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Summon Your ‘Beetlejuice’ Knowledge in Our Quiz

Just in time for a sequel, test what you remember about the horror comedy classic


spinner image Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice next to tombstone that says Here Lies Betelgeuse; surrounded by orange, green and purple circles with question marks in them
Everett Collection

It’s showtime! Thirty-six years ago, Beetlejuice introduced the world to director Tim Burton’s brand of quirky comedy — along with a certain “ghost with the most” sporting a shock of greenish hair. In honor of the sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, out Sept. 6, take our quiz to see how well you remember the classic horror comedy. Or, as Beetlejuice might say, “Let’s turn on the juice and see what shakes loose!”

Question 1 of 10

Who played the title role in Beetlejuice?

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spinner image Bill Murray; surrounded by purple circles with question marks in them
Ron Galella/Getty Images
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spinner image Robin Williams; surrounded by purple circles with question marks in them
Aaron Rapoport/Getty Images
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spinner image Jim Carrey; surrounded by purple circles with question marks in them
Steve Granitz/Getty Images
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spinner image Michael Keaton; surrounded by purple circles with question marks in them
Frank Trapper/Getty Images

Sammy Davis Jr. was the first choice to play the title role for director Tim Burton, 65 — but producer David Geffen, 81, suggested Michael Keaton, 72, who had starred in ’80s comedies including Night Shift and Mr. Mom (and went on to star in Burton’s 1989 hit Batman).

Question 2 of 10

How must you say Beetlejuice’s name to summon him (or get rid of him)?

According to Screen Rant, Warner Bros. was worried that the name of the film was confusing and didn’t explain enough of the premise, and the studio begged Burton to change it. Some of the alternatives that were considered included House Ghosts and Anonymous Haunted House Story 39480, but in the end, Burton prevailed, and the title remained simply Beetlejuice.

Question 3 of 10

Who plays Delia Deetz, the conceptual artist and stepmom of Winona Ryder’s Lydia, who moves her family into a suburban house haunted by a recently deceased couple?

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spinner image Anjelica Huston; surrounded by purple circles with question marks in them
Sunset Boulevard/Getty Images
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spinner image Carol Kane; surrounded by purple circles with question marks in them
ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images
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spinner image Catherine O'Hara; surrounded by purple circles with question marks in them
NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images
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spinner image Beverly D'Angelo; surrounded by purple circles with question marks in them
Ron Galella/Getty Images

Anjelica Huston, 73, was first cast as Delia but dropped out due to an illness — three years later, she played Morticia Addams in another otherworldly comedy, The Addams Family. Catherine O’Hara, 70, benefited in more ways than one: The actress met her future husband, production designer Bo Welch, 72, on the Beetlejuice set.

Question 4 of 10

In Beetlejuice, which book are people given just after they die?

Adam and Barbara Maitland (played by Alec Baldwin, 66, and Geena Davis, 68) find the book after dying in a car crash. Adam initially misreads the title as “Diseased” and complains that the text “reads like stereo instructions.”

Question 5 of 10

What description best fits the teenage aesthetic of Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz?

spinner image Black and white image of Winona Ryder; surrounded by orange, green and purple circles with question marks in them
New World Pictures/Getty Images

As a young woman with macabre interests who is secure in her weirdness, Lydia blazed a trail for goth girls in the ’80s and ’90s. She’s a spiritual successor to Wednesday Addams — a proto-goth character Tim Burton recently revived in the Netflix series Wednesday. (Incidentally, Wednesday actress Jenna Ortega plays Lydia’s daughter in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.)

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Question 6 of 10

What movie does Beetlejuice claim to have watched “about 167 times, and it keeps getting funnier every single time”?

It’s not clear how old Beetlejuice is, or how long he’s been stuck in the waiting room of the afterlife, but he does claim that he lived through the black plague — and that he attended Juilliard and got a degree from Harvard Business School.

Question 7 of 10

True or false: Beetlejuice was adapted into a Broadway play and won the 2019 Tony Award for best musical.

spinner image Big sign that says Beetlejuice The Musical The Musical The Musical; surrounded by orange, green and purple circles with question marks in them
Santiago Felipe/Getty Images

The 2019 musical earned eight Tony Award nominations, including best musical (which it lost to Hadestown). Star Alex Brightman, who picked up a Tony nomination for the title role, also snagged a nod for playing Dewey Finn, Jack Black’s character from the 2003 movie School of Rock, in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s version.

Question 8 of 10

What is the name of the interior designer Delia hires?

Glenn Shadix, the Alabama native who played the flamboyant and haughty Otho, died in 2010 at age 58. He became so attached to Beetlejuice that his memorial service ended with “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song).”

Question 9 of 10

What song does Delia lip-sync during the film’s beloved dinner party scene?

According to the website Pitchfork, the screenwriter, a big fan of classic R&B, initially wanted the Ink Spots’ “If I Didn’t Care” for the big scene. But Catherine O’Hara suggested that a calypso song would be more upbeat, and the filmmakers settled on Harry Belafonte’s classic tune. (Bonus: It was also cheaper to license than classic R&B.)

Question 10 of 10

What color was Lydia’s wedding dress in her thwarted nuptials with Beetlejuice?

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spinner image Yellow dress on a mannequin; surrounded by purple circles with question marks in them
Getty Images
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spinner image Black dress on a mannequin; surrounded by purple circles with question marks in them
Getty Images
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spinner image Red dress; surrounded by purple circles with question marks in them
Getty Images
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spinner image Gray dress on a mannequin; surrounded by purple circles with question marks in them
Getty Images

According to wedding lore, “Married in red, you’ll wish yourself dead.” That makes sense since Lydia only agreed to marry Beetlejuice to get his help stopping the disappearance-by-exorcism of the Maitlands — who thankfully then intervene to stop the wedding ceremony.

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