158 Fun Facts About Halloween Movies

In "Hocus Pocus" (1993), what brings the Sanderson Sisters back to life?

A virgin lights a black-flame candle: Winifred's gallows curse promises exactly that on a full-moon Halloween, and 300 years later Max Dennison lights it in the sisters' cottage, sure the legend is nonsense.

Which boy does Laurie Strode babysit on Halloween night in the 1978 film?

Tommy Doyle spots Michael from the window and warns Laurie that the boogeyman is outside, but she sees nothing and tells him there is no such thing.

Which animated special has someone skip trick-or-treating to wait all night for a figure who never arrives?

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966): Linus keeps vigil in the pumpkin patch, and Sally, who gave up the candy to sit with him, ends the night shouting that he owes her restitution.

In "The Nightmare Before Christmas," what is Jack Skellington's title in Halloween Town?

Jack Skellington is known as the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town. Despite his prestigious title, he grows bored with the same annual routine and becomes fascinated with Christmas.

What kind of creature is Casper in the 1995 family film?

Casper is a ghost: the friendly spirit haunts Whipstaff Manor in Friendship, Maine, and the 1995 film was the first feature to carry a fully computer-generated character in the lead role.

Which horror film franchise features a killer who wears a ghostface mask and calls victims on the phone?

Scream (1996) introduced Ghostface, an off-the-shelf Fun World mask that Wes Craven adopted for the film; the killers phone their victims to play a deadly horror-movie trivia game.

Who voices Count Dracula in the first three "Hotel Transylvania" films?

Adam Sandler voiced Count Dracula in the first three films but did not return for 2022's Transformania, where Brian Hull took over the part.

Which classic horror film has ghostly twin girls invite a boy to play with them "forever and ever"?

The Shining made twins of the Grady girls: in Stephen King's novel and in the film's own script they are sisters of different ages, but identical twins Lisa and Louise Burns were cast.

In "Beetlejuice," what must you do to summon the title character?

Say his name three times: that is the only way to call up Michael Keaton's Betelgeuse, and a desperate Lydia does it to save the Maitlands, at the price of agreeing to marry him.

Who directed the original "Halloween" (1978)?

John Carpenter directed and co-wrote the film and also composed its piano theme himself, a habit he kept up on most of his later films.

In the "Friday the 13th" franchise, at which location do most of the killings take place?

Camp Crystal Lake reopens in the 1980 film although a boy drowned there in 1957 and two counselors were murdered a year later, which is why a local driver warns its new cook about the place.

What is the name of the doll possessed by a serial killer in the "Child's Play" franchise?

Chucky is a Good Guy doll: shot and dying in a toy store, serial killer Charles Lee Ray chants a voodoo spell that moves his soul into it.

In "Coraline," what does the Other Mother want to sew onto Coraline's face?

Buttons for eyes are the Other Mother's price for staying forever; three ghost children who let her sew theirs on warn Coraline that she is a monster called the Beldam.

Which 1999 horror film popularized the found footage genre and was marketed as real events?

The Blair Witch Project's makers handed out missing-person flyers at Sundance, and for a year its IMDb page listed the three actors as 'missing, presumed dead', all to sell the footage as real.

Which Disney Channel movie has a girl learn her family are witches and follow her grandmother home to a hidden world?

Halloweentown: Marnie's mother wants a mortal life and hides the family's magic, so her grandmother Aggie, played by Debbie Reynolds, visits to start the girl's training before her powers are lost for good.

Where does the horror villain Freddy Krueger attack his teenage victims?

In their dreams: Freddy Krueger kills teenagers while they sleep, and a death in the dream is a death in real life, so Nancy and her friends fight to stay awake.

Which stop-motion film whisks its shy hero down to a colourful, whimsical Land of the Dead?

Corpse Bride: Victor lands there after rehearsing his vows in the woods and slipping the wedding band onto what looks like a root but is the skeletal finger of the murdered Emily.

Which is the third of Randy's rules for surviving a horror movie in Scream (1996)?

Never say "I'll be right back" is Randy Meeks's (Jamie Kennedy) third rule in Scream (1996), after no sex and no drink or drugs, 'because you won't be back.'

In "Monster House" (2006), what turns out to be possessing the house?

The spirit of its owner's late wife: Constance, a freak-show performer Nebbercracker helped escape, fell into the unfinished basement when children harassed her one Halloween, and her rage stayed in the house.

