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Word Power Quiz: How Well Do You Know These Halloween Terms?

As nights lengthen and a chill sets in, the time is ripe to share scary stories. Create a spooky atmosphere with these Halloween words—if you dare!

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Halloween Words - GrimoireSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Halloween Words Quiz

Grimoire

A: Cup made from a skull
B: Book of magic spells
C: Haunted wardrobe

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Witch holding grimoirePixel-Shot / Shutterstock.com

Answer: B—Book of magic spells

As in, “The dusty grimoire contained an incantation for revealing any unseen spirits in the room.”

Check out 13 creepy Canadian facts most people don’t know.

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Halloween Words - CurdleSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Curdle

A: Turn mouldy
B: Bleed
C: Separate into lumps

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Curdled dairyShumytskaya Olga / Shutterstock.com

Answer: C—Separate into lumps

As in, “Jamille interviewed village elders in the hopes of collecting some blood-curdling local ghost stories.”

Speaking of blood-curdling, check out Canada’s best ghost tours.

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Halloween Words - EphialtesSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Ephialtes

A: Madness
B: Nightmare
C: Clairvoyance

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Boy scared in bedZdan Ivan / Shutterstock.com

Answer: B—Nightmare

As in, “Although Fadil’s eyes were open, he was in the grips of an ephialtes.”

Too easy? Try your hand at these Jeopardy! questions even champions got wrong.

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Halloween Words - SamhainSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Samhain

A: Pagan festival that evolved into Halloween
B: Mischievous entity that inhabits dolls
C: Formal gathering of witches

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Kids trick-or-treating on HalloweenRawpixel.com / Shutterstock.com

Correct answer: A—Pagan festival that evolved into Halloween

As in, “Ancient Celts believed otherworldly beings could pass into this dimension during Samhain.”

Read up on the fascinating origins of Halloween.

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Halloween Words - DullahanSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Dullahan

A: Type of demon found in the Bible
B: Vampire leader
C: Headless horseman of Irish folklore

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Headless horseman illustrationAndrei Verner / Shutterstock.com

Answer: C—Headless horseman of Irish folklore

As in, “Legend has it that if the dullahan pauses his ride near a house, somebody there will die.”

Find out how Halloween is celebrated around the world.

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Halloween Words - ShroudSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Shroud

A: Mummy’s coffin
B: Burial cloth
C: Seemingly bottomless pit

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Ghostly figure in shroud80's Child / Shutterstock.com

Answer: B—Burial cloth

As in, “The figure wore a shroud as it glided through the darkened passage.”

This ghoulish gallery captures the spirit of Halloween in Canada.

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Halloween Words - BalefulSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Baleful

A: Unnaturally pale
B: Terrified and inconsolable
C: Threatening evil

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Vampire woman eyesLisa A / Shutterstock.com

Answer: C—Threatening evil

As in, “The vampire’s baleful eyes settled on the neck of her neck victim.”

Discover the world’s spookiest vampire haunts.

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Halloween Words - DirgeSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Dirge

A: Mournful song
B: Dagger used in rituals
C: Werewolf in a human state

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Spooky old pipe organMyImages - Micha / Shutterstock.com

Answer: A—Mournful song

As in, “A dirge sounded from the organ, but there was no player in sight.”

Read up on Canada’s most baffling unsolved mysteries.

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Halloween Words - HarbingerSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Harbinger

A: Decorative tombstone statue
B: Obsessive horror-movie fan
C: Something that signals a future event

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Mothman illustrationJM-MEDIA / Shutterstock.com

Answer: C—Something that signals a future event

As in, “Some consider sightings of the Mothman—a large, winged red-eyed creature—to be harbingers of disaster.”

Here’s the reason why Halloween colours are black and orange.

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Halloween Words - PhantasmSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Phantasm

A: Illusion or ghost
B: Malicious spirit
C: Misguided wish

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Ghost ship in fogwelburnstuart / Shutterstock.com

Answer: A—Illusion or ghost

As in, “A phantasm appeared on the waves when the fog took the shape of a sailing ship.”

Read the haunting stories of Canada’s most famous shipwrecks.

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Halloween Words - EldritchSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Eldritch

A: Weird and frightening
B: Ancient
C: In disrepair

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Haunted house interiorVladimir Mulder / Shutterstock.com

Answer: A—Weird and frightening

As in, “It was impossible to pinpoint the source of the eldritch cackling heard throughout the house.”

Are these Halloween words getting you in the spirit of the season? Check out the best scary movies on Netflix right now.

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Halloween Words - CaliginousSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Caliginous

A: Dark and misty
B: Zombified
C: Causing spine tingles

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Dark and misty forestEvgenii Predybailo / Shutterstock.com

Answer: A—Dark and misty

As in, “On that caliginous evening, it was easy for Marlo to lose his way in the woods.”

If you can get 80% of these tricky trivia questions right, you’re a certified genius.

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Halloween Words - AstralSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Astral

A: Fated
B: Of a supposed non-physical realm of existence
C: Taking place at nighttime

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Crystal ball at seanceKzenon / Shutterstock.com

Answer: B—Of a supposed non-physical realm

As in, “The clairvoyant said she would create a bridge between the seance participants and the astral plane.”

Make sure to memorize these corny Halloween jokes before you trick-or-treat.

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Halloween Words - TriskaidekaphobiaSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Triskaidekaphobia

Fear of:

A: Curses
B: The number 13
C: Coincidences

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Friday the 13th on calendarNew Africa / Shutterstock.com

Answer: B—Fear of the number 13

As in, “Kia’s triskaidekaphobia had her on edge on the 13th of each month.”

Can you answer these real Jeopardy! questions about words?

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Halloween Words - RevenantSavanevich Viktar / Shutterstock.com / RD.ca

Revenant

A: Witch’s pet black cat
B: Eerie sense of déjà vu
C: Person returned from the dead

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Zombie rising from graveyardRomolo Tavani / Shutterstock.com

Answer: C—Person returned from the dead

As in, “The revenant looked like a regular man except for his unblinking eyes.”

If you aced this Halloween words quiz, you won’t want to miss our countdown of Canada’s most haunted places.

Reader's Digest Canada
Originally Published in Reader's Digest Canada