50 free The Mortal Instruments trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series follows Clary Fray from a Brooklyn nightclub into the world of Shadowhunters, runes, Downworlders and the Mortal Cup, across six novels that spent over 100 straight weeks on the bestseller list. This Mortal Instruments trivia covers the characters, the plot of every book, the wider Shadowhunter Chronicles, the 2013 City of Bones film and the Shadowhunters TV series. Every answer is sourced, with a short explanation so you learn something even when you miss.
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Q 01What is Cassandra Clare's real name?
Judith Lewis
She was born Judith Rumelt, daughter of business professor Richard Rumelt.
Q 02How many novels make up The Mortal Instruments?
Six
City of Bones opened the series in March 2007 and City of Heavenly Fire closed it in 2014.
Q 03What are the angelic demon-hunters of the series called?
Nephilim
Ordinary humans are "mundanes" or "mundies".
Q 04What is the recurring motto of the Shadowhunter Chronicles?
All the stories are true
It explains why vampires, werewolves, faeries and warlocks all turn up in the books.
Q 05Where is Clary when she first sees Shadowhunters at the start of City of Bones?
The Pandemonium club
She is there with Simon when she witnesses a killing no one else can see.
Q 06What is the Shadowhunters' New York headquarters called?
The Institute
Jace takes Clary there to meet Isabelle, Alec and their tutor Hodge.
Q 07What object does Jace use to prove Clary has Shadowhunter blood?
A stele
Steles draw the runes that give Shadowhunters their powers and leave Nephilim unharmed.
Q 08Which sacred object does Clary's mother hide in City of Bones?
The Mortal Cup
Clary eventually finds it hidden inside one of Madame Dorothea's tarot cards.
Q 09What does Simon turn into after drinking a blue potion at Magnus's party?
A rat
He ignored Isabelle's warning; the episode leads the gang to the vampires' Hotel Dumort.
Q 10Where does Jace take Clary for a midnight picnic on her sixteenth birthday?
The Institute's greenhouse
He kisses her there, before the twist about their parentage derails everything.
Q 11Which demon possesses Madame Dorothea in City of Bones?
Abaddon
It tries to seize the Cup once Clary retrieves it from the tarot card.
Q 12Who betrays the Shadowhunters by handing the Cup and Jace to Valentine?
Hodge
The tutor wants the curse that confines him to the Institute lifted.
Q 13What special ability does Clary have?
Creating new runes
Valentine gave her angel blood in the womb as an experiment.
Q 14Under which false identity did Valentine raise Jace?
Q 21In which country is the Shadowhunter capital Alicante?
Idris
City of Glass moves the action there from New York.
Q 22Which Lightwood sibling is killed by Sebastian in City of Glass?
Max
Max was the youngest of the family.
Q 23Which angel does Valentine try to raise at Lake Lyn?
Raziel
Because Jace's blood was used, the angel kills Valentine and grants Clary's wish to bring Jace back.
Q 24What does Alec do in front of his parents in City of Glass?
Michael Wayland
Valentine had actually killed the real Wayland years earlier.
Q 15Who is Jace's biological father?
Stephen Herondale
He was raised by the Lightwoods at the Institute after Valentine faked his death.
Q 16Who is Jace's parabatai?
Alec Lightwood
Alec believes he is in love with Jace in City of Bones before his relationship with Magnus.
Q 17What weapon does Isabelle Lightwood carry?
A gold electrum whip
Her brother Alec's weapon of choice is the bow and arrow.
Q 18What is Simon transformed into in City of Ashes?
A vampire
He stops ageing and stays physically 16 for the rest of the series.
Q 19What does Simon become after drinking Jace's blood in City of Ashes?
A Daylighter
The term means a vampire who can tolerate sunlight.
Q 20Who is the Inquisitor who has Jace imprisoned in City of Ashes?
Imogen Herondale
Unknown to her at first, she is Jace's grandmother.
Kisses Magnus
It is how he comes out to them.
Q 25What is Magnus Bane's title?
High Warlock of Brooklyn
He is roughly 800 years old but looks 19, and is described as glittery.
Q 26Who is Magnus Bane's demon father?
Asmodeus
His mother was an unnamed Indonesian woman.
Q 27What does Magnus do for Clary every two years on Jocelyn's orders?
Blocks her Sight
The block stops her seeing the Shadow World until it fails at the start of the series.
Q 28How did Luke Garroway become a werewolf?
Valentine led him into a trap
He had been Valentine's parabatai and second-in-command of the Circle.
Q 29What was the Circle?
Valentine's anti-Downworlder faction
Jocelyn joined it when she was young.
Q 30What is Jocelyn's surname Fray a blend of?
Fairchild and Gray
It honours her maiden name and Tessa Gray, heroine of the prequel trilogy.