Which 2018 horror film has a family use sign language and sand paths to hide from blind alien hunters?

A Quiet Place was directed by John Krasinski, who stars opposite Emily Blunt; deaf actress Millicent Simmonds plays their deaf daughter, and a deaf mentor taught the cast American Sign Language.

Which Academy Award did Jordan Peele's "Get Out" win at the 2018 ceremony?

Best Original Screenplay went to Jordan Peele, the category's first Black winner, who said on stage that he had stopped writing Get Out about 20 times because he thought it could never be made.

Michael Myers's white mask in "Halloween" (1978) was adapted from what item?

A William Shatner Captain Kirk mask from a Hollywood Boulevard costume shop was the base: the production designer widened the eye holes and spray-painted it a bluish white.

In "The Conjuring" (2013), what real-life paranormal investigators are the main characters based on?

Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, were real paranormal investigators; Lorraine herself advised the production and turns up in a brief cameo.

Which actress played Laurie Strode in the original "Halloween" and reprised the role decades later?

Jamie Lee Curtis made her film debut as Laurie Strode at 19; the co-writer admitted the casting was also great publicity, because Curtis's mother, Janet Leigh, had starred in a horror classic herself.

In "Poltergeist" (1982), what household object does Carol Anne communicate with the ghosts through?

A television: Carol Anne chats to the set while it shows late-night static, and after she vanishes her family can still hear her voice calling out of it.

What is the name of the fictional town where "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" takes place?

Denton gave the stage show its working title, They Came from Denton High, and the 1981 follow-up Shock Treatment puts the whole town under the control of a TV network.

In "Hereditary" (2018), what miniature models does the mother Annie create as part of her art?

Dollhouses and dioramas shaped the whole film: Annie Graham is a miniature artist, so most interiors were built as sets on a soundstage to make the family home look like one of her models.

What does Danny Torrance write in lipstick on a door at the Overlook Hotel?

REDRUM: Danny, chanting the word, writes it on the bathroom door in lipstick, and Wendy sees it in the mirror spelling MURDER just before Jack comes for them.

In "Shaun of the Dead" (2004), what is the pub where Shaun's group holes up against the zombies?

The Winchester is Shaun and Ed's local; the Winchester rifle mounted above its bar turns out to work, settling a long-running argument between the two friends.

Which horror film features a videotape that kills anyone who watches it seven days later?

The Ring (2002) gives journalist Rachel Keller seven days after she watches the tape, and she survives only because she copied it and passed the copy to someone else.

In Evil Dead II, what does Ash fix to the stump of his severed right hand?

A chainsaw: Ash cuts off his own possessed hand with it, then straps it to the stump, in a film that counts Three Stooges slapstick among its inspirations.

In "Get Out," what is the Sunken Place?

The Sunken Place is a paralyzed void reached under hypnosis: Missy Armitage sends Chris there with the sound of a spoon stirring a teacup, and he can only watch while his body stops obeying him.

Which demon, seen as a statue in the opening of "The Exorcist" (1973), possesses young Regan?

Pazuzu is never named aloud in the 1973 film, which shows only his statue; the sequel names him. He reaches Regan through a Ouija board, posing as a friend she calls Captain Howdy.

In "Midsommar" (2019), in which country does the disturbing festival take place?

Sweden's rural Hälsingland is home to the film's Hårga commune and its nine-day midsummer festival, but Ari Aster shot most of it around Budapest, Hungary.

How did Paranormal Activity win its nationwide cinema release in 2009?

Fans voted online to bring it to their city: Paramount took screening requests on the site Eventful and promised a nationwide release at one million demands, a mark passed in October 2009.

Which future star first appeared on film as one of Freddy's victims in "A Nightmare on Elm Street"?

Johnny Depp only went along to keep a friend company at the audition, yet he came away with the part of Glen Lantz, the heroine's doomed boyfriend.

In Hocus Pocus, what is the name of the immortal black cat who was once a boy named Thackery?

Binx was cursed by the Sanderson sisters in 1693 for trying to save his little sister Emily, and spends the next 300 years trying to stop anyone bringing them back.

James Wan made his feature directing debut with the first film of which horror franchise?

Saw (2004) was James Wan's feature directing debut; after failing to get it made in Australia, he and his co-writer filmed one scene as a short and used it to win over Hollywood producers.

In "Scream" (1996), which fictional California town is terrorised by Ghostface?

Woodsboro's high school had to be recast after the Santa Rosa school board voted against letting the crew film there, and the end credits offer the board 'no thanks whatsoever'.

