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Quiz about Paranormal Obscurum
Quiz about Paranormal Obscurum

Paranormal Obscurum Trivia Quiz


Paranormal quiz junkies often find themselves encountering the same questions over and over again. This is my attempt to offer some fresh paranormal obscurity.

A multiple-choice quiz by gretas. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
gretas
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
235,751
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
3654
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: skarunk (5/10), wwwocls (7/10), wendy71 (9/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. The "heyday of Spiritualism" is generally considered to have been the mid-to-late nineteenth century. But even as seances became the rage throughout the United States and Europe, one American city in particular was hailed as the "birthplace of modern spiritualism". Can you name the city? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. In the 1930s, paranormal investigators and the western press were all atwitter over reports of "Gef, the talking mongoose" who reportedly lived inside the walls of a house in a decidely non-Indian location. Where did this "very clever, extra clever" mongoose reside? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Ghost stories have been part of mankind's legacy almost since the beginning of the inception of our species. But which ancient politician is widely credited with having set down in print the first ghost story? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Which of the following locations was once declared the "most haunted house in England"? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Which American president has claimed to have seen a UFO? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. In which city is American founding father Benjamin Franklin's statue said to come down from its pedestal and walk through the streets at night? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Which of the following deceased movie stars did the legendary comedienne Lucille Ball claim once visited her in a dream and offered career advice? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Psychics and spirit mediums have always held a special place in world history. Which of the Bible's Old Testament leaders defied his own edict banning witches and went to consult an alleged "witch" for pre-battle advice? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Which popular and well-respected fin de siecle author lent public support to the infamous "faery photographs" allegedly taken in Cottingley, England in the early 1900s? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. My Cork-born grandmother used to attach the simile "like a banshee" to almost everything, i.e. "She danced like a banshee!" But what is the actual purpose of the traditional Irish banshee? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The "heyday of Spiritualism" is generally considered to have been the mid-to-late nineteenth century. But even as seances became the rage throughout the United States and Europe, one American city in particular was hailed as the "birthplace of modern spiritualism". Can you name the city?

Answer: Rochester, New York

In 1848, teen-aged sisters Katie and Maggie Fox jumpstarted the spiritualist movement when they claimed to be in communication with the spirit of a murdered peddler buried in the basement of their home near Rochester, New York. They supposedly communicated with the spirit (whom they dubbed "Mr. Splitfoot") through a rapping code that correlated with the English language alphabet. Later in her chequered career as a medium, Katie Fox allegedly "confessed" that she and Maggie had surreptitiously produced the spirit's answering raps by cracking their knuckles and toe joints. Even later, on her deathbed, the dying, alcoholic Katie recanted the "confession", insisting that a reporter had bribed her with a bottle of whiskey just to get a good story.

Despite the ignonimous end to the sisters' lives, the site of their former home in Rochester, New York remains a sacred place to many adherents of the religion known as Spiritualism.
2. In the 1930s, paranormal investigators and the western press were all atwitter over reports of "Gef, the talking mongoose" who reportedly lived inside the walls of a house in a decidely non-Indian location. Where did this "very clever, extra clever" mongoose reside?

Answer: Isle of Man

"I'm just a very clever, extra clever mongoose" was the response the self-named Gef gave when asked by reporters how he had come by his ability to speak. He (it?) claimed to have been killed in India only to have somehow been transported to the Isle of Man where he had taken up residence in the walls of a local family's house.

The British Society for Psychical Research conducted an extensive investigation of the situation and determined that Gef was really none other than the creation of the family's youngest daughter who had learned to throw her voice and was enjoying the excitement her deception had caused. Later, however, an actual mongoose was allegedly spotted by several inhabitants of the island.

There are many websites evoted to this curious episode in paranormal history.
3. Ghost stories have been part of mankind's legacy almost since the beginning of the inception of our species. But which ancient politician is widely credited with having set down in print the first ghost story?

Answer: Pliny the Younger

In a letter written by Pliny the Younger to a friend, he describes in detail a haunting that had heard about. This is believed by many experts to be the first written account of an alleged haunting by a ghost or other paranormal entity.
4. Which of the following locations was once declared the "most haunted house in England"?

Answer: Borley Rectory

Borley Rectory, in Essex, England, was dubbed "the most haunted house in England" during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But after the British Society for Psychical Research conducted an extensive investigation, charges of fraud began to be leveled at the vicar's family who lived there. Among the reported phenomena that took place in the house were the unexplained appearance of cryptic messages scrawled on the walls, stones hurtling out of nowhere, and coins dropping from the ceiling.
5. Which American president has claimed to have seen a UFO?

Answer: Jimmy Carter

According to former President Carter, he saw the alleged UFO in October of 1969 in Leary, Georgia. He told air force officials that the object was in sight for about ten to eleven minutes. He also cited several members of the Leary, Georgia Lions Club as fellow witnesses.
6. In which city is American founding father Benjamin Franklin's statue said to come down from its pedestal and walk through the streets at night?

Answer: Philadelphia

Ben Franklin was a big hit in Paris prior to the American Revolution, but legends connecting ol' Ben to Philly are legion. Some involve ghostly visitations in the late printer's favorite "haunts." But some say that "Franklinphiles" are more likely to encounter their hero in animated statue form!
7. Which of the following deceased movie stars did the legendary comedienne Lucille Ball claim once visited her in a dream and offered career advice?

Answer: Carole Lombard

According to Ms. Ball, her late friend Carole Lombard made a dream visitation at the point in her career when she was trying to decide whether to team up comedically with her new husband, Desi Arnez. In describing the dream to a magazine reporter, Ms. Ball said, "Carole appeared, very sharply-dressed...Carole was always a very sharp dresser...and said, 'Oh, come on, Lucy, give it a whirl!' And of course Ms. Ball did--with great success.
8. Psychics and spirit mediums have always held a special place in world history. Which of the Bible's Old Testament leaders defied his own edict banning witches and went to consult an alleged "witch" for pre-battle advice?

Answer: Saul

The Old Testament edict "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" was frequently used to justify the murder of alleged "witches" during the Salem Village, Massachusetts tragedy in the 1600s. But King Saul, who banned witches (aka soothsayers. mediums, etc) from his kingdom, broke his own edict by visiting "an old woman of Endor" who, unfortunately for him, predicted defeat for his army in an immiment battle. An interesting aside: Could this be where Endora of "Bewitched" fame got her monicker?
9. Which popular and well-respected fin de siecle author lent public support to the infamous "faery photographs" allegedly taken in Cottingley, England in the early 1900s?

Answer: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The beloved author of the Sherlock Holmes series was an avowed spiritualist who sometimes surprised friends and family with his credulousness. He claimed to believe wholeheartedly in the faery photographs allegedly taken by two young girls in Cottingley. He also believed that he was able to communicate through a medium with his son, who was killed in World War I.
10. My Cork-born grandmother used to attach the simile "like a banshee" to almost everything, i.e. "She danced like a banshee!" But what is the actual purpose of the traditional Irish banshee?

Answer: To foretell death

Tradition connects specific banshees to specific families, the members of which are warned of imminent death within their ranks by the appearance of the screaming apparition. Over the years, banshees have been portrayed in movies and TV shows as ghostly figures bent on creating random chaos, but that was never their original role.
Source: Author gretas

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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