'When shall we all meet again in thunder, lightning, or in rain? When the hurlyburly's done, when the puzzle's solved and won' (apologies to Mr. Shakespeare)
It's the night before all the demons and goblins come out (most of them looking for candy) and some of us will cower in the house ignoring the incessant knocking and ringing and the little voice telling us "they're here!". Others will trot out diabetes inducing treats and try to guess who their visitors are. Either way this is a good way to tune up for the big goodie grab or may give you somehting to do while you ignore the bell (and listen for the sound of toilet paper rolls flying around).
I would say that this is at most a Calico (well if there are solid black calicos) in full Halloween cat pose.
Kitten
Calico
Persian
Puma
Lion
My co-conspirators who helped bring you this "treat" were my testers; pair-o-ducks, snood, edestlin. There will be nudges if needed and a reveal on Tuesday next. Until then, see if you can scare up an answer.
NUDGES:
DUH!
In all the Halloween prep and some ongoing issues with my car I completely forgot to post nudges. Darn!
OK, hopefully this will be better late than never:
Nudge 1] Things that go bump in the night to me has always conjured up spooky and unexplained things that make the noises that cause you (or the cat) to stare wildly into a dark hall
Nudge 2] Given that, are there any clues/words in the GRID that conjure up scary things?
Nudge 3] For me, at least one of them was a movie I saw when I was a kid, which left me feeling unwrapped!
Nudge 4] Another was one that made me worry every time I felt a little pressure in my chest
Nudge 5] Once you find the "themers" the next step is easy and rather standard
Nudge 6] But...that seems like an odd answer, must be something he wants us to add...ah yes I see why the title helps again
REVEAL:
The desired path to the meta answer was:
Recognize there were 5 "scary" things in the puzzle. I don't know about you, but:
13A Scary role for Karloff = MUMMY. As a kid that movie scared me to bits.
33A Thriller with Sigourney = ALIEN. That movie STILL scares me, as does any chest pressure after watching it.
37A Ominous bird = RAVEN. I still think that poem is spine tingling.
42. Like the "X-Files" = EERIE. Nuff said.
63A. My friend dressed as a ghost to try to ___ me = SPOOK. People jumping out at me, even if NOT dressed as a ghost, scare me.
Put those all together and do the old "First letter" thing and you get MARES. Wait, what MARES? Horses can be imposing but not really universally scary. Ah but wait, what is the title, "Things that go bump in the NIGHT", a phrase often used to describe the scary things in life lends its NIGHT to the meta and we get NIGHTMARES, which too much Halloween can certainly give you. Good lateral thinking to those who answered DIABETES, ULCERS, LITTER, etc. but to all those who got NIGHTMARES from (or over) this puzzle; Thank You!
For a graphic depiction of the solve please go to: