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Halloween Tricks And Audio Treats In honor of this ancient Pagan holiday, we bring you stories about clever costumes, spooky songs and grown-up Halloween desserts.
Special Series

Halloween Tricks And Audio Treats

We bring you stories about clever costumes, spooky songs and grown-up Halloween desserts.
The 'Thriller' Dance, A Halloween Tradition

A fan dressed as Michael Jackson's zombie character participates in the 2009 "Thrill the World: A Global Tribute to Michael Jackson" in Astoria Park in the Queens section of New York.

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Music Interviews

The 'Thriller' Dance, A Halloween Tradition

"Michael contacted me and he just wanted to turn into a monster," says director John Landis.

The 'Thriller' Dance, A Halloween Tradition

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The Songs That Scare

The Songs That Scare

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All Songs Considered

The Songs That Scare

Forget "Monster Mash" — this Halloween, All Songs Considered puts aside kitschy tales of ghosts and goblins to focus on music that is truly, deeply terrifying.

The Songs That Scare

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8 Things Everyone Needs To Know About Zombies

A zombie crawls through New York's Union Square during a promotion for the AMC network television series The Walking Dead. Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images

8 Things Everyone Needs To Know About Zombies

Zombies, it seems, are everywhere these days, so we've hauled in an expert to prepare us for the invasion.

8 Things Everyone Needs To Know About Zombies

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Haunted House Has Painful Past As Asylum

The former administrative building of the Pennhurst State School and Hospital is now the main location for the Pennhurst Asylum, a Halloween haunted event in Spring City, Pa. Coburn Dukehart/NPR hide caption

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Haunted House Has Painful Past As Asylum

Outside Philadelphia, a local businessman has converted a former mental asylum into a haunted house attraction. Mental health advocates say the transformation demeans a painful past that should not be forgotten.

Haunted House Has Painful Past As Asylum

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Beyond The Grave: Contacting Houdini

Ninety-year-old Sid Radner has had a lifelong fascination with Harry Houdini and tries to contact the escape artist and magician every year on Halloween at the Official Houdini Seance. StoryCorps hide caption

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StoryCorps

StoryCorps

Beyond The Grave: Contacting Houdini

A lifelong Houdini fan, 90-year-old Sid Radner has been holding seances every year on Halloween, the anniversary of the magician's death, to try to contact him.

Beyond The Grave: Contacting Houdini

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For Halloween, TV Scares That Are Still Kid-Friendly

Jordan (Victoria Justice) and Hunter (Chase Ellison) get a good scare in Nickelodeon's new feature The Boy Who Cried Werewolf. Michael Courtney/Nickelodeon hide caption

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Michael Courtney/Nickelodeon

Television

For Halloween, TV Scares That Are Still Kid-Friendly

The season is here for small-screen spookiness. And kids, especially, love to be scared. But where do writers and producers draw the line between fun-scary and too scary? Writers for Nickelodeon and PBS explain how they make sure "boo" doesn't turn into boo-hoo.

For Halloween, TV Scares That Are Still Kid-Friendly

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Fear The Pumpkin: In Ukraine, It's The Big Kiss-Off

Vegetable seller Olesya Vladymyrovna, 55, holds a pumpkin at a market in Lviv, Ukraine. For centuries in the Eastern European nation, a pumpkin meant: "No, I will not marry you." David Greene/NPR hide caption

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Fear The Pumpkin: In Ukraine, It's The Big Kiss-Off

Forget Halloween. In Ukraine, the orange vegetable is scary, for real. It is synonymous with rejection, especially in matters of the heart. For centuries, men proposing marriage might have received a pumpkin as a form of "no."

Fear The Pumpkin: In Ukraine, It's The Big Kiss-Off

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Opinion

On Halloween, Celebrating Differences Of All Types

Commentator Ben Mattlin, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy, says he used to feel uneasy about the way the holiday encourages people to stare all things weird. Now, he tries to see the day as an opportunity to stretch perceptions and make it a day of acceptance.

On Halloween, Celebrating Differences Of All Types

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