Middle of the Night Quiz – Test Your Knowledge

Quiz: Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

Test your knowledge of the novel's plot, characters, themes, and deeper meanings.

Section 1: Plot & Sequence (8 questions)

What sound wakes Ethan from his recurring nightmare at the very beginning of the story?
- A) A car horn
- B) Scriiiiiiiitch
- C) A dog barking
- D) His phone alarm
In 1994, what object does Billy toss into Ethan's yard as a signal that he wants to play?
- (Short answer)
Where are Billy Barringer's remains discovered thirty years later?
- A) In the woods behind Hemlock Circle
- B) At the Hawthorne Institute falls
- C) Under the Marsh family's deck
- D) In the Chens' garden
What device does Ethan buy to try to catch the person leaving baseballs in his yard?
- (Short answer)
Who does Ethan see slashing the tent when he reenacts the night of the abduction?
- A) Fritz Van de Veer
- B) Andy Barringer
- C) Russ Chen
- D) Vance Wallace
What three words are written in Ethan's notebook in handwriting that is not his own?
- (Short answer)
Who is the hooded figure that kidnaps Henry from the tent?
- A) Billy Barringer's ghost
- B) Andy Barringer
- C) Russ Chen
- D) Fritz Van de Veer
Who confesses to accidentally killing Billy with her car on the night he disappeared?
- (Short answer)

Section 2: Character Motivation (5 questions)

What is Russ Chen's primary motivation for slashing the tent on the night of July 16, 1994?
- A) He wanted to scare Ethan and Billy.
- B) He was jealous of being excluded from the campout.
- C) He was paid by Fritz Van de Veer.
- D) He believed Billy was a ghost.
Why does Billy leave the tent after it is slashed, heading toward the forest?
- (Short answer)
What drives Ethan to recreate the camping scene on the thirtieth anniversary of Billy's disappearance?
- A) He wants to attract the killer.
- B) He needs to force his memory to reveal what he saw.
- C) He hopes to contact Billy's ghost.
- D) He wants to prove his theory to Detective Palmer.
What does Mary Ellen Barringer want from Ethan when she confronts him after Billy's disappearance?
- (Short answer)
Why does Ashley Wallace keep her involvement in Billy's death a secret for three decades?
- A) She was threatened by Fritz Van de Veer.
- B) She was in shock and later feared the consequences.
- C) She didn't remember until the confession.
- D) She wanted to protect her father.

Section 3: Theme & Symbol (4 questions)

What does the slit in the tent symbolize in the novel?
- A) The fragility of suburban life
- B) The sudden end of childhood innocence
- C) The entrance to a ghostly realm
- D) Ethan's broken relationship with his father
What do the baseballs that appear in Ethan's yard represent?
- (Short answer)
To what does the title "The Lost Boy" refer within the story?
- A) Ethan Marsh
- B) Johnny Chen
- C) Billy Barringer
- D) Henry Wallace
What theme does the Hawthorne Institute primarily represent?
- (Short answer)

Section 4: Synthesis (3 questions)

How does Ethan's chronic insomnia reflect his unresolved trauma from Billy's disappearance?
- (Short answer)
Which of the following best illustrates the novel's exploration of unreliable memory?
- A) Ethan's dreams match events exactly.
- B) The Dream changes over time and characters recall the same night differently.
- C) Ashley remembers every detail correctly.
- D) The police report agrees with all witness accounts.
What does the novel's ending suggest about the balance between supernatural phenomena and mundane tragedy?
- (Short answer)

Answer Key

B) Scriiiiiiiitch – This sound opens the novel and echoes through Ethan's recurring nightmare. (Chapter 1)
A battered baseball – Billy uses the baseball as a secret code to signal Ethan to come play. (1994 chapter)
B) At the Hawthorne Institute falls – Detective Palmer confirms the remains were found there. (Chapter 9)
A trail camera – Ethan buys a trail cam from Russ's store to monitor his yard. (Chapter 9)
C) Russ Chen – During his reenactment, Ethan sees Russ's face through the gash. (Chapter 30)
HAKUNA MATATA DUDE – This phrase appears in Ethan's notebook in unfamiliar handwriting. (Chapter 23)
B) Andy Barringer – The trail cam captures Andy taking Henry. (Chapter 32)
Ashley Wallace – She confesses that she hit Billy with her car while driving drunk at age fifteen. (Chapter 35)
B) He was jealous of being excluded from the campout. – Russ's jealousy and anger lead him to vandalize the tent. (Chapter 31)
He believes a ghost from the Hawthorne Institute came for him and wants to show him he belongs. – Billy feels accepted by the supernatural and follows the slit in the tent. (1994 chapter, final)
B) He needs to force his memory to reveal what he saw. – Ethan believes reliving the night will unlock the missing detail. (Chapter 29)
She wants Ethan to remember something (or to reveal how much he knows). – She shakes him, demanding he recall details. (Chapter 3)
B) She was in shock and later feared the consequences. – As a drunken teenager, she panicked and hid the body. (Chapter 35)
B) The sudden end of childhood innocence – The slit represents the violent intrusion that shatters the boys' safe world. (Chapter 1)
Connection to the past and Billy's attempt to communicate – The baseballs serve as ghostly messages. (multiple chapters)
C) Billy Barringer – The press calls him "The Lost Boy." (Chapter 2)
Forbidden knowledge and the blurring of life and death – The institute pursues paranormal research, crossing boundaries. (Chapter 10)
It stems from guilt over surviving and feeling he might miss another chance to prevent harm. – Dr. Manning linked insomnia to these feelings. (Chapter 2)
B) The Dream changes over time and characters recall the same night differently. – Ethan's dream evolves, and Billy's memory is not his own. (evident throughout)
It leaves open the possibility of ghostly guidance while revealing the death was caused by a drunk teenager. – Billy's ghost may have helped rescue Henry, but the death is a mundane accident. (Chapters 35-36)

Explore more about the book: Book Overview, Questions & Answers, and Ending Explained.