‘Ghastly Dreadfuls’ offers more treat than trick

The subtitle of the Center for Puppetry Arts’ “The Ghastly Dreadfuls: Raising Spirits” works on more than one level.

The Dreadfuls themselves are a group of groovy ghosts who rise from the grave to sing songs and share spooky stories every Halloween. Created by artistic director Jon Ludwig and resident puppet builder Jason Hines in 2006, multiple “Ghastly Dreadfuls” shows have been staged by the center over the years, including a supposedly final one, “The Last Ghast,” in 2012.

The new version brings the band back from the dead with slightly more emphasis on music and humor than some previous incarnations, suggesting they’re more intent on raising their spectators’ spirits than scaring the life out of them.

As emcee, Ludwig clearly relishes the puns and affected delivery of the kind of old-school horror host who’d introduce spooky movies on late night television. The ensemble of skilled puppeteers and swinging musicians also includes Hines, Scott DePoy, Kristin Haverty, Reay Kaplan, T.T. Mahony and Spencer G. Stephens, all in ghoulish makeup and antiquated outfits.

As each of the Dreadfuls recounts a different tale, the show employs various styles of puppetry — primarily marionettes, but also shadow puppets and even simple animation. The most inventive vignette, “The Girl in the New Dress,” unfolds via a rolling screen that conveys the point of view of a young dress shopper whose happy day takes a grisly turn.

The intricacy of the puppetry can be spellbinding. “The Ghost on the Trapeze,” about unfaithful circus performers, features figures that seem to balance and shift positions on high-wires and trapezes. “Le Danse Macabre’s” graveyard bacchanal includes a skeleton that swaps skulls, a broomstick-riding witch and ghoulish figures that split apart and reassemble.

The show draws on supernatural traditions from around the world, especially in “The Creepy Compendium of International Ghouls From A-Z,” but a theme of classic Americana weaves through the show. The still images of “New Dress” evoke mid-century magazine covers and print ads. “The 11:59,” about a retired Pullman train worker who hears an unearthly “death train,” harks back to bygone railroad culture. A slapstick-rich segment based on Mark Twain’s “A Ghost Story” includes a puppet that resembles the beloved author.

Musical numbers like “Riders in the Sky” and “Grim Grinning Ghosts” touch on such innately American themes as cowboys and Disney theme parks. Compared with earlier shows, “Raising Spirits” incorporates more pop songs that are a little too on-the-nose, but the group’s cheerful performances are irresistible. Overall, the show cultivates nostalgia for horror culture from before the era of found-footage scary movies, when mood was more important than gory special effects.

A new segment based on Oscar Wilde’s “The Canterville Ghost” confounds expectations when a hostile English ghost encounters the new American residents of an old castle. Previous “Ghastly Dreadfuls” shows reserved the final section for a longer, genuinely chilling tale, but “Canterville” opts for straight-up comedy. As inanimate objects that simulate life, puppets can become eerie quite easily, so it feels like the lighthearted approach of “Raising Spirits” doesn’t quite meet the show’s full potential.

With its moments of bawdy comedy and outbreaks of violence, “The Ghastly Dreadfuls: Raising Spirits” prohibits audiences under 16 years old, but it’s a generally upbeat evening that had some visitors standing up to dance on the night I attended. If December can have multiple stage productions of “A Christmas Carol,” every October should have a show like this, which blends good scares with kitschy tunes like “The Monster Mash.”

Overall, “Raising Spirits” is less like visiting a haunted house full of terrifying encounters, and more like a masquerade party with rollicking music. The jokes and songs are real treats, but fans of the earlier “Ghastly Dreadfuls” wouldn’t mind a little more trick.