murderer to be executed; – Gary Gilmore, Gary Glitter,or Gary Green?

A19) Gary Gilmore.   Who famously donated his retinas to an organ donor program; – hence the song, “Gary Gilmore Eye’s”, by the Adverts


Q20) In 1920, Private James Daly was the last person executed by the British army for what – mutiny, desertion, or treason?

A20) Mutiny.





ROUND THREE.   SCARY MONSTERS & SUPER BEASTS.



Q21) In Greek myth, Cerberus guards the gates of hell; – who many heads does he have?

A21) Three


Q22) Dartmoor, and Bodmin Moor, are said to be haunted by what; – big cats, black dogs, or both?

A22) Both.


Q23) What ape-like creature is said to live in the Himalayas?

A23) The Yeti.   (Accept Abominable Snowman, but not Bigfoot, that’s the American version)


Q24) What’s the American equivalent called?

A24) Bigfoot; – or Sasquatch, if you’re a native american!


Q25) According to Scottish legend, Saint Andrew was the 1st person to see which monster?

A25) The Loch Ness Monster.


 Q26) Zombies come from which Carribean island?

A26) Haiti.


Q27) Loup Garou is an old French term for what, vampires, werewolves, or ghosts?

A27) Werewolves.


Q28) David Soul starred in the TV version of “Salem’s Lot.”   What type of blood-sucking monsters also appear in it?   (Bonus for naming the writer of the original book.)

A28) Vampires.   (Stephen King)


Q29) In ancient Greek myth, which ferryman was paid to ferry the souls of the dead across the river Styx; – Charon, Teracey, or Arachnë?

A29) Charon.


Q30) Which mythological creature has the wings, & feet of a vulture, and the head & body of a woman; – is it a harpy, a a griffin, or a pegasus?

A30) The Harpy.





ROUND FOUR.   SPOOKY MUSIC



Q31) True or False; – “Ghost Town.” was the 1st Number 1 for The Specials?

A31) False, it was actually the 2nd.   (The 1st was “Too Much, Too Young”)


Q32) The Cranberries song “Zombie” was released in which year of the 1990s?

A32) 1994


Q33) Which of the following is a 1983 New Order song; “Creepy”, “Spooky” or “Scary”?

A33) Spooky


Q34) Amityville: House On The Hill” was sung by which 1986 one-hit-wonder; – VW Hutch, Lovebug Starski, or Mini Metro?

A34) Lovebug Starski


Q35) Which british band released an album called “Ghost in the Machine”?

A35) The Police


Q36) Who covered the Pet Shop Boys “I’m Not Scared” in 1988; _ 8th Wonder, 3rd Degree, or Blue Murder?

A36) Eighth Wonder


Q37) Which group released the album “Dark Side of the Moon”?

A37) Pink Floyd


Q38) Moondance” was a hit for which male singer?

A38) Van Morrison


Q39) Dave Vanian is the lead singer of which punk band?   (Bonus point for naming the bands current guitarist.)

A39) The Damned.   (The oh so happy talking Captain Sensible)


Q40) Alice Cooper famously had hits with “School’s Out”, “Feed My Frankenstein”, and “Prince of Darkness”; - what – as of 2008 – is his current golfing handicap?

A40) 4.





ROUND FIVE.   AT THE SCARY MOVIES.



Q41) Which 2008 Ricky Gervais movie shares its name with a song by the Specials?

A41) Ghost Town


Q42) Marlon Wayans, and Carmen Electra in which scary movie?

A42) Scary Movie


Q43) Jennifer Jason Leigh and Bridget Fonda co-star a film about a woman with an obsessive flatmate – what film?

A43) Single White Female


Q44) What was the surname of the caretaker played by Jack Nicholson in “The Shining”?

A44) Torrance


Q45) Who directed the movie “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”?   (Bonus for telling us the name of his famous nephew)

A45) Francis Ford Coppola.   (Nicholas Cage)


Q46) Founded in 1934 which British movie studio brought Christopher Lee fame?

A46) Hammer [Horror]



Q47) In which year of the 1960’s did silver screen legend Boris Karloff die?

A47) 1969


Q48) Walt Disney ironically suffered from suriphobia. Suriphobia is the fear of which  rodent?

A48) of Mice (from the French “souris”, meaning mouse).


Q49) Lon Chaney Sr, Charles Laughton and Anthony Quinn have all played whom?

A49) Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame 


Q50) In the 1991 “Addams Family” film, what’s the combination to Gomez and Fester’s secret safe?

A50) 2, 10, 11; – eyes, fingers, and toes!





ROUND SIX.   GENERAL KNOWLE IGNORANCE.



Q51) Which spy movie sees its release, on the 31st of october, this year?

A51) Quantum of Solace.”



Q52) Transylvania, the home of Dracula, is in which East European country?

A52) Romania.



Q53) Which Central American country celebrates “The Day of The Dead,” instead of Halloween?

A53) Mexico.


Q54) According to the saying, what exactly is “…nine parts of the law”?

A54) Possession


Q55) Which district of London did Jack the Ripper terrorise?

A55) Whitechapel.


Q56) Which former president is said to haunt the White House?

A56) Abraham Lincoln.


Q57) Which location in Essex became notorious in the 1930s as ‘…the most haunted place in Britain’; – Chelmsford railway station, the Grenardier Guardsman in Colchester, or Borley Rectory, in Borley?

A57) Borley Rectory


Q58) What Halloween fruit is a member of the gourd family?

A58) The Pumpkin.


Q59) What was the name of the Hunchback of Notre Dame?   (Bonus for naming the author of the original novel)

A59) Quasimodo.   (Victor Hugo)


Q60) Which police group are known, in rhyming slang, as the Sweeney Todd?

A60) The Flying Squad.

Oh, and there’s a link o the wikipedia entry on Soul Cakes, by the by.
And if Emma, Jim, Smitty and Trevor are reading this – I know you are, Smitty, DON’T LOOK INNOCENT! – go look up Scary Movie on IMDb!