October 31, 2025

Title: TERRORS OF THE DEEP

Constructors: K.J. Sarr & Olivia Mitra Framke

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• GOBLIN SHARK (20A: Predatory fish that isn't actually a folkloric monster)
• GHOST CRAB (39A: Pale crustacean that won't actually haunt you)
• VAMPIRE SQUID (58A: Darkly colored cephalopod that doesn't actually consume blood)

TERRORS OF THE DEEP: Each theme answer is a sea creature whose name begins with a fantastical creature: GOBLIN, GHOST, and VAMPIRE.

And now a word from our constructors:

K.J.: When I joined the Lil AVCX Roster earlier this year, I shared a few vague puzzle ideas with my mentor, Olivia: including one that was just a list of real sea creatures with fantastical names. I wasn’t sure if that even counted as a theme, but thanks to the magic of collaboration (and a refined focus on scary-sounding sea life, courtesy of Olivia), it became this Halloween puzzle that was great fun to grid and clue together!

Olivia: When K.J. brought up this theme idea, I immediately thought of a puzzle I made with my sister last year for USA Today called "Predators of the Deep" with a similar – but distinct – theme. I see today's puzzle as a bit of a spiritual successor to that one, and am honored to share a byline with K.J. for the first (but not only!) time. Happy Halloween, puzzlers!

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• HANOI (16A: Home to the Vietnamese Women's Museum) The Vietnamese Women's Museum is located in HANOI, the capital of Vietnam. The museum is operated by the Vietnam Women's Union, and has been open to the public since 1995. The museum's exhibits highlight the contributions of Vietnamese women throughout the country's history. Through its exhibits, the museum works to promote gender equality.
• DYE (33A: Color with cochineal, say) Cochineal is a natural vibrant red DYE derived from drying and crushing female cochineal insects. Also known as carmine, the DYE is used to color foods, cosmetics, and textiles.
• CHART (8D: Alignment ___ (player aid for some TTRPGs)) TTRPG here stands for tabletop role-playing game, such as Dungeons & Dragons. In such games, alignment CHARTs are a way for players to categorize the ethical and moral perspectives of characters and creatures.  Typically an alignment CHART has one axis characterizing lawfulness versus chaos and one axis characterizing good versus evil. This results in nine squares: lawful good, neutral good, chaotic good, lawful neutral, true neutral, chaotic neutral, lawful evil, neutral evil, and chaotic evil. This characterization system has been adapted beyond gaming, and I have seen many such alignment CHARTS. I just didn't know what they were called. Now I do.
• HAIKU (9D: Poetry form used by Kaga no Chiyo) Kaga no Chiyo (1703-1775) was a Japanese poet and a Buddhist nun. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest HAIKU poets. "The Morning Glory" is a HAIKU by Kaga no Chiyo. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ELM (1A: "Winged" tree) The winged ELM, also know as the wahoo, is a type of ELM characterized by corky wings that grow along its branches. The quotation marks around the word "winged" in the clue indicates that the word is paired with the answer.
• ROAD (13A: Robert Frost took one less traveled by) In his poem, "The ROAD Not Taken," Robert Frost says, "Two ROADs diverged in a wood, and I– / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference.
• ANYA (17A: Taylor-Joy who voiced Princess Peach) and POWER-UP (51A: Mario's Super Mushroom, e.g.) Here we have a pair of clues referencing the Mario franchise. Princess Peach is the head of state of the Mushroom Kingdom. In The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (upcoming in 2026) Princess Peach is voiced by ANYA Taylor-Joy. POWER-UP is a video gaming term that refers to an object that grants a player temporary benefits or extra abilities. In the Mario video games, a Super Mushroom is a POWER-UP that changes Mario from "Small Mario" to "Super Mario."
• AISLE (19A: Flight path?) Not a flight path as in the path an airplane takes, but rather the path one walks down inside an airplane, an AISLE.
• GOBLIN SHARK (20A: Predatory fish that isn't actually a folkloric monster) A GOBLIN SHARK is a rare species sometimes referred to as a "living fossil." The GOBLIN SHARK has a long snout that is covered with special sensing organs to detect prey. Honestly, the GOBLIN SHARK is pretty creepy looking. 
• ABC (23A: Block letters?) The letters ABC are commonly found on kids' blocks.
• ONO (24A: Performance artist Yoko) Yoko ONO is a retired artist, musician and activist. One of Yoko ONO's performance art pieces is titled Cut Piece 1964. She has performed this work a total of six times. Each time she sat on a stage, laid a pair of scissors in front of her, and invited audience members to cut pieces of her clothing off to take with them.
• ESTUARY (25A: Brackish habitat) An ESTUARY is a coastal body of water where freshwater from a river meets saltwater from an ocean. We saw the plural answer, ESTUARIES, in the October 5, 2025 puzzle. This feels like a nice bonus answer today. 
• GHOST CRAB (39A: Pale crustacean that won't actually haunt you) GHOST CRABs are so named because of their pale coloration and their nocturnal habits. GHOST CRABs have a box-like body and elongated eyestalks. They're a little creepy looking.
• VAMPIRE SQUID (58A: Darkly colored cephalopod that doesn't actually consume blood) The VAMPIRE SQUID has bioluminescent (light-emitting) organs and a unique oxygen metabolism, and those things allow it to live in deep parts of the ocean. It floats through the ocean and feeds on drifting debris called marine snow. In spite of its name, the animal isn't a SQUID at all, but the only living member of the family Vampyroteuthidae. Proportional to its body size, the VAMPIRE SQUID has the biggest eyes of any living animal. I rank the VAMPIRE SQUID lower on the creepy scale than the GOBLIN SHARK or GHOST CRAB, but honestly, I have no desire to meet any of these animals up close and personal. I do like looking at pictures of them though!
• MAYOCUE (3D: Novelty Heinz sauce that combines two condiments) As you might guess from its name, MAYOCUE is a combination of mayonnaise and barbecue sauce.
• SPAIN (4D: Alhambra's country) Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex in Granada, SPAIN. Alhambra is considered one of the finest examples of Islamic architecture in Europe. The palace also contains examples of Spanish Renaissance architecture.
• RYE (27D: "The Catcher in the ___") The Catcher in the RYE by J.D. Salinger was published in serial form in 1945 and 1946, and then as a novel in 1951. It has been many years since I read The Catcher in the RYE, and the main thing I remember about the book is that one of the characters is named Sally Hayes, which was my maiden name (and my name at the time I read it, so it's been at least 36 years...).
• POSSUM 35D: Marsupial that plays dead) It occurs to me that the POSSUM's ability to play dead in the face of danger fits in well with Halloween.
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• LOL (11D: "bahahaha")
• LIE (12D: Cheat at Truth or Dare, say)
• CAP (41D: Topper for a head or a pen)

Happy Halloween! Yesterday's puzzle, "Paranormal Sightings," did a good job of getting us in the holiday spirit. Today's puzzle is a nice follow-up with scary, but not-too-scary Halloween vibes. Thank you, K.J. and Olivia, for this delightful holiday puzzle.