In "Hocus Pocus," what unusual feature sits on the cover of the Sanderson Sisters' spellbook?

A living eye sits on the cover of Winifred's spellbook; as the film ends the eye opens and looks around, hinting that the Sanderson sisters may return.

Who voices Ghostface on the phone throughout the "Scream" films?

Roger L. Jackson has voiced Ghostface's phone calls since the original 1996 Scream; in-story every killer uses the same voice changer, which is why the caller sounds identical from film to film.

In Halloween (1978), Dr. Loomis shares his name with a character from which classic horror film?

Psycho (1960): Loomis is the surname of Marion Crane's boyfriend in Hitchcock's film, played by John Gavin, and Halloween's writers borrowed it for their doctor as a homage.

What did the Halloween (1978) crew reuse from scene to scene?

Fake leaves were raked up and reused because the low-budget film was shot in a California spring, far from the Illinois autumn it shows.

Who wrote the songs and score for "The Nightmare Before Christmas"?

Danny Elfman also sang the part of Jack Skellington, and only after the songs were recorded was Chris Sarandon cast to supply a matching speaking voice.

Which real-life killer inspired Leatherface in "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" (1974)?

Ed Gein, a 1950s Wisconsin killer who made keepsakes from human skin and bone, inspired Leatherface and a few details, but the film's claim to be a true story was marketing: its plot is fiction.

In "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," which planet does Dr. Frank-N-Furter come from?

Transsexual, in the galaxy of Transylvania, is where his servants choose to return: they declare Frank's mission a failure, kill him and fly the whole castle back there.

Which actor played both Pennywise in "It" (2017) and Count Orlok in "Nosferatu" (2024)?

Bill Skarsgard refused digital voice effects for Count Orlok and instead trained with an Icelandic opera singer to push his voice lower.

What was the working title of "Scream" (1996) until late in production?

Scary Movie was the title until late in production, when Bob Weinstein worried audiences would expect a comedy; four years later the discarded name went to a spoof of the film itself.

Which horror film was the first to receive a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards?

The Exorcist (1973) earned ten nominations and won two, with William Peter Blatty taking Best Adapted Screenplay for reworking his own novel, while Best Picture went to The Sting.

How is the masked adult Michael Myers billed in the closing credits of "Halloween" (1978)?

The Shape is the only name the end credits give the masked killer; Nick Castle, who played him for $25 a day, went on to direct family films such as Dennis the Menace.

Who directed "The Exorcist" (1973)?

William Friedkin got the job because novelist William Peter Blatty insisted on him, having admired The French Connection, even though the studio had already hired another director.

In which fictional Illinois town is the original "Halloween" (1978) set?

Haddonfield, Illinois takes its name from Haddonfield, New Jersey, where the film's co-writer grew up, and its Midwestern streets were really filmed in South Pasadena, California.

Who plays Dr. Sam Loomis, the psychiatrist hunting Michael, in Halloween (1978)?

Donald Pleasence took the part only after Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee turned it down; Lee later called saying no the biggest mistake of his career.

Who wrote and directed the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street"?

Wes Craven named his villain after a boy who had bullied him at school, and the film's success turned its small distributor, New Line Cinema, into 'the house that Freddy built'.

What is Freddy Krueger's signature weapon in "A Nightmare on Elm Street"?

A bladed glove: in the story Krueger built it himself, welding the blades onto a brown leather glove that he wears on his right hand.

Which horror movie character is famously recognized by his hockey mask?

Jason Voorhees only gets the hockey mask in Friday the 13th Part III, when he takes it from a prankster named Shelly; in the film before, he hides his face under a sack.

Who is revealed as the killer in the original Friday the 13th (1980), before Jason takes over?

Jason's mother, Pamela Voorhees, the camp's former cook played by Betsy Palmer, blames the counselors for her son's drowning; Jason himself only becomes the killer in Part 2.

Who plays Sidney Prescott, the 'final girl' hunted by the killer across the Scream films?

Neve Campbell has played Sidney Prescott in six of the first seven Scream films; she sat out Scream VI (2023) over a pay dispute and returned to lead Scream 7 in 2026.

Which producer co-wrote the original Halloween with its director?

Debra Hill, a former babysitter herself, wrote most of the teenage girls' dialogue, while the director drafted Dr. Loomis's speeches about evil.

Halloween II (1981) picks up the same night and follows Laurie to which setting?

