Do you really have only 3 teeth? I’m not sure how that rumor got started, but I would like to assure you that I have a full set of teeth, and I take darned good care of them too. I think that the whole 3-tooth jack-o-lantern thing came about because it’s just easier to carve 3 big teeth into a pumpkin than to do a full set. But I have all mine, and intend to keep it that way.

Do you like Pumpkin Pie? I do. And pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin soup, pumpkin seeds.

Are you nocturnal? I’m not much of a sleeper at all, in fact. When I was a kid I used to just grab a quick nap under a tree or something like that, maybe a (black) cat nap by the fire. But we don’t have much in the way of good trees for napping under here at the North Pole (and it’s too cold in any event.) I do still grab naps by the fires, and sometimes in the bins of soft toys they’re making in the factories, or near the big oven in the kitchen with all the bread that’s rising. I’m a napper, not a sleeper.

Why do people try to scare you on Halloween? I don’t know, but I find it troubling, and I would like to get to the bottom of it. Now, I like a good startle here and there, something funny jumping out from the bushes in the dark. But people have gone and gotten all gory and blood-and-gutsy, and I don’t like it, not one bit. I started these traditions of games and pranks and crazy costumes so that kids could have fun in their imaginations. You know, bring a little of that fancy into their real lives. But this zombie mutant stuff just ain’t right. If you have any ideas, let me know.

Do you do any tricks? Sure. Loads of ‘em. Just the other day I made a batch of rice pudding for Bruce, but I used Cayenne pepper instead of cardamon. That was hysterical. And I’ve been known to put horns in the stuffed animals, or sing silly songs over the PA system in the middle of the night. I think that every day is a good day for fun, costumes and some harmless tricks.