FTV: More Halloween Fun
It has been a while since we did a quiz to shake up the old grey matter, and thanks to our friends at AARP magazine, we have another fun one to share. We tacked on a few questions with local appeal and (as we have done in the past), the answers begin near the middle of this article. As always, we expect you to do the right thing and not cheat (and no, I didn’t get them all right when I took it):
Question 1) Which Saturday Night Live Character’s popularity earned him an animated Halloween special in 2017? a) Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer b) Gumby c) Ed Grimley
- d) David S. Pumpkin 2) Who performed the 1962 single ‘Monster Mash’? a) The Zombies b) The Trashman c) ? and the Mysterians d) Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers #3) Which of these is not a real place? a) Halloweentown, Oregon b) Pumpkin Center, Indiana c) Frankenstein, Missouri d) Tombstone, Arizona #4 Which of these films was not directed by Tim Burton? a) Frankenweenie b) Beetlejuice c) Coraline d) Edward Scissorhands #5 Pumpkins are not vegetables, but botanically speaking, which type of fruit are they? a) Berry b) Legume c) Drupe d) Citrus #6 Name the masked menace in the Halloween horror franchise a) Ghostface b) Jason Voorhees c) Michael Myers d) Freddy Krueger #7 The epic video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller video was directed by the filmmaker who also helmed which epic movie? a) Star Wars b) The Blues Brothers c) Night of the Living Dead d) The Shining
#8 Which stage production is based on the infamous Salem witch trials? a) Wicked b) Long Day’s Journey Into Night 3) The Crucible 4) Les Miserables #9 Which 1932 film is regarded as the first feature-length zombie movie? a) I Walked With A Zombie b) White Zombie c) Island of Lost Souls d) Carnival of Souls #10 According to a 2021 survey, what percentage of Americans say they believe in ghosts? a) 21 percent b) 41 percent c) 61 percent d) 81 percent #11 What was the original name of Candy Corn? a) Scary Corn b) Sweet Corn c) Chicken Feed d) Bits of Terror #12 What Frank Sinatra song served as inspiration for the name Scooby-Doo? a) Something Stupid b) That’s Life c) Witchcraft d) Strangers in the Night #13 What’s the name of the hot-dog-eating green ghost who attacked Bill Murray in Ghostbusters? a) Green Goblin b) Specter c) Gobbler d) Slimer #14 What is the name of the disembodied hand on The Addams Family? a) Nobody b) Thing c) Rollie Fingers d) Mr. Hand
#15 In 2025, this organization will celebrate 75 years of its trick-or-treat donation program, which has raised nearly $200 million for humanitarian aid: a) United Way b) UNICEF c) The Salvation Army d) Girl Scouts #16 The key symbol of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a female skeleton in a fancy hat who goes by what name? a) Marigold b) La Catrina c) La Danza d) Mariposa #17 Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and Edith Piaf are among the famous residents in this most-visited cemetery in the world a) Pere Lachaise Cemetery (Paris) b) Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Los Angeles) c) Highgate Cemetery (London) d) St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 (New Orleans) #18 Which of these is not the name of a bone in the human body? a) Radius b) Humerus c) Sirius d) Coccyx
This is as far as the AARP quiz takes us. I thought we have enough spooky holiday stuff in our neck of the woods so let us see what other spooky things we can use to tickle your Halloween memories: #19 The JH Student Council revived an old tradition and began a 40 year run of hosting Halloween Carnivals in 1979. What was the name of the group who ran the Halloween Carnival for many years before the JHSC revived the tradition? a) The Girl’s Athletic Association (GAA) b) The Future Farmers of America (FFA) c) the ROTC d) the Golden Key Club #20 Dana Brookins had her Drama Club members set up a haunted woods trail west of the OASD building based on what movie? a) Nightmare on Elm Street b) Pacific Rim c) Blair Witch Project d) King Kong #21 – The newest Halloween fun thing to do in Ontonagon is the . . . a) Haunted boat ride b) Blindfolded Trick-or-Treating c) A Haunted Courthouse d) The Haunted Theater #22 For a couple of Halloween celebrations, the