A hospital: Michael tracks Laurie to the local ward, where the sequel reveals she is his sister, a twist the 2018 film threw out along with every other sequel.

Which subtitle belongs to Halloween III (1982), the entry about deadly Silver Shamrock masks?

Season of the Witch: Halloween III (1982) drops the slasher formula for a story about a mask-maker's plot to kill children on Halloween night; the producers had hoped to turn the series into an anthology.

Who directed Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends?

David Gordon Green directed the 2018-2022 trilogy (Halloween, Halloween Kills, Halloween Ends), co-writing each with Danny McBride; the 2018 film ignores every earlier sequel to the original.

What costume is six-year-old Michael wearing when he kills his sister at the start of Halloween (1978)?

A clown costume: the murder is seen through the eyeholes of its mask, and viewers find out who was behind it only when his father pulls it off outside the house.

Which sanitarium held Michael Myers in Rob Zombie's 2007 remake?

Smith's Grove Sanitarium holds Michael from boyhood in Rob Zombie's version, which doubles as an origin story and shows his years there; the 1978 film skips the same stay in a single cut.

Who directed Hocus Pocus (1993) and later the High School Musical films?

Kenny Ortega came to directing as a choreographer on films such as Dirty Dancing; Disney opened his witch comedy in July, not October, partly, its makers say, to catch children out of school.

Who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas for producer Tim Burton?

Henry Selick directed it: Burton was tied up making Batman Returns, so he produced the film, which grew out of a poem he had written, and left the stop-motion shoot to Selick.

Who voices Sally, the rag doll who loves Jack, in The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Catherine O'Hara voices Sally and also Shock, one of the three trick-or-treaters sent to kidnap Santa Claus, so she plays both the heroine and one of the film's little villains.

Whose music features prominently in Beetlejuice (1988)?

Harry Belafonte's calypso hits 'Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)' and 'Jump in the Line' feature in Beetlejuice (1988), the former in the possessed dinner-party scene.

Dan Aykroyd originally conceived Ghostbusters to star himself and whom?

John Belushi: Dan Aykroyd wrote the original Ghostbusters concept for himself and his Blues Brothers partner, but Belushi died in March 1982 and Bill Murray took the role of Peter Venkman.

The Addams Family (1991) was the directorial debut of which former cinematographer?

Barry Sonnenfeld, who had shot Blood Simple, Raising Arizona and Misery as a cinematographer, got his first directing job on The Addams Family (1991) after Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam turned it down.

In the Disney Channel film Twitches, which real-life twins play the witch sisters?

Tia and Tamera Mowry, the twins from the sitcom Sister, Sister, play witches separated as babies and reunited on their 21st birthday; a sequel, Twitches Too, followed in 2007.

Practical Magic is based on a 1995 novel by whom?

Alice Hoffman's 1995 novel Practical Magic became the 1998 film with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as the Owens sisters; Hoffman later wrote the prequels The Rules of Magic and Magic Lessons.

The Witches (1990) was the last project of which puppeteer before his death?

Jim Henson executive-produced The Witches, his last film project, and his Creature Shop built the witches' prosthetics; Roald Dahl called the result 'utterly appalling' for changing his book's ending.

Which real killer's crimes inspired Kevin Williamson to write Scream?

The Gainesville Ripper: a TV documentary on Danny Rolling's 1990 murders of five Florida students left Kevin Williamson so unsettled while house-sitting that he began the script that became Scream.

Which future star appears among Friday the 13th's 1980 camp counsellors?

Kevin Bacon plays counsellor Jack, killed by an arrow through the throat; director Sean S. Cunningham had advertised the title in Variety before the script was even finished.

Which actor plays the motel owner Norman Bates in Hitchcock's Psycho (1960)?

Anthony Perkins was cast against type as the shy motel keeper; the part boosted his career, then left him typecast, and he returned as Norman in three sequels.

In which country was The Shining, set in Colorado, almost entirely filmed?

England: the haunted hotel's interiors and even its facade were built at Elstree Studios, while the real Timberline Lodge in Oregon appears only in a few establishing shots.

Who wrote the 1959 novel that Hitchcock's Psycho was based on?

Robert Bloch's 1959 novel Psycho, set at the Bates Motel, was adapted by screenwriter Joseph Stefano for Hitchcock's 1960 film; Bloch later wrote two sequel novels of his own.

Which star plays Casey Becker, who answers the phone in Scream's opening scene?

