Learn all about Mr. Houdini at the website of the PBS program “American Experience,” and read more on Wikipedia.

Music:

“Someone’s Behind” by Shakthi (from MacJams.com)

“Serpentine Trek” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Alchemist’s Tower” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Sound of the Fury” by Erik Scott Johnston

Learn more about Bloody Mary from Wikipedia, About.com, Snopes, and Scary for Kids.

Music:

“Darkest Child var A” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

Some music:

“Relent” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

There are several websites that discuss banshees, like Wikipedia, Ireland’s Eye, and Your Irish. Rune Scape fans, this will tell about your banshees. And if you were disappointed I didn’t discuss Siouxsie and the Banshees….

Music:

“The Pyre” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

Read the story yourself here.

Music:

“Lasting Hope” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“The Mad Scientist” by David Chochoi (from Soundclick.com)

“Pale Rider” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“65. Piano Darkation” by tschai (from Soundclick.com)

Should you not be too grossed out to want to learn more, Wikipedia has much more information. And it seems old Vlad has a bit of a fan club. Well, at least he has his own website. I wonder if he saw that coming?

Music:

“Distant Tension” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Hidden Danger B” by Kevin Macleod (freepd.com)

“Ghostpocalypse – 7“ by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

You can learn more about Vincent on Wikipedia, of course, and even more of course on IMDb. There is a virtual exhibit about Mr. Price, too. One of these days, I think I’ll make it a point to visit the Vincent Price Art Museum in Monterey Park, CA, even though it looks bright and cheery (which is what I find scary, to tell you the truth). Oh–here’s the ad for Milton Bradley’s Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture kit. You’ll find it in very old comic books, as well. Our friends at Relic Radio often feature Vincent’s radio show, The Price of Fear, on their podcast called “The Horror.”

Some of the background:

“Scissors” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Villainous Treachery”  by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Zona de Truenos” by Hollywood Haunts from “Halloween – El DÃ�a Del Muerto!” (INTROSOUND)
 Buy at iTunes Music Store
 Buy at Amazon MP3
 More On This Album

If you would like to read along, click here.

Music:

“A New Morning” by Persona (from MacJams.com)

“Misery” by The Danse Leviathan (Adam John Prawlocki) (from MacJams.com)

“The Serpent Mound” by Laura Sullivan from “Mystical America” (Sentient Spirit Records)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Amazon MP3

Some written step-by-step instructions can be found here. Halloween queen Martha Stewart shows you what all the tools look like. Disney Family Fun has Jack O’Lantern ideas if you need some.

Music:

“Circus Tent” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Amazing Plan” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Antagonist B” by Kevin Macleod (freepd.com)

“Iron Horse” and “Iron Horse – Distressed” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

GhostVillage.com tells the story as well. Or you can read Rhode Island Monthly‘s account. Haven’t had enough? The Vampire Project also explains. What, more? Really? By Light Unseen has an extensive article about the New England vampire phenomenon. A newspaper story about it. And of course Wikipedia has more details about poor Mercy and her family.

Did you know they sold vampire hunting kits in the 19th century? And they weren’t even kidding.

Music:

“Dark Walk” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Misery” by The Danse Leviathan (Adam John Prawlocki) (from MacJams.com)

Background music:

“Movement Proposition” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

There are many versions of Robert’s story, including Wikipedia’s, Paranormal News Central’s, a story from Squidoo.com, and Haunted America Tours.

Did you know that Robert the Doll has his own website (beware, the front page is a little creepy) and his own Twitter page.

Want to see what his house looks like?

Background music:

“Army of the Living Dead” by Vampire Division (from Soundclick.com)

“Night Break” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Pop Goes the Weasel” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

Read “To Night” or “Voices in the Air” yourself.

Learn about, and perhaps join, the Thomas Lovell Beddoes Society.

Background music:

“Femme” by the Tempest Brothers

“Wounded” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Serpentine Trek” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

TruTV has a detailed history.

PrairieGhosts.com tells the story as well.

There is a virtual museum dedicated to Lizzie Andrew Borden.

Wikipedia‘s article is here.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law goes into the trial in-depth.

Want to stay in the Borden family house? You can.

Background:

“Sound of the Fury” by Erik Scott Johnston

A few sites, including Wkipedia, have information about the Night Marchers.

Background

“80. Yeah, I Heard It” by tschai (from SoundClick.com)

“Zona de Truenos” by Hollywood Haunts from “Halloween – El DÃ�a Del Muerto!” (INTROSOUND)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Amazon MP3
More On This Album

“Zombie Chase” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

Amityvillefaq.com will tell you all about the murders and the haunting.

The Amityville Murders have an “official” website. I wonder who certified it? It does have a lot of information.

Wikipedia has information about the book The Amityville Horror, as well as Ronald DeFeo, Jr., the convicted killer of his family.

