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

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

    Some Halloween decorations in a pub

  2. 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?

    Some cheese

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

    Donald Trump mask

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

    A parrot

  5. 5.What is the scientific name of the pumpkin?

    Pumpkins

  6. 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?

    Willow, the official dog of the Guardian's Thursday quiz, in Halloween fancy dress

  7. 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?

    A spectre

  8. 8.Where was HP Lovecraft born?

    HP Lovecraft

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

    Goth hands!

  10. 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.’

    Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

  11. 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?

    Statue of Diana Dors

  12. 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?

    Some Halloween decorations in a pub

  13. 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?

    Pokémon Gothitelle in the pub

  14. 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?

    Garlic

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

    Kate Bush

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

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