Real Monsters and ghosts

Halloween is a time to celebrate mythical creatures that haunt our dreams — when the undead come to life and bloodsuckers go on the prowl.

Vampire bat

The common vampire bat has earned a bad rap for its bloodthirsty habit, and the fact that it sometimes spreads rabies to cattle, but this spooky creature very rarely bites humans, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In fact, the bat's salivacontains an anticlotting agent that has been used as a treatment for blood clots in humans.

True to their name, vampire bats feed on the blood of their prey. Three species of bloodsucking bat exist: the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), the hairy-legged vampire bat (Diphylla ecaudata) and the white-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi). (Image Credit: (Daniel Streicker)

Zombie ant

In the animal kingdom, it's the closest thing to "Night of the Living Dead": a parasitic fungus infects the brains of carpenter ants, making the insects crawl to a spot that is ideal for the fungus to reproduce.

Just before the zombie ant dies, it chomps down on a leaf with its mandibles. The parasite (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis) continues to grow out of the ant's dead body, converting its insides into sugars. After a week or two, the parasite sends spores to the floor where they can infect other unsuspecting ants. (Image Credit: David P Hughes)

Ghost frog

No Halloween would be complete without ghosts, and again, Mother Nature doesn't disappoint. The Table Mountain Ghost Frog (Heleophryne rosei) was namedafter the ghostly atmosphere of Skeleton Gorge, South Africa, where the animal was first found, according to the IUCN. But soon, this critically endangered species could live up to its name — it's population declined by an estimated 50 percent between 1980 and 2000, as a result of foreign vegetation, fires and water shortages, the IUCN said. (Image Credit: Atherton de Villiers)