The Carnivorous Carnival
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40 free The Carnivorous Carnival trivia questions with answers — literature quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
The Carnivorous Carnival is the ninth book in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the one where the usual formula flips. This time Count Olaf walks around as himself while Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire are the ones in costume, hiding in plain sight among the performers of a run-down freak show. This quiz covers the whole story: the fortune-teller Madame Lulu and the workings of her tent, the performers the children bunk with, the lion pit that is meant to rescue the carnival's takings, and the ending that leaves readers hanging. A few questions look at the people behind the book and at the Netflix episodes adapted from it. It is written for readers who have finished the book or watched the episodes, from younger fans to adults revisiting the series. Most questions are friendly, a handful are for people who remember the small print, and every answer comes with a short explanation.
30 of 40 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In The Carnivorous Carnival, which trait makes Kevin think of himself as a freak worth exhibiting?
Being ambidextrous
Being ambidextrous is Kevin's entire act: he writes his name with each hand while the crowd jeers. He treats the knack as a curse rather than a gift.
Q 02In The Carnivorous Carnival, Violet and Klaus pose together as Beverly and Elliot, which kind of freak?
A two-headed person
A two-headed person is the role: the pair squeeze into a single oversized shirt and speak in clashing voices, Violet low and Klaus high.
Q 03In The Carnivorous Carnival, Sunny hides as Chabo, a baby said to be half human and half which animal?
Wolf
Wolf is the story Violet invents: a hunter fell in love with a handsome one, and growling, biting Chabo is supposedly their child.
Q 04In The Carnivorous Carnival, who tempts Hugo, Colette and Kevin into agreeing to feed Madame Lulu to the lions?
Esmé Squalor
Esmé Squalor, jealous of the attention Olaf pays Lulu, wins the three over with flattering gifts and the promise of a place in his troupe.
Q 05What does Count Olaf do to Caligari Carnival before driving away at the end of The Carnivorous Carnival?
Burns it down
Olaf burns it down to destroy the evidence, and he forces the disguised Violet and Klaus to help start the blaze.
Q 06In The Carnivorous Carnival, which fortune-telling prop do the Baudelaires accidentally smash in Madame Lulu's tent?
A crystal ball
A crystal ball shatters when the children tug at the tablecloth beneath it, and Lulu walks in to find them snooping among the pieces.
Q 07In The Carnivorous Carnival, Violet plans an escape vehicle built from the carts of which abandoned ride?
The roller coaster
The roller coaster had stood out of order for years, overgrown with poison ivy, before Violet saw its carts as a way out of the carnival.
Q 08Which symbol, matching Count Olaf's ankle tattoo, decorates Madame Lulu's tent in The Carnivorous Carnival?
An eye
An eye, the insignia of V.F.D., is the children's first sign that the fortune-teller is tied to the same shadowy organisation as their enemy.
Q 09Which actor plays Count Olaf, who opens the freak show with a song, in Netflix's The Carnivorous Carnival episodes?
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris plays the villain throughout the Netflix series. Jim Carrey had the role in the 2004 film, which adapted only the first three books.
Q 10Like the rest of Lemony Snicket's series, The Carnivorous Carnival opens with a dedication to which lost love?
Beatrice
Beatrice is mourned in every dedication, and the final book reveals why she matters: she was the Baudelaire children's mother.
Q 11How do the Baudelaires reach Caligari Carnival at the start of The Carnivorous Carnival, unnoticed by Count Olaf?
In his car trunk
In his car trunk, where they hid to escape their last refuge; Violet picks the lock to let them out once the troupe has walked away.
Q 12Which member of Count Olaf's troupe falls into the lion pit with Madame Lulu in The Carnivorous Carnival?
The bald man
The bald man with the long nose tumbles in beside her during the crowd's chaos, and the starving lions devour them both.
Q 13In The Carnivorous Carnival, Colette performs in Madame Lulu's freak show as which kind of act?
A contortionist
Q 21In The Carnivorous Carnival, where does Madame Lulu claim one Baudelaire parent is still alive?
The Mortmain Mountains
The Mortmain Mountains hold one of the last V.F.D. headquarters, which is the only reason Lulu named them: she later admits she was guessing.