Drew Barrymore was lined up for the lead but asked for the smaller part of Casey instead, so one of the film's biggest names is killed off in the opening scene.

Which actor first played Leatherface, in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)?

Gunnar Hansen, an Icelandic-born University of Texas graduate, auditioned on hearing the film was shooting in Austin and won the part; Bill Johnson took over for the 1986 sequel.

What are the monsters actually called in Night of the Living Dead?

Ghouls: the word 'zombie' is never spoken in Night of the Living Dead (1968); newscasters and characters call the flesh-eaters 'ghouls', yet Romero's film defined the modern zombie anyway.

Dawn of the Dead (1978) was co-produced with which country, home of its co-financier Dario Argento?

Italy: Dario Argento helped finance Dawn of the Dead (1978) and supervised the European cut, scored by Goblin, in exchange for foreign distribution rights; Richard P. Rubinstein produced the American side.

Why didn't Spielberg direct Poltergeist (1982) himself?

His E.T. contract forbade it: a clause in Spielberg's Universal deal barred him from directing another film while preparing E.T., so he co-wrote and produced Poltergeist and hired Tobe Hooper to direct.

Who directed Carrie (1976)?

Brian De Palma was set on another actress until Sissy Spacek came to her screen test with Vaseline in her hair, wearing an old sailor dress, and won the lead.

In The Omen (1976), what is young Damien Thorn revealed to be?

The Antichrist: Gregory Peck's ambassador, Robert Thorn, secretly takes the baby in place of his own child, who died shortly after birth, and later finds a birthmark of three sixes on Damien's scalp.

Who directed Child's Play (1988)?

Tom Holland, fresh from Fright Night (1985), directed Child's Play (1988); Don Mancini's script was first called Batteries Not Included, then Blood Buddy, because another film had already taken the name.

Which director's 1990 miniseries preceded the 2017 film It?

Tommy Lee Wallace directed the two-part 1990 ABC miniseries It, with Tim Curry as Pennywise; Andy Muschietti directed the 2017 film.

How much did Paranormal Activity cost to shoot?

$15,000: Oren Peli shot Paranormal Activity in a San Diego house in a single week in 2006, writing, directing, shooting and editing it himself; it went on to gross more than $190 million.

What are the doppelgängers called in Jordan Peele's Us?

The Tethered are doubles created in a failed experiment to control the people above, then abandoned in tunnels; Lupita Nyong'o plays both Adelaide and her double, Red.

Which company released the horror hits The Witch, Hereditary and Midsommar?

A24 released all three in the US; the company takes its name from the Italian motorway its co-founder Daniel Katz was driving on when he decided to start it.

Which real family's Rhode Island farmhouse haunting is depicted in The Conjuring (2013)?

The Perrons: Roger and Carolyn Perron moved into the Harrisville farmhouse with their five daughters; after the film, the house's later owners sued the studio over trespassing fans.

The film Annabelle uses a porcelain doll, but what kind of toy is the real 'haunted' Annabelle?

A Raggedy Ann doll: the real Annabelle is a rag doll, but the films swapped in a disfigured porcelain one, partly over trademark worries and partly to make her look more menacing.

Which co-writer of Saw (2004) also stars in it?

Leigh Whannell co-wrote Saw and plays Adam, the photographer chained in the bathroom; to sell the script he first shot one scene as a short, playing the man in the reverse bear trap himself.

Who directed the 2002 American remake The Ring?

Gore Verbinski directed The Ring (2002), remaking Hideo Nakata's Ringu; its success set off a wave of Hollywood remakes of Japanese hits, among them The Grudge and Dark Water.

What is the name of the pyjama-clad trick-or-treating demon in Trick 'r Treat?

Sam, a masked demon in orange footie pyjamas, turns up in each of the film's four stories whenever someone breaks a Halloween tradition.

Which young actress plays the possessed Regan in The Exorcist (1973)?

Linda Blair won a Golden Globe for the role; when rumours spread that the shoot had caused her a breakdown, the studio sent her on a press tour to show she was fine.

Which Liverpool-born horror author wrote 'The Forbidden', the story behind Candyman (1992)?

Clive Barker set 'The Forbidden' in his native Liverpool; director Bernard Rose moved it to Chicago's Cabrini-Green housing project and turned a tale about class into one about race.

Which two writers' 1924 stage play was the basis of Dracula (1931)?

Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston: Deane's 1924 British stage adaptation, revised by Balderston for Broadway in 1927, gave Universal's 1931 Dracula its plot and its star, Bela Lugosi.

What is the name of the ancient priest Boris Karloff plays in The Mummy (1932)?

Imhotep: Boris Karloff's revived high priest in The Mummy (1932), directed by Karl Freund, poses in modern Cairo as the Egyptian Ardath Bey while seeking his reincarnated love.

Who directed the 2024 remake of Nosferatu?

Robert Eggers first adapted Nosferatu as a high-school play, and that teenage production set him on the road to filmmaking; decades later he wrote and directed the 2024 film.

Who made his directing debut with The Cabin in the Woods, co-written with producer Joss Whedon?

Drew Goddard had written for Buffy the Vampire Slayer under Whedon before directing this; shot in 2009, the film then sat on the shelf for years while its studio, MGM, ran into financial trouble.

Who directed Scary Movie (2000)?

Keenen Ivory Wayans directed his brothers Shawn and Marlon in Scary Movie (2000); the studio had bought two rival spoof scripts, and the Writers Guild credited both teams, to the Wayanses' fury.

Shaun of the Dead began a film trilogy named after which ice cream?

Cornetto: a strawberry one appears in Shaun of the Dead as a hangover cure; after free ice creams turned up at the film's after-party, Wright and Pegg slipped another flavour into each later film.

Zombieland's survivors are named after what?

US cities: Zombieland's survivors go by their hometowns, Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita and Little Rock, to avoid getting attached; Woody Harrelson plays Tallahassee and Jesse Eisenberg plays Columbus.

Whose 2002 novella did Coraline (2009) adapt?

Neil Gaiman began Coraline in 1990 for his young daughter Holly and published it twelve years later, having finished it for her little sister Maddy before she outgrew it too.

Which two actors voice Victor and Emily in Corpse Bride?

Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter voice Victor and Emily; Corpse Bride was made at the same time as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which both actors were also shooting for the same director.

In Frankenweenie, what does young Victor Frankenstein bring back from the dead?

His dog, Sparky: Burton first told the story in a 1984 live-action short, after which Disney fired him for wasting its resources; 28 years later the same studio released his feature-length remake.

Which Rick and Morty co-creator co-wrote Monster House (2006)?

Dan Harmon co-wrote Monster House with Rob Schrab years before Community and Rick and Morty made his name, and the film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.

Which studio is behind the Hotel Transylvania films?

Sony Pictures Animation made all four films but sold the fourth, Transformania, to Amazon's streaming service after the pandemic cancelled its cinema release.

Who plays a fictionalised R. L. Stine in Goosebumps (2015)?

Jack Black plays a fictionalised R. L. Stine in Goosebumps (2015), while the real Stine turns up in a cameo as a drama teacher called Mr. Black.

Which two actors led the 2023 Haunted Mansion film?

LaKeith Stanfield and Rosario Dawson star as a tour guide and the widowed mother who seeks his help; the reboot had been announced back in 2010 as a Guillermo del Toro project, which he later left.

Which two rock stars appear in the 1986 film Trick or Treat?

Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne both cameo in Trick or Treat (1986): Simmons as a radio DJ and Osbourne, so often attacked by preachers himself, as a televangelist railing against heavy metal.

Which jazz pianist composed the music for It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown?

Vince Guaraldi got the Peanuts job after producer Lee Mendelson heard his hit 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind' on the radio while driving across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Who played the monster in Young Frankenstein?

Peter Boyle plays the Monster and met his wife on the set: she was reporting for Rolling Stone, and he asked her out while still in his creature make-up.

Which supporting role does Richard O'Brien play in The Rocky Horror Picture Show?

Riff Raff, the creepy butler, is played by Richard O'Brien, who wrote the original stage musical between acting jobs and co-wrote the film's screenplay.

Who plays Cole Sear, the boy who sees dead people, in The Sixth Sense (1999)?

Haley Joel Osment nearly missed the part: the director thought his taped audition too cherubic, then said after meeting him that he might not make the film without him; the role brought an Oscar nomination.

Which actor plays true-crime writer Ellison Oswalt in Sinister (2012)?

Ethan Hawke plays Ellison Oswalt, the true-crime author who finds a box of murderous Super 8 reels in Sinister (2012), directed by Scott Derrickson; the pagan deity behind them is Bughuul.

Which actress made her feature debut in The Witch (2015)?