Background:

“Dopplerette” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Tomb of Terror!” by Hollywood Haunts from “Halloween Demons And Vampires”  (INTROSOUND)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Amazon MP3
More On This Album

“Right Behind You” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“The House of Leaves” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Insane” by David Chochoi (from SoundClick.com)

“Noise Attack” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

If you want to read the story for yourself, Wikisource has you covered.

Background:

“Parle Moi” by Day OFF (from Garageband.com)

“Zona de Truenos” by Hollywood Haunts from “Halloween – El DÃ�a Del Muerto!” (INTROSOUND)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Amazon MP3
More On This Album

“Alchemist’s Tower” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“The Hive” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Ghostpocalypse – 7″ by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Final Count“ by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

The official LonChaney.com covers both famous Chaneys, run by a current Chaney.

PBS’s American Masters page has a profile of Mr. Chaney.

IMDb will tell you much about his life and his cinematic works.

Learn more about Mr. Chaney from Wikipedia.com.

The unofficial LonChaney.org has many more links.

Background music:

“Toccata” by Vampire Division (from Soundclick.com)

Learn more about Halloween around the world here, here, here, and here.

Background music:

“Classic Horror 2” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Tenebrous Brothers Carnival – Act One” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

Wikipedia tells us about the personification of Death. Oh, and the metal band.

Oddly enough, HowStuffWorks.com has some good information on Death.

Regular folks weigh in on the Grim Reaper on the Urban Dictionary.

Oops, I forgot to mention the Marvel Comics villain The Grim Reaper. When you see him, you’ll understand why.

The Uncyclopedia has a completely bogus biography of The Grim Reaper.

Some background music:

“Grammophone Taps” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

If you would like to read “The Vampiress,” you can. Be careful, though, there is a picture of a vampiress that resembles Vampirella.

Learn more about Lord Lytton from Wikipedia.com.

Background Music:

“Wounded” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Death by Guillotine” by DJ Daddio

Wikipedia has a lot of information on horror hosts, including Vampira and Elvira, and all of the others mentioned on the episode.

Music:

“Alien Seduction” by Liquid Loops (from GarageBand.com)

For your own reading, you can turn to The Poe Museum, which is in Richmond, VA.

Mr. Poe was finally given a proper funeral, 16o years after his death. I meant to do an episode on it. I may, still, next year.

Music includes:

“Remains from the Past” by Grigor Iliev (from Soundclick.com)

“Prayers for the Dying” by Chamber of Sorrows (from Soundclick.com)

“Gagool” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Depression” by Twilight Productions

Wikipedia has lots on the film and Mr. Krueger.

Music:

“65. Piano Darkation” by tschai (from Soundclick.com)

If you need to know more about Count Chocula, I understand. So does Wikipedia.

If you would like to sample Haunted Hot Sauce’s line of zombie themed products, tell ‘em the Halloween Haunter sent you. You won’t get anything extra, and neither will I, but they’ll enjoy hearing it.

Learn about Jones Soda from Wikipedia, or the horse’s mouth, as it were.

Do you enjoy Krispy Kreme?

Music:

“The Burning Moon” by Derek K. Miller and Simon James (from the Penmachine Sessions)

The University of Pennsylvania provided the text and has a nice biography of Ms. Robinson.

Music:

Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” by classicala (from Soundclick.com)

Find out more about the Flying Dutchman at Wikipedia.com.

Music:

“Rebel” by Twilight Productions (from Soundclick.com)

About.com has quite the paranormal section where they discuss ghosts.

Studiesoftheparanormal.com has studied what ghosts are made of.

Music:

“Land of the Dead” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

Read the snippet from Beddoes’s unofficial “fan club,” PhantomWooer.org.

Read Death’s Jest-Book in its entirety.

Music:

Nocturne by Ekho (from GarageBand.com)

“Classic Horror 2″ by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

Music:

“Gagool” by by Kevin McLeod (from Incompetech.com)

More on the book and history of Jekyll/Hyde on Wikipedia.com.

An intellectual essay by Vladimir Nabokov.

Read the whole book.

Music:

“Awkward Meeting” and “Interloper” by Kevin McLeod are available at Incompetech.com.

A bit of “Psy Dreaming” by Combat Caveman (from GarageBand.com)

“The Mad Scientist” by David Chochoi (from Soundclick.com)

For more on the Winchester House, go to Wikipedia.

Or, you could go to the Winchester House and see for yourself in real life. They have special flashlight tours, including at this time of year. Tell ‘em the Halloween Haunter sent you. UPDATE 8/2011: News of special Halloween “Fright Night” events is coming out. And they have added a “Spirit Sightings” page, which is very creepy. I like it.

Music:

“Prayers for the Dying” by Chamber of Sorrows

Also, don’t forget to listen to the episode on Ghosts….

War-of-the-Worlds.org has everything on all forms of WotW.

Wikipedia has a lot of information for you to examine.

RelicRadio.org presents one of our favorite podcasts, The Horror!, which once presented the entire program (this taken from their Orson Welles: On the Air podcast)

Music:

“Twilight Realm” by Twilight Productions (from Soundclick.com)

Wikipedia has an extensive article on ghosts.

