Ghostly returns, cursed cheese sales and gothic maths – take the Thursday quiz

Some pumpkins for Halloween – but what are you going to make of these questions? Photograph: Martin Belam/The Guardian

Halloween falling on a Thursday is absolute catnip to the quiz master, and so this week, alongside a smattering of topical questions, get ready for some spookalicious tests of your knowledge of horror pop culture, Halloween-themed science and maths and, of course, the ever-popular presence of Pokémon. Score well, otherwise the official dog of the quiz, Willow, will be round your house tonight throwing eggs at your windows for trick or treat. Enjoy!

The Thursday quiz, No 184 👻 🎃

1. 

   Which chat show host (not pictured) is to come back and present programmes from beyond the grave, thanks to AI?

   1. Russell Harty

   2. Michael Parkinson

   3. Paul O'Grady

   4. Terry Wogan

2. 

   The artisan cheese retailer Neal’s Yard Dairy got a fright when it realised it had sent £300,000 worth of which type of cheese (not pictured) to fraudsters?

   1. Cheddar

   2. Brie

   3. Wensleydale

   4. That horrible processed American stuff

3. 

   Editorials editor Mariel Garza resigned from which US newspaper after the billionaire owner was too spooked to publish a presidential election endorsement?

   1. LA Times

   2. Miami Herald

   3. Philadelphia Inquirer

   4. New York Record

4. 

   London Zoo got a scare when two parrots escaped. They were found safe and well in Cambridgeshire. What were their names?

   1. Abigail and Georgia

   2. Belle and Reggie

   3. Lily and Margot

   4. Ronald and Russell

5. 

   What is the scientific name of the pumpkin?

   1. Brassica napus

   2. Conium maculatum

   3. Cucurbita pepo

   4. Spookius maximus

6. 

   Talking of pumpkins, here is Willow, the official dog of the Guardian's Thursday quiz. She's forgotten and wants you to remind her: what reason did Helen Mirren give for being sad?

   1. Because Kurt Cobain died before GPS was invented

   2. Because Princess Diana died before she could use Facebook

   3. Because Heath Ledger died without seeing a Tesla Cybertruck

   4. Because 30 to 50 feral hogs ran into her yard within three to five minutes while her small kids played

7. 

   Like spectres, the new Labour government in the UK accidentally announced plans last week for five things that don't exist – what were they?

   1. Plans for five new motorways

   2. Plans for five new freeports

   3. Plans for five new airports

   4. Plans for five new bus routes

8. 

   Where was HP Lovecraft born?

   1. Providence, Rhode Island

   2. Destiny, New England

   3. Fortune, Connecticut

   4. Prudence, Maine

9. 

   Maths with goths is back! If a haunted gothic castle has 9 × 10⁷ + 8 × 10⁶ ghosts in it, how many ghosts are there?

   1. 98 × 10¹³

   2. 72 × 10⁶

   3. 9.8 × 10⁷

   4. 1,057

10. 

    It is Karl-Heinz and his spooky opening lines. This week the Thursday quiz imagines the German soccer legend would like you to say which classic horror movie opens with the following words from a book read aloud: 'Among the rugged peaks that frown down on the Borgo Pass are found crumbling castles of a bygone age.'

    1. The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

    2. Dracula (1931)

    3. The Wolf Man (1941)

    4. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

11. 

    A special terrifying edition of scores on the doors with Swindon's Diana Dors. How many films have there been in the Friday the 13th movie franchise?

    1. 10

    2. 11

    3. 12

    4. 13

12. 

    Which actor gave police in Manhattan a fright when they turned up to their own lookalike contest and it all started to get weird?

    1. Tom Holland

    2. Zendaya

    3. Florence Pugh

    4. Timothée Chalamet

13. 

    Combining several of the quiz master's favourite things, Gothitelle is the Astral Body Pokémon that can see into the future and 'acts somewhat detached because it has seen the end of all existence', pictured here in the pub. But which of these is not a ghost-type Pokémon?

    1. Haunter

    2. Frightenon

    3. Sinistea

    4. Misdreavus

14. 

    Which thin-skinned and overly self-important football club acted like it was a vampire and Fifa was holding garlic, and refused to go to the Ballon d'Or ceremony because its admittedly brilliant star player wasn't going to win an award?

    1. AC Milan

    2. Real Madrid

    3. Paris Saint-Germain

    4. Fulchester United

15. 

    Notoriously scared of publicity, Kate Bush popped up last week with an animated video she directed, featuring which animal?

    1. A shrew

    2. An owl

    3. A mole

    4. One very naughty miniature dachshund

Solutions

1:B - Apparently with his family's blessing, the man who presented Ghostwatch will now make shows while a ghost, 2:A - It was apparently 950 wheels of three types of extremely rare cheddar – organic Welsh Hafod, Westcombe and Pitchfork. Despite being scammed, Neal's Yard still paid its suppliers, 3:A - The Washington Post is also in turmoil over its lack of an endorsement. The Thursday quiz is happy to say that it endorses Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz, for each and every election, 4:C - The critically endangered blue-throated macaws decided to do one after their usual free-flying routine and were found six days later, possibly having embarked on a crime spree, 5:C - Originating in the Americas, it has been domesticated for thousands of years, 6:A - The Thursday quiz can't really explain it, but she said: 'I always say it’s so sad that Kurt Cobain died when he did, because he never saw GPS, as it’s the most wonderful thing to watch my little blue spot walking down the street. I just find it completely magical and unbelievable', 7:B - Amateur hour, 8:A - He was born in 1890 and published the genre-defining The Call of Cthulhu in 1928, 9:C - Written either way, it comes to 98,000,000 or 98m, 10:B - Renfield follows up by saying: 'I say, driver, a bit slower,' and then the fun begins , 11:C - In something that brings the Thursday quiz out in a twitchy eye, the 12th and most recent instalment of the franchise was released in 2009 and was called … Friday the 13th, 12:D - Police eventually ordered the contest to be dispersed and fined the organisers, but Chalamet, from the pictures, appeared to have been having a blast, 13:B - Ghosts are rare Pokémon, and the only type to have two immunities. Only ice- and fairy-type Pokémon are rarer. And even rarer is finding somebody who does the Thursday quiz who actually enjoys the Pokémon questions, 14:B - The absolute cheek of the statement it issued: 'Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected.' You'll recall it was one of the clubs that wanted to be in a super league that didn't respect the concept of sporting meritocracy, 15:A - In the video, a little shrew searches for hope as she makes her way across a bombed-out city. The animation is raising money for War Child

Scores

1. 0 and above.

   We hope you had spooky fun – let us know how you got on the comments!

If you really do think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers – and can show your working and are absolutely 100% positive you aren’t attempting to factcheck a joke – you can complain about it in the comments below. Why not watch the Agatha All Along theme song segment from WandaVision instead?

Agatha All Along from WandaVision