Whether it's one of the scariest gatherings of zombies in history or the lightning speed with which Stephen Clarke can carve a pumpkin - Guinness World Records has been there for the most spook-tacular record attempts.

Here below are some of our favourite Halloween-y records.

The largest Time Warp dance
To mark the 35th anniversary of spooky movie musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 8,239 ghoulish groovers got down to dance to the film's signature song, Time Warp, at last year's West Hollywood Annual Halloween Carnaval.

Fastest time to carve one tonne of pumpkins
Anyone struggling to create their own jolly jack-o'-lanterns right now are sure to be envious of Stephen Clarke, (pictured at the top of the page).

The American managed to set a new world record in October 2008 by carving one tonne of pumpkins is an incredible 3 hours 33 minutes 49 seconds during a special event at Harrah's Casino Resort, Atlantic City in New Jersey.

Largest gathering of zombies
With the likes of TV show The Waking Dead, zombie's seem to have never been so popular, with numerous undead-themed records having been attempted recently.

The largest gathering of zombies was achieved in October 2010 by 4,093 participants during the New Jersey Zombie Walk at the Asbury Park Boardwalk in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA.

Most systematic scientific study into haunted locations
In 2002, parapsychologist Dr Richard Wiseman, of Hertfordshire University, UK made it into the record books for staging the biggest ghost hunt ever.

Dr Wiseman led an in-depth scientific experiment to test the reactions of more than 250 volunteers who were exposed to supposed 'haunted' locations in Edinburgh, including the vaults of Edinburgh Castle.

As well as recording the reactions and feelings of the volunteers, a variety of sensors were deployed. These included a magnetometer, thermal imager, air temperature and movement sensors and a light meter, as well as photographic and video cameras.

Speaking after the hunt, he said: "Some people reported hearing heavy breathing and some saw ghostly lights while a woman said she saw a strange figure walking about. But none of the stories convinced me ghosts exist. I first got into this subject because I used to be a magician and I saw how easily people could be tricked."

Most expensive ghosts
Two vials supposedly containing the exorcized spirits of an old man and a young girl were sold in an online auction in New Zealand in March 2010 for NZ$2,830 (£1,300).

Avie Woodbury said the ghosts had been captured in her Christchurch house after she enlisted enlisted the help of an exorcist and an ouija board to contact and trap the spirits.

The auction, which attracted more than 200,000 page views on the Trade Me website, was won by Safer Smoke NZ, a company which produces electronic cigarette substitutes.

Proceeds from the sale of the expensive spirits - trapped in bottles with holy water - went to an animal charity.

Highest grossing horror movie
While spooky films purists may point to miovies like The Exocist or Don't Look Now as being scarier, teen vampire flick, the highest grossing horror movie of all time is teen vampire flick The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), which had grossed $710m (£440m) worldwide by 1 April 2010.

Longest Scream by a Crowd
The longest scream by a crowd without stopping lasted 60 seconds and was set by a crowd led by Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California on 11 June 2010.

Largest gathering of people dressed as vampires
The largest gathering of people dressed as vampires consisted of 1,039 participants at an event organised by Kings Dominion (USA) in Doswell, Virginia, USA, on 30 September 2011.

World's oldest ghost
Ghost Ranch in north-central New Mexico's Rio Arriba County earns its name from the many sightings made here for generations of a huge ghostly reptile of serpentine form and measuring 6-9 m long, which has been dubbed Vivaron, the snake-demon, by local inhabitants.

Initially dismissed as mere folklore, it acquired greater significance and attention when, in 1947, palaeontologist Edwin H. Colbert unearthed a huge cache of fossil skeletons in this same area, derived from various prehistoric reptiles.

These not only included more than a thousand dinosaur specimens but also a very elongate 9-m-long crocodile-like creature known as a phytosaur.

Its discovery led to speculation that the paranormal "snake-demon" being reported by the locals was the ghost of this phytosaur!

If this were true, and bearing in mind that its fossil skeleton is 220 million years old, dating from the Triassic Period, the phytosaur's spectre would therefore be the world's oldest ghost!

Heaviest pumpkin
The heaviest pumpkin weighed 824.86 kg (1,818 lb 5 oz) and was presented by Jim and Kelsey Bryson (Canada) at the Prince Edward County Pumpkinfest, Wellington, Ontario, Canada, on 15 October 2011.

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First mathematical model for surviving a zombie attack
In January 2009, graduate students and mathematicians from Carleton University, Ottawa, and the University of Ottawa, Canada, published the first mathematical investigation of the zombie - "a reanimated human corpse that feeds on living flesh".

Taking their cues from traditional zombie movies, and in particular the classics by George A Romero (USA), the authors Philip Munz, Ioan Hudea, Joe Imad and Robert J. Smith (all Canada) hypothesized the effect of a zombie attack and its impact on human civilization.

According to their mathematical model, "a zombie outbreak is likely to lead to the collapse of civilization, unless it is dealt with quickly.

While aggressive quarantine may contain the epidemic, or a cure may lead to coexistence of humans and zombies, the most effective way to contain the rise of the undead is to hit hard and hit often."

If an infection breaks out in a city of 500,000 people, the theories goes, the zombies will outnumber the living in about three days.

"Only sufficiently frequent attacks, with increasing force, will result in eradication," the authors conclude, "assuming the available resources can be mustered in time."