Teachers like ghosts, too.

Music:

“Tombstone” by Twilight Productions (from Soundclick.com)

Music includes:

“Ghosts LoveTheme” by Darius Holbert (from GarageBand.com)

Did you know that Michael Myers has an official website?

Did you know that Wikipedia has a lot of information on “Halloween?” Yes, of course you did….

Also, Top 25 costume lists from Snopes.com.

You can read the tale online yourself.

Learn all about Ambrose Bierce and find more works, too, at Biercephile.com.

More biography is available….

Music:

“Classic Horror 1” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

“Confused State” by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

Wikipedia.com has good articles on zombies and voodoo.

For a philosophical view of zombies check the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

A review of Wade Davis’s book about zombies, PASSAGE OF DARKNESS: THE ETHNOBIOLOGY OF THE HAITIAN ZOMBIE. No, it’s a real book. And a real review.

Make sure you’re up-to-date on your zombie survival.

Facebook has a zombie application. (By the way, become a fan on Facebook.)

The How Stuff Works website actually tells you how zombies work.

Look out for the FVZA…the Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency.

Marvel Comics have some very popular zombies.

The origin of DC Comics’ own zombie, Solomon Grundy.

You can read the first issue of The Walking Dead online for free.

Music:

“Rebel” by Twilight Productions (from Soundclick.com)

Also:

You can see what the HMS Ontario looked like.

The HMS Ontario made the news.

A video is also available to see.  Very spooky.

Music:

“Escape the Asylum” by Austin Martini (from Soundclick.com)

Read the poem yourself and learn more about Mr. Beddoes at PhantomWooer.org.

The music:

“Remains of the Past” by Grigor Iliev

“Tempest (de havilland vampire)” by the Brothers Femme

Links:

Learn more details about bobbing for apples.

Lots of history is available.

Some music:

The Burning Moon by Derek K. Miller and Simon James

If you want to learn more about Ouija:

Wikipedia.org has a pretty good summary.

The Museum of Talking Boards also tells you much about your favorite connection with the dead.

If you’re interested in purchasing a Ouija, or one of many other “talking boards” available, click here.

Music:

“Gargoyle” by Sean Timms (from GarageBand.com)

Read it for yourself here.

Wikipedia has an entry about the Day of the Dead which covers many countries.

Music:

“Death by Guillotine” by DJ Daddio

To find out more about the sad life of Mr. Beddoes, please check the Literary Gothic.

I found this poem in this book.

Music:

“Gargoyle” by Sean Timms (from GarageBand.com)

“Tempest” by the Brothers Femme

Read “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving yourself, if you’d like.

Read Washington Irving’s reflections on Sleepy Hollow, written years after the story.

More about Sleepy Hollow:

You can look at their local website, the Chamber of Commerce website, or the site for Sleepy Hollow’s Old Dutch Burying Ground.

Wikipedia’s entries on “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and Ichabod Crane.

Find out about Marvel Comics’ Headless Horseman.

Music:

“Angel of Death” by VTZ/Twilight Productions (from Soundclick.com)

Music:

“Gronk Patrol” by Derek K. Miller (He has a podcast, too)

Read the story yourself:

The Letter D: D’s True Halloween Story (Warning: this blog is not family friendly)

Some of the music:

“Ghost Story” by Hiroshi (from SoundClick.com)

“A Ghost in Love” by David Chochoi (from SoundClick.com)

For more information:

Wikipedia is a good place to start learning about wicca, and the modern-day witches.

For more on the history of witches in folklore and real life, and go in-depth, check the witches page of NewOrleansGhosts.com

Music:

“When All Falls Apart” by Twilight Productions

For more on Frankenstein visit:

Wikipedia’s entry about Frankenstein and his monster

A Wikipedia article on the monster’s place in popular culture

You might be interested in a book that goes more deeply into the monster’s place in popular culture. It’s by Susan Tyler Hitchcock, and it’s called Frankenstein: A Cultural History. Here is an interesting review from The Washington Post.

Music:

Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata by Classicala

Background music:

“Remains From the Past” by Gregor Iliev (just a little piece–it’s worth listening to the whole piece. You may yet hear the whole thing in the Halloween Haunt)

“Ghost That Still Haunts Me” Demo by Chamber of Sorrows (from the CD Dies Arae)

Take a bigger bite:

If you’re the helpful type, click here for details about how you can help UNICEF.

More on the number 5 treat.

Bet you didn’t know all of this about the number 4 delicacy.

Number 3 is many people’s favorite. But it’s still number 3.

Number 2 makes me laugh. Oops, no hints.

You can eat heaps of the treat at the top of the heap. But brush your teeth….

Background music:

“If You Only Knew Part I” by Twilight Productions (from Soundclick.com)

Music:

Nocturne by Ekho

To delve further:

Wikipedia focuses on the history of the (real) witch hunt.

Wikipedia examines the Salem witch trials.

If you’re thinking about visiting Salem, you might like this article.