Out of the Mist Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stake

With its FANGS, PALE SKIN, and its BLOODSUCKING tendencies, it could only be a vampire! Of course, Count Dracula as written of by BRAM STOKER was one of the most famous examples of such a creature.

Although there are many depictions of Count Dracula having a stake driven through his heart, in 'Dracula' (1897) he was decapitated with a kukri - a type of Indian knife - and stabbed in the heart with a bowie knife. Most tales of the origin of the humble stake are apocryphal, but wood was a plentiful resource and perhaps more accessible than metal spikes.

In any case, the stake did the job today. That vampire was a real pain in the neck...

Answer: Proton Pack

It's made of ECTOPLASM, it's TRANSLUCENT and it's FLOATING. Gotta be a ghost! SLIMER was a popular example in the "Ghostbusters" franchise, which is where the Proton pack came from.

The Proton pack worked using sciency mumbo-jumbo technology to weaken a ghost by trapping its negative energy in a stream of protons. If it's good enough for the Ghostbusters, it's good enough for me - it's the most humane way to subdue a ghost that I know of.

Answer: Mirrored Shield

With her SNAKE HAIR, her WINGS, and her PETRIFYING LOOK: it's not Aunt Sally, it's a gorgon. MEDUSA, of course, is perhaps the best known of these hideous creatures as depicted in Greek mythology.

We followed in Perseus' footsteps and used the mirrored shield to be able to look at her reflection and avoid being turned to stone. Medusa's tale is a bit sad, really - she was only made into a hideous snake woman because she was sexually abused by Poseidon and Athena didn't like it. I suppose even the ancient Grecian gods were partial to a bit of victim blaming.

Answer: Sword and fire

The hydra came from LERNA and was known for its MANY HEADS and special REGENERATION powers. Killing him was one of Heracles' TWELVE LABORS; of course, he returned to become one of our ten labors today.

Regeneration is a bit of a bore: in Euripides' take, at least, the creature would even grow two heads more for every decapitated head. Heracles struggled enough that he had to get help from his nephew, Iolaus, who used a firebrand to cauterize the wounds left after decapitation. This help disqualified him, and whilst the harvested hydra's poison was useful in several other labors, wearing an item stained by said poison was eventually what lead to his own downfall.

A philosophical question - is a hydra's consciousness equally distributed among its many heads?

Answer: The patch of sunlight, over there!

Gremlins! Ah! Also known as the MOGWAI, GIZMO was their leader in "Gremlins" (1984). They were SMALL creatures and JOE DANTE directed the film.

Remember, don't get him wet, don't expose him to bright light, and definitely don't feed him after midnight. Water spawned more mogwai, feeding them after midnight made them create deadly reptilian cocoons and bright light would kill them.

Taking them on bare-handed seems ill-advised; elderly Mrs. Deagle was catapulted out of her house on a stair lift by them after all.

Answer: Vidar, son of Odin

At RAGNARÖK, the battle to signify the end of the world in Norse mythology, the terrible WOLF Fenrir devoured Odin and was then killed in kind by Vidar, Odin's son who tore open his jaw. SKOLL and HATI were his sons who ate the sun and moon respectively, and many tales from Norse mythology were written of in the PROSE EDDA.

Perhaps Vidar was or wasn't familiar, but hopefully a connection with Norse mythology could be made here. He was known as the 'silent god' whose strength paralleled that of Thor, and was one of the few to actually survive Ragnarök. Many of the key Norse figures, like Odin, Thor, Tyr and Loki did die, and the first humans would then populate the fertile world born in Ragnarök's wake.

Answer: Plug my ears with beeswax

These WOMEN ON THE ROCKS were a thorn in the side for ODYSSEUS, almost bringing his voyage to an end and adding to many other SHIPWRECKS. These ENCHANTING SINGERS were not to be trifled with.

Of course, it wouldn't have to be beeswax, that's just what Odysseus had his crew use. I'm sure we'd use some form of moulded plastic these days - not so romantic but probably more effective and certainly less messy. The modern day equivalent of falling for the siren's song is probably catfishing, to be honest.

Answer: Axe

Descending from the BEANSTALK came the Giant from the "Jack in the Beanstalk" fairy tale. 'FEE FI FO FUM, I smell the blood of an Englishman' was something Jack heard whilst stealing the GOLDEN GOOSE amongst other things. Of course, there would have been no beanstalk in the first place without the MAGIC BEANS.

The fairy tale's first appearance was in "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734, although Joseph Jacobs' 1890 publication of "English Fairy Tales" is the most commonly reprinted version. When stealing a magic harp that played itself, it sounded and alerted the giant who then chased Jack down the beanstalk. He took an axe to the plant, causing the giant to crash down to his death, with Jack and his mum living off the ill-gotten gains happily ever after.

On the face of it, stealing, trickery and murder aren't great morals to teach to children. Some versions of the tale have instead set the tale up as one of retribution for the giant causing poverty; killing Jack's dad; having stolen the goose and harp himself; or themes of a similar nature.

Answer: Solve her riddle

The Sphinx had the body of a LIONESS, chest and wings of an EAGLE and the head of a woman. This foe OEDIPUS faced off against at the entrance to the CITY OF THEBES.

When Oedipus answered the famed riddle - "What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three in the evening?" - the Sphinx in some depictions fell out of frustration to her death. The Egyptian take on the Sphinx, such as the one at Giza, also had the body of a lion with the face of a pharaoh or king. Some lore texts argue that the Sphinx was sent from Ethiopia to Thebes, acknowledging its foreign origin. Its death supposedly represented the religious transition in rejecting the old gods and embracing the new Olympic deities.

Answer: Silver Bullet

A werewolf appears on a night with a FULL MOON, has a piercing HOWL and is a LYCANTHROPE. REMUS LUPIN was a well known werewolf in the "Harry Potter" series of books and films.

Walter Scott wrote of silver bullets as being useful against persecutors of the holy in his 1816-published "Tales of My Landlord", a trope that was repeated in other 19th century literature. Silver also has a classic association with the moon, so it's possible that's why a silver bullet was specifically associated with werewolves. Whilst its effect on tides is well-established, studies have mostly failed to find much evidence that the moon could affect our psyche or make us lunatic, as it were.