Last year my friends and I attended Haunted Carnegie and heard spooky tales about the city. This year, we are inching our way closer to downtown Pittsburgh by attending Haunted Dormont.
These events are a fun way to get in the Halloween spirit.
In honor of Halloween, our quiz is about folklore, those stories told and retold around the campfire or at sleepovers about ghosts, goblins, and demons. We’ll be concentrating on thirteen tales originating in Ireland, Scotland, New England, and the Southern United States. If you enjoy this quiz, let us know and we will continue or way around the world in future issues until we’ve covered the rest of North America and Europe, Central and South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
Fill in the blanks from our word bank to complete each story. More information about each tale can be found by following the links at the bottom of the page. How many of these stories do you recognize from books, films, TV shows, or camping trips? Good luck!
Answers can be found in the last article of this issue, “Next Month in This Awful Awesome Life – October 2026. Keep reading your way through this issue, or you can use this link to jump to the answers,
https://www.thisawfulawesomelife.com/home/2026/10/9/next-month-in-this-awful-awesome-life-november-2026-by-fran-joyce
Word bank:
Devil’s Footprint Sluagh na marbh
The Blood Family Wood Devils
Tsul ‘Kalu Mercy Brown
The Honey Island Swamp Monster Dullahan
The White Lady of Brownville Road Dudleytown
LaLaurie Mansion Rougarou
Salem Witch Trials
1. According to the Maine legend ________________________________________, a bride in white haunts the scene of the fatal crash that occurred on her wedding night by walking along the roadway searching for her lost bridegroom.
2. Louisianna’s version of a werewolf, the ____________________ walks upright. It has the head of a dog or wolf, and a human body covered in black fur. The creature prowls the swamps, woods, and sugarcane fields searching for people who do not follow the rules, such as not properly observing Lent.
3. In Rhode Island, a strange rock formation became known as the __________________________ marking the spot where the devil tried to capture a Native American woman. When she resisted with surprising agility, the devil angrily stomped his foot leaving a mark. According to legend, bad luck will follow anyone who disturbs the space.
4. In 1692, a group of girls created a panic in their town when they claimed to be possessed by the devil. Over 200 people were executed, and countless others were persecuted during the _____________________________.
5. In Irish folklore, the ___________________ is a harbinger of death. It rides through the countryside on a black horse carrying it’s head under its arms. According to legend, if you see it, you will die soon.
6. Founded in the 1740’s, the settlement called ______________________ was plagued by mysterious deaths, suicides, and tales of widespread insanity among its residents. Many believed the misfortune was caused by a curse placed on the town founders because of their political misdeeds in England.
7. Deep in the woods of Coos County New Hampshire, ______________________, tall, thin, hairy creatures resembling Big Foot press themselves against the trees at night. They flee if someone accidentally stumbles upon them. To this day, people are still reporting eerie noises in the woods, strange footprints, and sightings of giant fleeing shadows.
8. In Scottish and Irish folklore, the __________________________ were spirits of the unforgiven dead. Many were so evil they were rejected by heaven and hell. These shadowy outcasts flew through the night in packs from the west searching for souls to snatch at the moment of death. Fear of these creatures was so strong that relatives of the dying rushed through their homes closing all west facing windows.
9. In the late 19th century, a young woman named ____________________ died of tuberculosis. After several other members of her family also died of the disease, townspeople in Exeter, Rhode Island suspected she caused the illness from the grave. They dug up her body and because it was unusually well preserved, they assumed she was a vampire. They removed her heart, burned it, and placed the ashes in a potion used to cure the sick.
10. The Pine Hill cemetery in New Hampshire is a popular attraction for ghost hunters and thrill seekers because it is said to be haunted by the ________________________. Visitors report hearing strange voices, seeing ghostly apparitions, and being overcome with feelings of dread.
11. The Cherokee legend of ______________________________ or the Tennessee Bigfoot claims a giant creature roams the wilderness at night as a protector that is peaceful unless provoked. It is also the protector of the hunt. In modern films and video games, the creature can be peaceful or a malevolent beast that terrorizes rural communities.
12. This Louisianna version of Big Foot, ________________________________________, with webbed feet, large red reptilian eyes, and bodies covered in thick gray fur, is said to be the offspring of escaped Circus chimpanzees and alligators. This creature is blamed for mysterious animal deaths and strange noises at night.
13. Behind the glamour of ______________________________, the home of a wealthy respected member of the Louisianna elite, is an unspeakable horror, the torture and murder of enslaved people in the attic. These heinous crimes weren’t discovered until a fire broke out and the torture chamber was discovered. People report hearing screams and seeing ghostly figures in the windows.
Sources for this quiz:
Halloween Folklore & Forgotten Legends| Mythfolks
New England Folklore | Mythfolks