Ontonagon County Historical Society ran a haunted tour at which cemetery? a) Maple Grove b) Evergreen c) Riverside d) Methodist Rose #23 One of the scariest parts of the Historical Society’s haunted lighthouse tour was the reanimation of the corpse hanging outside the lighthouse Tower. Who played this character? a) Bruce Johanson b) Sophie Johnson, c) Greg Nelson d) Dave Bishop #24 The night of mischief before Halloween that used to take place in Ontonagon many years ago was called … a) Trickster Night b) Wolf Night c) Fire Night d) Fox Night (and finally) #25 Which of these people never performed as the all seeing, all knowing Swami at the JH Halloween Carnival? a) David Morin b) Bruce Johanson c) Jim Waters d) Linda Johanson
Answers: #1 d) David S. Pumpkin (as played by Tom Hanks in an SNL skit) #2 d) Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers (current touring member of Paul McCartney’s band, Brian Ray, played in Pickett’s touring band as a teen) #3 a) Halloweentown, Oregon (there really is a Frankenstein, Missouri? Probably has nothing over on Hell, Michigan) #4 c) Coraline #5 a) Berry #6 c) Michael Myers #7 b) The Blues Brothers #8 c) The Crucible (and a nod here to the Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror VIII episode from October 26, 1997 when Marge is accused of witchcraft in 1649 Springfield) #9 b) White Zombie #10 b) 41 percent (although you could think it was a higher number with all the ghost hunter type shows streaming and playing on the old TV) #11 c) Chicken Feed #12 d) Strangers in the Night #13 d) Slimer (who also appeared in the most recent GB movies but did not get to slime Bill again) #14 b) Thing (but No Body would have been cute – Rollie Fingers? Oh, Please . . . Mr. Hand sounds too much like ‘Handyman’) #15 b) UNICEF (but Ghoul Scouts would have been cool also….oh, sorry, Girl Scouts – my bad) #16 b) La Catrina #17 Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris (the grave of Morrison is easily located due to still rabid fans spray painting arrows and directions on other tombs. Is there a more haunted place for a cemetery than New Orleans? …but that was never in the running for Morrison et al) #18 c) Sirius (which is actually the name of one of the five brightest stars in the northern hemisphere. If it was the ‘You can’t be serious’ bone, it would have had to come from John McEnroe (tennis fans will get this one)) Our add-ons with more of a local favor: #19 a) GAA #20 c) Blair Witch Project #21 d) The Haunted Theater #22 b) Evergreen Cemetery #23 c) Greg Nelson #24 d) Fox Night #25 a) David Morin
What is lost in all the Halloween fun are the ancient origins of this holiday. It has gone by many names (Hallowe’en, Allhalloween, All Hallow’s Eve, or All Saint’s Eve) before it became simply Halloween. Most accounts place its origins in the Celtic harvest festivals or the Gaelic festival of Samhain which traces their roots back to pagan days. Some say that it has always been a Christian holiday, that being the vigil of All Hallow’s (or Saints) Day. The one thing that most scholars do agree on is that the whole Halloween concept was carried to these shores by the immigrants who came to America.
America took these old traditions and gave them a different spin. Many places on the other side of the pond practiced ‘souling’ where soul cakes were given out to petitioners in exchange for their prayers for the departed. It is very likely that this practice eventually morphed into something more familiar to us in modern times – trick-or-treating. How about the carving of jack-o’-lanterns to use as decorations? This was also an old world tradition but with a couple of differences. First of all, the European carving utilized a different medium – turnips. The Irish myth about Stingy Jack gave rise to people carving demonic faces out of turnips to scare away Jack’s wandering soul. Jack was said to have tricked the devil for his own gain and when he died, God would not let him into heaven and the Devil barred him from hell. He was condemned to wander the earth for eternity. The ghoulish faces carved into the turnips were done to keep him away on All Hallow’s Eve. When they arrived in North America, the Irish continued the tradition only they began using the native gourds which, of course, were pumpkins.
