• Photo by Mark McKenna
• Macabre Cabaret.

There's a chill in the air, Turner Classic Movies has unwrapped all the Mummy flicks and your favorite candies are now fun-sized and wrapped in orange and black. Mid-October is here, fiends — it's time to get your freak on.

Two dark delights on local stages this season offer spooktacular frights and fun. The Halloween tale with the confusing holiday title, 'Twas The Nightmare Before Christmas, spins to life Saturday, Oct. 20 at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. at Redwood Raks World Dance Studio ($10, $8 kids). 555 Contemporary Dance Company and The Ink People present this spooky and entertaining all-dance performance with guest artists Ya Habibi Dance Company, Sassafras Belly Dance Company, Susie Kidd, Melanie Quillen Zapper and Amy Remy.

Something creepier, kookier and altogether spookier for a slightly older set — ages 16 and up — is Dell'Arte Company's annual Macabre Cabaret, freaking out audiences Friday and Saturday, Oct. 19-20 at 8 p.m. at the Carlo Theatre ($15, $12 students/seniors). One of the company's most popular shows, the cabaret features a mixture of terrifying and humorous (nervous laughter?) with eccentric dances, macabre storytelling and untold thrills and chills. To secure your spot in the (possibly haunted) Carlo Theater, call 668-5663 or visit www.dellarte.com.

-Kali Cozyris