Oooh, Scary! Test Your Halloween Trivia Knowledge

Who doesn't love Halloween, what with its spooks and ghouls and things that go creak in the night? But there's far more to it than costumes, candy and scary movies.

Did you know…

1.

Some people have a fear of Halloween that can be so severe that it causes panic attacks? The scientific name is samhainophobia. Other related fears: wiccaphobia (fear of witches), phasmophobia (fear of ghosts) and coimetrophobia (fear of cemeteries).

2.

The first jack-o-lanterns weren’t carved pumpkins? The holiday traces its roots to Ireland, where the tradition was to carve the faces of the dead into hollowed-out turnips that were lit by candles. Illinois may have played a role in influencing American practitioners to switch to pumpkins – the state’s one of the top five pumpkin producers in the United States.

3.

Americans spend about $7 billion on Halloween candy and $4 billion on Halloween decorations, parties and costumes every year? In terms of commercial success, the only holiday on which people spend more cumulatively is Christmas.

4.

The tradition of trick-or-treating goes back to the European custom of "souling," believes to have started in the 9th century? On All Soul's Day – Nov. 2 – the poor would go door to door begging for food and be given "soul cakes," a type of pastry made from bread and currants. In exchange for the cakes, the recipients would promise to pray for the giver’s dead relatives.

5.

Sources: www.huffingtonpost.com, www.stltoday.com, www.yahoo.com, www.baltimoresun.com