The association between pumpkins and Halloween again ties into the festival of Samhain. It was believed that the souls of those who died that year traveled to the otherworld but would return to visit their own homes. When the church moved All Saints’ Day to November 1, All Hallows’ Eve fell on October 31. Samhain traditions like wearing disguises to hide oneself from the wandering souls is one of them. The American habit of carving pumpkins to resemble a face illuminated by a candle within originated in the British Isles. In the true sense of America’s ‘bigger is better’ ambitions, contests now are held where people compete to grow enormously large gourds. These contests are regulated by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth and the winning entries often vie for some serious rewards, not to mention bragging rights. As of 2024, the record is held by Minnesota’s Travis Gienger whose massive pumpkin weighed in at an impressive 2,749 pounds. Just moving these massive pumpkins around has become an artform in itself.
Our neighbors to the south reserve Halloween (Dia de las Brujas) mainly for children’s festivities held on October 31. They put much more energy into their Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) which is celebrated on All Saints’ Day and All Souls Day. Children do many of the same things as their American counterparts – trick-or-treating, spooky themed parties, and other ‘playful’ activities. Dia de los Muertos is observed by building altars, decorating graves, sharing food, music, and stories to honor their loved ones in a joyful, sacred celebration. Whereas the United States Halloween celebration is more or less confined to October 31, Mexicans get to enjoy an elongated two day holiday that blends the new and the old.
To the north, we find more similarities in the Canadian and American celebrations, many of which share common roots. The Canadian traditions were also carried to this side of the pond by Irish and Scottish immigrants. Reports of ‘ritual begging’ and ‘guising’ (early forms of trick-or-treating and wearing costumes) can be found in documents as far back as 1911. In the Maritime provinces, they carry on the legend of La Chasse-Galerie, a magical canoe of voyageurs. These travelers celebrated a pact made with the Devil by carving jack-o’-lanterns to ward off spirits. Some sources state the Canadian Halloween originated with the Irish and Celtic cultures while the American Halloween stems more from Christian culture. The majority favor the idea that the modern celebration is an amalgam of traditions from many sources.
As mentioned in the localized section of our Halloween Fun quiz, the night before Halloween (would that be Halloween Eve?) is known as Fox night. This is also a tradition carried on in many countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and many other parts of the United States. There are as many names for this day as there are places that observe it including; Mischief Night, Devil’s Night, Goosey Night, Moving Night, Cabbage Night, and Mat Night. It seems that this tradition is only tied to countries that observe Halloween. For religious reasons, there are many countries that do not celebrate Halloween among them are Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa.
In other countries, some interesting restrictions are applied to Halloween. For example, in the Vendargues area of France, only dressing up as a clown is forbidden. Apparently this came from bands of criminals who would dress up as clowns to attack and rob citizens. In China, one may not celebrate Halloween on the subway. Authorities state that scary makeup and costumes can create panic and cause riots. Japan, South Korea, Israel, Latvia, Croatia, Russia and Egypt are all countries where Halloween is celebrated to some degree, but not widely outside of urban areas. A 2011 presidential decree in Uzbekistan completely banned the holiday saying, “The tradition glorifies the devil and is considered an ideologically incorrect holiday.”
What are your plans for Halloween? Covid kind of knocked the socks off of trick-or-treating for a couple of years, but people survived. The ‘Trunk-or-Treat’ trend kind of grew out of the COVID restrictions, but I have never really gotten into it. Call me a traditionalist because T-o-T for me was always door to door. Watching my kids draw maps of their intended routes back in the day was always a heartwarming experience for this old Geography teacher.
When the Junior High Student Council reactivated the local Halloween Carnival in 1979, it was on a dare, more or less. The JH principal at the time challenged the JH advisors to come up with a way to cut down on the vandalism that seemed to take place when the trick-or-treating was over. The event grew in popularity over the years and was always an enjoyable community service that the kids involved put their heart and soul into. I was back at NMU the first year the carnival was held and was a co-advisor to the JH Student Council when we began working on the second carnival in the fall of 1980. When I was told, “I have organized two, next year it is your turn to take charge,” I never dreamt my turn would last 38 years! It was a lot of work but it was always worth the effort! Happy Halloween everybody, make it a fun, safe holiday for one and all.
Suddenly I have an urge to watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown again.
Top Piece Video – The one and only Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett and his Halloween hit, Monster Mash!