Getting your questions ready
Getting your questions ready
Beat the crowd
10 questions No timer
124 free Horror trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
50 free horror trivia questions with answers. From the shadowy corridors of Psycho to the sunlit dread of Midsommar, horror has evolved from cheap thrills into one of the most respected genres in entertainment. Do you have what it takes to face 124 questions about the things that go bump in the night?
30 of 124 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In the 1960 film Psycho, where does Marion Crane stop for the night and meet her fate?
Bates Motel
The Bates Motel, run by Norman Bates and his "mother," is one of the most iconic locations in horror film history. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) revolutionized the genre.
Q 02Which author wrote the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus?
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley began Frankenstein in 1816 at age 18 and published it anonymously in 1818; it is often called the first science fiction novel.
Q 03What is the name of the killer in the Friday the 13th franchise who wears a hockey mask?
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees is the iconic hockey-masked killer of the Friday the 13th series. Interestingly, he didn't get the hockey mask until Part III (1982) — in Part 2 he wore a burlap sack.
Q 04In The Shining (1980), what phrase does Wendy find typed over and over in her husband's manuscript?
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
Wendy discovers that Jack has been typing "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" over and over, revealing his descent into madness at the Overlook Hotel.
Q 05Which 2017 Jordan Peele film follows a Black man visiting his white girlfriend's family?
Get Out
Get Out (2017) was Jordan Peele's directorial debut and won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film explores racism through the lens of horror.
Q 06What is the name of the demonic entity terrorizing the Perron family in The Conjuring (2013)?
Bathsheba
Bathsheba Sherman is the witch whose spirit haunts the Perron farmhouse. The film, directed by James Wan, is based on case files from real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.
Q 07In the Scream franchise, what is the name of the masked killer?
Ghostface
Ghostface is the identity adopted by different killers across the Scream series. The mask was an off-the-shelf Halloween costume made by the Fun World company before Wes Craven picked it for the film.
Q 08Which Stephen King novel features a telekinetic teenage girl who unleashes her powers at prom?
Carrie
Carrie (1974) was Stephen King's first published novel. The story of Carrie White's bloody prom night has been adapted into multiple films, most famously the 1976 Brian De Palma version.
Q 09What type of creature is Count Orlok in the 1922 film Nosferatu?
Vampire
Count Orlok is a vampire in F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922), an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The film is one of the most influential horror movies ever made.
Q 10Who directed and starred in the 2018 horror film A Quiet Place?
John Krasinski
John Krasinski directed A Quiet Place (2018) and played father Lee Abbott opposite his wife Emily Blunt; the film earned over $340 million worldwide.
Q 11Which horror film features the line "They're here" spoken by a young girl watching television static?
Poltergeist
Carol Anne Freeling, played by Heather O'Rourke, speaks the iconic line "They're here" in Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist (1982). The film was produced and co-written by Steven Spielberg.
Q 12Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" features a bird that repeatedly says which word?
Nevermore
"Nevermore" is the only word spoken by the raven in Poe's 1845 poem. The poem explores themes of loss, grief, and the impossibility of escaping sorrow.
Q 13What is the name of the fictional town in Maine where many Stephen King novels are set?
Derry
Q 21Which Lovecraft entity is described as a giant octopus-dragon hybrid sleeping beneath the ocean?
Cthulhu
Cthulhu first appeared in Lovecraft's 1928 short story "The Call of Cthulhu." The creature lies dormant in the sunken city of R'lyeh and has become the most recognized figure in Lovecraftian horror.
Q 22Which 1999 film follows three student filmmakers who vanish in the Maryland woods?
The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project (1999) was shot for roughly $60,000 and grossed nearly $250 million worldwide, helped by a website that listed its actors as missing.
Q 23Which actor played Freddy Krueger in the original 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street?
Robert Englund
Derry, Maine is the fictional setting for several Stephen King works including It, Insomnia, and 11/22/63. King based many of his Maine settings on real towns like Bangor.
Q 14Which 1973 horror film, often called the scariest ever, involves the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl?
The Exorcist
The Exorcist (1973), directed by William Friedkin and based on William Peter Blatty's novel, depicts the possession of Regan MacNeil. It was the first horror film nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Q 15In the Saw films, which tricycle-riding puppet with spiral cheeks and red eyes delivers Jigsaw's recorded messages?
Billy
Billy rides a tricycle to deliver recorded messages from John Kramer, the Jigsaw Killer, and was designed by Saw creator James Wan.
Q 16What is the name of the clown in Stephen King's novel It?
Pennywise
Pennywise the Dancing Clown is the primary form taken by the entity known as It in King's 1986 novel. The character has been portrayed by Tim Curry (1990) and Bill Skarsgard (2017/2019).
Q 17Which 2018 Ari Aster horror film follows a family unraveling after their grandmother's death?
Hereditary
Hereditary (2018) was Ari Aster's feature debut; Toni Collette plays Annie Graham, whose grief after her mother's death curdles into occult horror.
Q 18In which year was the original Halloween film, featuring Michael Myers, released?
1978
Halloween was released in October 1978; John Carpenter shot it in about 20 days for roughly $300,000 and it grossed around $70 million.
Q 19Who played Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film The Shining?
Shelley Duvall
Shelley Duvall played Wendy Torrance in The Shining (1980); Kubrick's famously demanding shoot included 127 takes of the baseball-bat staircase scene.
Q 20In Bram Stoker's Dracula, which English solicitor travels to Transylvania to meet the Count?
Jonathan Harker
Jonathan Harker opens Dracula (1897) with his journal of the journey to Castle Dracula, where he becomes the Count's prisoner before escaping.
Robert Englund played Freddy Krueger in Wes Craven's 1984 original and in every sequel through Freddy vs. Jason (2003); Jackie Earle Haley took the role in the 2010 remake.
Q 24Which TV show, set in 1980s Hawkins, Indiana, features a telekinetic girl and a dimension called the Upside Down?
Stranger Things
Stranger Things, created by the Duffer Brothers, debuted on Netflix in 2016 and pays homage to 1980s horror and sci-fi, particularly Stephen King and Steven Spielberg.
Q 25In Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Leatherface wears masks made from what?
Human skin
Human skin, stitched from his victims' faces, forms Leatherface's masks; Gunnar Hansen played him in the 1974 original, shot in brutal Texas summer heat.
Q 26What narrative format does the TV series American Horror Story use?
Anthology
American Horror Story, created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, uses an anthology format where each season features a self-contained story with recurring cast members in different roles.
Q 27Which 1975 Spielberg film about a man-eating shark made audiences afraid to go in the water?
Jaws
Jaws is regarded as the prototypical summer blockbuster. Its three mechanical sharks were nicknamed Bruce after Spielberg's lawyer, and their constant breakdowns pushed him to keep the shark off screen.
Q 28Which horror subgenre do The Haunting (1963) and Rosemary's Baby (1968) exemplify?
Psychological horror
Psychological horror exposes universal emotional vulnerabilities and the darker parts of the psyche people repress; The Babadook (2014) is a recent example.
Q 29Who won an Oscar for playing Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)?
Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter despite only appearing on screen for about 16 minutes — one of the shortest lead performances to win the award.
Q 30In Alien (1979), what is the name of the spaceship where the crew encounters the xenomorph?
Nostromo
The USCSS Nostromo is a commercial towing vessel whose crew responds to a mysterious signal on LV-426. Ridley Scott's Alien blended horror with science fiction to create one of cinema's most terrifying creatures.