Anya Taylor-Joy made her feature debut as Thomasin, the Puritan daughter accused of witchcraft; as a teenager she had been scouted as a model while walking her dog outside Harrods.

Which actress plays Gemma, the roboticist who builds the doll in M3GAN (2022)?

Allison Williams plays Gemma and helped produce the film; a clip of M3GAN dancing went viral before release, and reshoots toned down the violence to win a PG-13 rating.

In Jordan Peele's Nope, which animals do the Haywood siblings train for film and TV shoots?

Horses: the Haywoods run a Hollywood horse ranch and claim descent from the unnamed Black jockey in Eadweard Muybridge's galloping-horse photographs, a forerunner of the movies.

Which actress plays TV reporter Gale Weathers in the Scream films?

Courteney Cox plays ambitious TV reporter Gale Weathers, introduced in Scream (1996); she met David Arquette, who plays Deputy Dewey Riley, on that film, and they married in 1999.

Art the Clown is the silent killer in which low-budget 2016 slasher film?

Terrifier: Damien Leone created Art for short films and the anthology All Hallows' Eve before the 2016 feature; its sequel drew reports of viewers fainting and vomiting in cinemas.

Who directed the 2012 animated comedy Hotel Transylvania, his first feature?

Genndy Tartakovsky, creator of Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack, was the sixth director attached to the long-delayed project; he rebuilt it around the elastic physics of 2D cartoons.

ParaNorman was the first stop-motion film to use which technology to make its characters' faces?

A colour 3D printer: Laika had first 3D-printed faces for Coraline; printing them in full colour for ParaNorman turned out the thousands of replacement faces its puppets needed.

Who plays Winston Zeddemore, the fourth team member, in Ghostbusters (1984)?

Ernie Hudson signed on for a bigger part, then got a new script the night before shooting with Winston's role cut back; Aykroyd has said he wrote it for Eddie Murphy, which the director denies.

Who sang the chart-topping theme song to Ghostbusters (1984)?

Ray Parker Jr. wrote it in a few days; Huey Lewis, who had been asked first, then sued, claiming it copied his hit 'I Want a New Drug', and the case was settled out of court.

In The Craft (1996), what is the name of the deity the four teenage witches worship?

Manon is the deity the four girls invoke in The Craft (1996); the production hired a practising Wiccan, Pat Devin, to write its chants and keep the rituals respectful.

Which Addams Family (1991) star earned a Golden Globe nomination for playing Morticia?

Anjelica Huston earned a Golden Globe nomination as Morticia, but the look hurt: straps that pulled her eyes upward gave her headaches unless she took them off at lunchtime.

Hocus Pocus (1993), now a Halloween favourite, first opened in American cinemas in which month?

July was Disney's choice, so that children would be off school for the summer. The film opened behind Jurassic Park and only became a Halloween cult classic in later years.

The giant Stay Puft mascot that stomps through New York in Ghostbusters is made of which sweet?

Marshmallow gives the monster his cute but creepy smile. He is first glimpsed as a logo on a bag in Dana Barrett's apartment, long before Gozer takes his form.

Which member of the Addams Family household is a disembodied hand that runs about on its fingertips?

Thing was usually a right hand in the 1960s TV series, but the actor sometimes played him as a left just to see if anyone would notice.

Which pop star voices Mavis, Dracula's teenage daughter, in the Hotel Transylvania films?

Selena Gomez was a late replacement. Miley Cyrus had been announced for the part in November 2011 and was removed from the film three months later.

Which action star plays child psychologist Malcolm Crowe in The Sixth Sense (1999)?

Bruce Willis took the part as part of a deal to compensate the studio after his film Broadway Brawler collapsed the year before.

Which actor's first film role was Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)?

Tim Curry had already played the role on stage, like most of the cast, who came from the original London production.

Which director filmed Young Frankenstein in black and white with lab props from Frankenstein (1931)?

Mel Brooks took the film to 20th Century-Fox after Columbia was unhappy about black and white. The lab equipment was Kenneth Strickfaden's own, built for the 1931 Frankenstein.

The Witches (1990), in which a boy is turned into a mouse, is based on a book by which author?

Roald Dahl disliked the film's changed ending. An early cut that kept his original final scene had moved him to tears.

Which actress plays Kat Harvey, the teenager who moves into Whipstaff Manor in Casper (1995)?

Christina Ricci shared top billing with a computer creation: this was the first feature film to have a fully CGI character in the lead role.

Which snack cake does Woody Harrelson's character spend most of Zombieland (2009) searching for?

