Phobias & Superstitions Quiz – Printable Version
20 multiple-choice questions with an explained answer key, ready to print.
Print the sheet (or save it as a PDF from the print window), hand it out, then mark it together using the answer page: every answer is explained. Perfect for a party, a birthday, a classroom, a care home or a team activity.
Name: ………………………………Score: ……… / 20
- What is the name of the fear of confined spaces?
- A. Acrophobia
- B. Claustrophobia
- C. Hydrophobia
- D. Nosophobia
- What is the name of the fear of heights?
- A. Claustrophobia
- B. Hydrophobia
- C. Acrophobia
- D. Agoraphobia
- Which object is often considered a lucky charm?
- A. An umbrella
- B. A book
- C. A four-leaf clover
- D. A chair
- Which animal is often associated with bad luck in Western culture?
- A. A fish
- B. A bird
- C. A black cat
- D. A dog
- What is the name of the fear of snakes?
- A. Arachnophobia
- B. Ophidiophobia
- C. Acrophobia
- D. Claustrophobia
- Which superstition is associated with a black cat?
- A. Attracts love
- B. Brings good luck
- C. Brings bad luck
- D. Nothing special
- Which superstition is linked to Friday the 13th?
- A. A lucky day
- B. Nothing special
- C. An unlucky day
- D. A neutral day
- What is the phobia of fear of dogs?
- A. Cynophobia
- B. Entomophobia
- C. Ailurophobia
- D. Ornithophobia
- Which superstition is associated with seeing a shooting star?
- A. Shout
- B. Make a wish
- C. Nothing special
- D. Run
- Which superstition is linked to seeing a rainbow?
- A. Brings bad luck
- B. Find a treasure at its foot
- C. Nothing special
- D. Attracts rain
- What is the name for the excessive fear of being without your mobile phone?
- A. Technophobia
- B. Nomophobia
- C. Cyberphobia
- D. Glossophobia
- What is the name of the fear of the dark?
- A. Sciaphobia
- B. Photophobia
- C. Nephophobia
- D. Nyctophobia
- In China, which number is lucky because its name sounds almost like the word for 'prosperity'?
- A. 4
- B. 7
- C. 8
- D. 13
- What is the name of the fear of fire?
- A. Hydrophobia
- B. Pyrophobia
- C. Astraphobia
- D. Thermophobia
- According to an old French superstition, what should you never do with bread on the table?
- A. Cut it with a knife
- B. Eat it before the meal
- C. Leave it half-eaten
- D. Place it upside down
- What do people traditionally wish for by crossing their fingers?
- A. Bad luck for someone
- B. Good luck
- C. To swear to tell the truth
- D. Silence
- According to a common superstition, what should you give in return for a knife received as a gift?
- A. A piece of bread
- B. A pinch of salt
- C. A coin
- D. A flower
- Which very long-named phobia is the fear of the number 666?
- A. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
- B. Triskaidekaphobia
- C. Tetraphobia
- D. Arithmophobia
- By tradition, what does catching the bride's bouquet foretell?
- A. Seven years of happiness
- B. An inheritance
- C. That you will be the next to marry
- D. The birth of a child
- What does the 'maneki-neko', a lucky figurine placed at the entrance of Japanese shops, depict?
- A. A golden dragon
- B. A goldfish
- C. A cat raising its paw
- D. A white fox
Answer key — Phobias & Superstitions Quiz
- B. ClaustrophobiaFrom the Latin ‘claustrum’, an enclosed place (which also gave ‘cloister’), and the Greek ‘phobos’, fear.
- C. AcrophobiaFrom the Greek ‘akron’, summit. Acrophobia is an intense fear of heights, not to be confused with vertigo, which is a physical feeling of imbalance.
- C. A four-leaf cloverThe four-leaf clover is a simple mutation: there is roughly one for every 5,000 to 10,000 clovers.
- C. A black catIn the Middle Ages the black cat was associated with witches and the devil, and many were persecuted.
- B. OphidiophobiaFrom the Greek ‘ophis’, snake. It is one of the most widespread fears in the world.
- C. Brings bad luckIn many cultures, crossing paths with a black cat is considered a sign of misfortune.
- C. An unlucky dayFriday the 13th is often considered an unlucky day.
- A. CynophobiaFrom the Greek ‘kyōn, kynos’, dog. The same word gave ‘cynic’: the Cynic philosophers, such as Diogenes, lived with no regard for convention…
- B. Make a wishA shooting star is not a star: it is a speck of space dust, often no bigger than a grain of sand, burning up as it enters the atmosphere about 100 km up.
- B. Find a treasure at its footAccording to Irish legend, a leprechaun, a little sprite, hides a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
- B. NomophobiaNomophobia (short for 'no-mobile-phone phobia') is the anxiety of being separated from one's mobile phone or out of network coverage.
- D. NyctophobiaNyctophobia (from the Greek nyx, 'night') is the fear of darkness or the night, very common in young children.
- C. 8'Bā' (eight) sounds like 'fā', to get rich. The Beijing Olympics opened on 08/08/2008 at 8:08 pm, and phone numbers full of 8s sell for high prices.
- B. PyrophobiaFrom the Greek ‘pyr’, fire, which also gave ‘pyromaniac’ and ‘pyrotechnics’.
- D. Place it upside downPlacing bread upside down is said to bring bad luck. In the Middle Ages, bakers set aside an upside-down loaf for the executioner, which no one else was to touch.
- B. Good luckThe gesture may come from the old habit of making a cross to ward off evil.
- C. A coinGiving a sharp object might 'cut' the friendship. By 'paying' a token coin, the gift becomes a purchase and the curse is averted.
- A. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia666 is called 'the number of the Beast' in the Book of Revelation.
- C. That you will be the next to marryGuests once tore bits off the bride's dress for luck. Throwing the bouquet supposedly let the bride…
- C. A cat raising its pawIts raised paw beckons customers and fortune inside. Depending on which paw is raised, it is said to attract money or customers.