Q 22In The Carnivorous Carnival, which spice does Sunny add to Hugo's hot chocolate, her first cooking idea?
Cinnamon
Cinnamon marks the moment Sunny discovers a talent for cooking; in the next book Count Olaf puts her to work cooking for his troupe.
Q 23In The Carnivorous Carnival, which food must Violet and Klaus eat together to win a job from Madame Lulu?
An ear of corn
A contortionist, Colette is ashamed of bending herself into knots but keeps doing it, reasoning that nobody would pay to watch her move normally.
Q 14Lemony Snicket, the credited author of The Carnivorous Carnival, is the pen name of which American writer?
Daniel Handler
Daniel Handler wrote the whole series as Snicket, and later worked on the Netflix adaptation as a writer and executive producer.
Q 15Which tool does Count Olaf use to torment the starving lions he delivers to Caligari Carnival as a gift?
A whip
A whip, used hard enough to leave scars, is Olaf's idea of training; he also keeps the lions hungry so they will be ravenous on show day.
Q 16Which book follows The Carnivorous Carnival, picking up after Count Olaf drives off with Sunny as his captive?
The Slippery Slope
The Slippery Slope is Book the Tenth; Snicket's closing letter claims its manuscript had to be hidden one chapter at a time from his enemies.
Q 17The Carnivorous Carnival, Book the Ninth, opens moments after the ending of which Lemony Snicket book?
The Hostile Hospital
The Hostile Hospital left the orphans on the run and branded as murderers, which is why they need disguises at all in Book the Ninth.
Q 18Which artist drew the illustrations for The Carnivorous Carnival, including its cliffhanger final picture?
Brett Helquist
Brett Helquist even gets a mention inside the story: Snicket's closing letter promises a rare photograph to help him draw the next book.
Q 19From a phone booth at Caligari Carnival, whom does Violet try to call for help in The Carnivorous Carnival?
Mr. Poe
Mr. Poe never gets the call: the operator wants money the children lack, and hangs up while Violet tearfully explains the emergency.
Q 20In The Carnivorous Carnival, what is the real first name of the fake fortune-teller Madame Lulu?
Olivia
Olivia drops the act once the children expose her tricks, admitting she belongs to V.F.D. and simply tells people what they hope to hear.
An ear of corn is their audition, a puzzle for two people with only two hands between them, and the clumsy meal becomes their stage act.
Q 24Caligari Carnival stands in which remote, empty region, a spot Madame Lulu blames for her lack of customers?
The hinterlands
The hinterlands are so far from anywhere that Lulu calls a carnival there a bad business idea, which is why she needs a shocking new act.
Q 25In The Carnivorous Carnival, what do the Baudelaires find hidden under the table in Madame Lulu's tent?
A secret library
A secret library of clippings, letters and files lets Lulu look up answers while customers are told not to peek, so her visions are plain research.
Q 26A newspaper reporter at the lion pit in The Carnivorous Carnival insists the Baudelaires murdered a count of which name?
Omar
Omar is her standing mistake: the same reporter had already told readers that the Baudelaires murdered a count of that name.
Q 27Reporter Geraldine Julienne covers the lion show in The Carnivorous Carnival for which error-prone newspaper?
The Daily Punctilio
The Daily Punctilio is the paper that branded the Baudelaires murderers; its star reporter arrives hoping for an exclusive on the lion show.
Q 28Which actress plays Madame Lulu in Netflix's two-part adaptation of The Carnivorous Carnival?
Sara Rue
Sara Rue joined the cast in season two, playing a school librarian who takes on the Madame Lulu disguise and confronts Olaf at the lion pit.
Q 29Which actor, Firestorm in The Flash, plays Kevin in Netflix's adaptation of The Carnivorous Carnival?
Robbie Amell
Robbie Amell's casting was announced with a mock warning from the show, lamenting that its letters urging him to run away had not arrived.
Q 30The final illustration of The Carnivorous Carnival shows which object falling from the runaway caravan as a clue?
A Snow Scout handbook
A Snow Scout handbook tumbles through the air, a sly preview: the troop it belongs to turns up in the very next book.