Twinkies do run out, whatever the legend says. Far from lasting for ever, the cakes have a shelf life measured in weeks.

Which actress earned an Oscar nomination as the bullied title character of Carrie (1976)?

Sissy Spacek was persuaded to audition by her husband, Jack Fisk, who was the film's art director. She read for every part before landing the lead.

Which actor played Freddy Krueger in eight films in a row, starting with A Nightmare on Elm Street?

Robert Englund had usually been cast as a nerd or a redneck, and was known as the resistance fighter Willie in the miniseries V, so the role went against type.

An American Werewolf in London (1981) won the first Academy Award ever presented in which category?

Best Makeup was created after complaints that The Elephant Man had gone unrewarded a year earlier. Rick Baker took the first statuette for his werewolf transformation.

In which fictional Maine town does Pennywise the clown prey on the Losers' Club in It (2017)?

Derry has suffered unexplained tragedies and child disappearances for centuries, because the creature wakes from hibernation every 27 years to feed.

Which New York constable investigates a string of beheadings in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999)?

Ichabod Crane is a Connecticut schoolmaster in Washington Irving's story. The screenwriters turned him into a banished city detective.

Which 1997 Halloween comedy does Disney count as the first Disney Channel Original Movie?

Under Wraps stars Bill Fagerbakke, the voice of Patrick Star in SpongeBob SquarePants, and the channel remade it in 2021.

Which actress played both Mary Shelley and the monster's mate in Bride of Frankenstein (1935)?

Elsa Lanchester modelled the Bride's hissing on swans. Her towering hairstyle, based on Nefertiti, was waved over a wire frame.

What is the vampire called in Nosferatu (1922), an unlicensed Dracula with the names changed?

Count Orlok did not fool Bram Stoker's widow, Florence. She sued over the copyright, and a court ordered every copy of the film destroyed.

In Frankenstein (1931), what does Henry Frankenstein cry as his creature's hand begins to move?

"It's alive!" led straight into a line that censors in several states cut as blasphemous: Henry saying he now knew what it felt like to be God.

In Ghostbusters, what does Egon Spengler warn the team never to cross when firing proton packs?

The streams must never meet, Egon says, or every molecule in your body explodes at the speed of light. At the climax he tells the team to cross them on purpose.

Which two-word line from Carol Anne Freeling in Poltergeist (1982) doubled as the poster tagline?

"They're here" was delivered by Heather O'Rourke, whom producer Steven Spielberg had spotted at the age of five, eating lunch in the MGM commissary.

Which actor ad-libbed "Here's Johnny!" while breaking through a door in a 1980 Stanley Kubrick film?

Jack Nicholson borrowed the line from Ed McMahon's signature introduction of Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show.

Which Addams Family (1991) character says of her Halloween costume, "I'm a homicidal maniac"?

Wednesday is wearing her everyday clothes in the film's closing scene, and explains that such people look just like everyone else.

In The Nightmare Before Christmas, which mistaken name does Jack Skellington give Santa Claus?

Sandy Claws is what all of Halloween Town ends up calling him. When they finally meet, Jack is surprised to find he has hands and no claws at all.

Which vampire catchphrase does Dracula in Hotel Transylvania insist he has never said in his life?

"Bleh, bleh-bleh" follows him everywhere, even from his daughter Mavis when she imitates him. His usual reply is that he does not know where it comes from.

Which Beetlejuice character, played by Winona Ryder, declares "I, myself, am strange and unusual"?

Lydia Deetz has just read in the Handbook for the Recently Deceased that live people ignore the strange and unusual, which is her reason why only she can see the dead couple.

In Hocus Pocus, what does Max say he knows about, unlike the witches, as he fakes an early sunrise?

Daylight Savings Time is Max's taunt as he and Allison trick the witches into believing the sun has risen an hour early. Mary Sanderson repeats the phrase back at him mockingly.

Which actor's Count calls howling wolves the "children of the night" in Dracula (1931)?

Bela Lugosi had already played the Count on Broadway, and his performance became the archetype for the screen vampires that followed.

Which future Batman star plays the mischievous title character in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988)?

Michael Keaton was suggested by producer David Geffen after Dudley Moore and Sam Kinison had been considered for the part.

Which director made Night of the Living Dead (1968) after shooting TV commercials in Pittsburgh?

George A. Romero had also made segments for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood before finishing his first horror film on a budget of roughly $100,000.