Most bats drink blood.

Myth. Only three of the world’s 1,400-plus bat species feed on blood, and all of them live in Central and South America. Most bats eat insects or fruit.

Vampire bats can run along the ground.

Fact. They use their folded wings as front legs and can scamper, hop and even leap into the air.

Spiders are insects.

Myth. Spiders are arachnids. Insects have six legs and three body parts, while spiders have eight legs and two.

People swallow around eight spiders a year in their sleep.

Myth. There’s no evidence for it. A sleeping, breathing, snoring human is more likely to scare spiders away.

Owls can turn their heads all the way round.

Myth. They can turn them about 270 degrees, helped by having twice as many neck bones as we do.

A pumpkin is about 90% water.

Fact. That’s why a carved pumpkin starts to shrivel and sag within a week or two.

Hair and fingernails keep growing after death.

Myth. The skin dries out and pulls back, which only makes them look longer.

Wolves howl at the full moon.

Myth. Wolves howl to talk to their pack. They tip their heads up to carry the sound further, whatever the moon is doing.

A full moon makes hospital emergency departments busier.

Myth. Large studies of emergency visits have found no real link to the phases of the moon.

Some frogs survive the winter partly frozen.

Fact. The North American wood frog can have around two-thirds of its body water frozen, then thaw out in spring.

Strangers poisoning trick-or-treat sweets has been a common danger.

Myth. A sociologist who studied decades of news reports found no confirmed case of a child being seriously harmed by a stranger’s poisoned Halloween sweets.

Goosebumps are a leftover from when our ancestors were much hairier.

Fact. Tiny muscles make hairs stand up, which once helped animals keep warm or look bigger to a threat.

Crows can recognise individual human faces.

Fact. In one US study, crows learned the mask worn by researchers who trapped them and kept scolding anyone wearing it for years.

A tarantula bite is usually deadly to humans.

Myth. Most tarantula bites hurt about as much as a bee sting. Their itchy hairs are often more of a nuisance than their fangs.

The Tower of London keeps ravens because of a legend.

Fact. Legend says the kingdom will fall if the ravens ever leave, so at least six are kept there at all times.

Garlic really was used in folk traditions to ward off evil spirits.

Fact. In parts of Europe people hung garlic in doorways or rubbed it on windows to keep evil spirits and vampires away.

A blue moon looks blue.

Myth. The name usually means a second full moon in one calendar month. It only looks blue in rare cases, such as after big volcanic eruptions or wildfires.

Cats’ eyes shine in the dark because of a mirror-like layer at the back of the eye.

Fact. The layer bounces light back through the eye, which helps cats see in dim light and makes their eyes glow in torchlight.

Ghost peppers got their name because they’re pale and see-through.

Myth. They’re bright red. The name comes from “bhut jolokia”, and “bhut” can mean ghost.

Ground-up mummies were once sold as medicine in Europe.

Fact. For centuries, powdered “mumia” was sold by apothecaries and swallowed as a cure for all sorts of ailments.