Question 2 of 21

In the first century A.D., the Roman writer Pliny the Younger told a tale of a haunted house. The human remains of the house's ghost are found in the _________.

... The ancient tale contained many of the conventions of ghost stories, including a restless ghost in chains, a house everyone is afraid to live in and a brave hero. The haunting ceased after bones found in the courtyard were properly buried.

Question 3 of 21

The author of "The Goodwood Ghost" is unknown but suspected of being ___________.

... Dickens may have authored the short story about a ghost who visits her sister and brother-in-law to ensure the care of her small children.

Question 4 of 21

In Henry James' novella "The Turn of the Screw," ghosts haunt a manor. At the end of the story, who dies?

... Two evil ghosts seem to haunt the residents of an old house, and the governess is determined to protect her two charges. Alas, at the conclusion, the boy she looks after drops dead.

Question 5 of 21

According to the legend of "Bloody Mary," you will see her ghost if you stand in front of a ______ and say her name three times.

... Bloody Mary, who supposedly murdered her children, purportedly appears in a mirror to those brave enough to repeat her name.

Question 6 of 21

In the tale of the "Bell Witch" of Tennessee, President __________ investigated the claims of her ghostly appearances.

... The ghost of a witch haunted John Bell's farm between 1817 and 1821, disturbing belongings and attacking Bell's daughter. As the story goes, Jackson, who was interested in the paranormal, visited the farm to see the ghostly activities for himself.

Question 7 of 21

In Edgar Allan Poe's story "Ligeia," the ghost of the narrator's late wife appears to take over the body of _________.

... The narrator's second wife, Lady Rowena, dies after a lengthy illness. The corpse rises, and he sees his first wife, Ligeia.

Question 8 of 21

According to the tale of the "Flying Dutchman," the 17th-century ship is doomed to forever sail the seas because _________.

... The ghost ship haunts the oceans, signaling bad luck. According to legend, the crew and ship were cursed when the captain refused to dock it during a terrible sea storm, daring the gods to sink them. All were punished for his lack of humility.

Question 9 of 21

In the classic Japanese ghost story "Banchou Sarayashiki," the ghost of a servant follows her master around, counting to nine because she was unjustly murdered for destroying one of the rich family's 10 sacred plates. She is exorcised when she hears the word, "_________."

... One day, as the ghost is counting, a neighbor shouts, "Ten!" The ghost, apparently believing she found the missing plate, disappears forever.

Question 10 of 21

In "The Open Window," by Saki, the lady of the house supposedly lost her husband and two brothers ________.

... In the story, the niece of the homeowner tells a visitor of her aunt's tragedy three years before, when her loved ones vanished in a bog. Soon the three men show up, and their appearance frightens away the guest, who never learns that the men were, in fact, alive. The niece was amusing herself by telling the ghost story.

Question 11 of 21

In the Irish ghost story, "Lord Tyrone and Lady Beresford of Waterford," the lady is frightened by the ghost of her foster brother, who touches her _______, withering it.

... The ghost of Lord Tyrone grasped the wrist of Lady Beresford to prove he was real. This caused the joint to deform; from then on she covered it with a black ribbon.

Question 12 of 21

Edith Wharton's story "Kerfol" tells of a woman who is convicted of murdering her husband; she claims he was killed by ghostly ________.

... The husband had slaughtered his wife's devoted dogs, and they returned as a pack of ghostly canines to take their revenge.

Question 13 of 21

According to local legend in Virginia, the ghost of Grace Sherwood, the "witch of Pungo," returns to the site of her trial each July. She was convicted of witchcraft because she ________.

... In 1706, the unfortunate woman was bound and tossed into a river. When she managed to free herself and swim ashore, she was convicted of being a witch and imprisoned.

Question 14 of 21

In the 19th century classic ghost story, "The Willows," campers spend two harrowing nights on an island on the __________ River.

... Algernon Blackwood's short story relates the tale of two men trapped by the flooding Danube who are terrorized by giant ghostly apparitions, eerie noises and their own fears.

Question 15 of 21

Though known more for his comedic and satirical writing, Mark Twain wrote "A Ghost Story," relating the tale of the ghost of _________.

... The giant's ghost was haunting the museum where his body rested. The narrator informed the ghost that the "body" was really a plaster cast. The ghost, like many people in the 19th century, was taken in by a hoax. The ghost was mortified and begged the narrator to keep silent about the mistake.

Question 16 of 21

A classic ghost story has a driver picking up a young hitchhiker in the rain and dropping her off at her house. When the driver returns the next day to talk to the young woman, the woman's mother takes him to a cemetery, where they discover _________ on her gravestone.

... The driver had gallantly offered the rain-soaked hitchhiker his jacket for warmth. She apparently left it in a convenient place for him to find.

Question 17 of 21

Which actor says he saw a ghost while onstage at the Haymarket Theatre in London?

... While performing "Waiting for Godot," Patrick Stewart glimpsed what is believed to be the ghost of John Baldwin Buckstone, who worked at the theater during the 19th century. The apparition has appeared on and off since Buckstone died at his home in 1879.

Question 18 of 21

In Washington Irving's "Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the ghost ended at the neck; it had lost its head thanks to a __________.

... Irving's "headless horseman" was purported to have been a Hessian soldier killed during a Revolutionary War battle. He rode forth nightly in search of his head, which had been removed by a cannonball.

Question 19 of 21

In "The Amityville Horror," ghostly appearances and noises disturb the residents of a house on New York's Long Island. Previous to their occupancy, there had been _________ at the house.

... In 1974, Ronald DeFeo shot and killed six members of his family in the Amityville house. The next year, another family, the Lutzes, started experiencing paranormal activities that drove them out of the house within a month.

Question 20 of 21

In Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by four ghosts, including that of his former business partner, Jacob Marley. Where did Scrooge first see Marley's ghost?

... As Scrooge entered his house on Christmas Eve, he saw Marley's face on the doorknocker. Marley's entire ghostly body appeared later in Scrooge's bedroom.

Question 21 of 21

"Casper the Friendly Ghost" was featured in comics, movies and television. His amiable ways were not appreciated by his eerie uncles, the ____________.

... Unlike Casper, the Ghostly Trio (Fatso, Stretch and Stinky) enjoyed frightening mortals.

YOU SCORED: 0 out of 21 try again

MORE QUIZZES

Do you know your Keats from your Yeats? Take the famous poets quiz!

Does that voice sound familiar? Take the famous voiceovers quiz!

From Colombo to Castle -- try naming the fictional gumshoe in this quiz!