Casper's Halloween tales available on DVD

NEW YORK -- Casper the Friendly Ghost scares up some laughs on two new DVDs that would make for some family fun during the Halloween season.

"Casper's Spookiest Tales" and "Casper, A Spirited Beginning" have all the trappings of the holiday -- ghosts, witches and a mysterious galloping horse -- but, as anyone who remembers the classic cartoon that first appeared in the 1940s knows, nothing is too scary to give little ones nightmares.

"Spookiest Tales" is a collection of 13 episodes from the old TV series, including "Boos and Saddles," "True Boo" and "Super Spook," while "A Spirited Beginning" is a full-length movie, originally released in theaters in 1997, that mixes live action and animation.

"A Spirited Beginning" explains how Casper ended up a friendly ghost instead of a scary one: He never finished basic training and he's now haunted by the king of spooks.

There's also a new Casper CD. "Casper's Spookiest Songs and Sounds" features seasonal favorites "Thriller," "Monster Mash" and "Time Warp."