Even preschoolers love to be scared — just a teeny bit. And Halloween, with all its participatory activities, is for legions of children the year's best event — far preferable to anything in December, which usually requires stiff fancy clothes and long family dinners.

These two new preschooler seasonal specials, however, collectively make "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" look like a thriller.

The "Jakers!" "Song of the Banshee" episode Monday presents the most ghoulish story line, with an opening scene of a headless shirt floating through the living room. Quickly, it's revealed that one of Grandpa Piggley's grandchildren is hidden in the shirt.

As always, Grandpa remembers a story from his childhood in Ireland, when he and his buddies Dannan (a duck) and Ferny (a bull) were playing pirates in the barn.

The three playmates believed they heard a banshee (in Irish folklore, a female spirit who wails outside the house, warning of an impending death).

As the friends alternately get frightened and reassured, it's clear that what scares them the most is their own imaginations. Sheep in a nearby meadow, the buddies discover, are doing the wailing, which pipes in the barn amplify, creating an awful sound.

This particular episode, with its examples of vivid imagination (the pals unearth "pirate treasure" that's really a box filled with mud and worms), seems to exemplify what adults would hope for their children: long days of nothing to do but concoct silly ideas in their heads and then act them out.

For preschoolers who can't stomach even the tiniest bit of fearfulness, "Monster Detectives" works well.

Pablo becomes the Soccer Monster in this episode, taking Uniqua's very pink soccer ball. Uniqua calls upon Tyrone to help her find her ball.

Their hunt, accompanied by lots of songs, takes them to the Soccer Monster castle. No dark, foreboding fortress at the top of a craggy cliff, with lightning in the background here. It's a light-colored brick castle set upon a bright green grassy field with birds chirping in the blue sky.

Uniqua's biggest issue once she enters is her runny nose (probably, she guesses, because it's dusty inside). She and Tyrone sneak through the house (on occasion breaking into song) looking for the missing soccer ball. They finally find it, and the Soccer Monster, in the castle's indoor arena. Tyrone and Uniqua turn to leave only to hear Pablo say he wishes someone would play soccer with him. Why, that's exactly what Uniqua would like to do, too, and in the end, Tyrone joins them.

This seems to be the preferred way to handle Halloween for preschool viewers these days: a few hints at monsters-not-so-mean and spirits-not-too-scary. It makes either of these shows perfectly fit for any preschooler.