Armed with courage and hopefully garlic, two horror fans dying for a thrill will become the first guests in almost 70 years to spend a night at Dracula's castle in Transylvania on Halloween.

More than 80,000 subscribers to the home-sharing service Airbnb have taken part in a global contest for the unique chance to stay at the brooding fortress, perched on a rock above the misty Carpathian valley in central Romania.

The so-called creepy clown trend has spread to Austria where several people have been injured in attacks by masked assailants in the lead-up to Halloween.

With Halloween in the air, ghouls are set to emerge from the shadows in the quiet streets of Pluckley, reputedly the most haunted village in England.

A priest in Palermo, Sicily who was known locally for carrying out exorcisms and spiritual 'healing' has been arrested on sex abuse charges along with an army colonel, local media reported Friday.

Pyongyang's newly opened zoo has a new star: Azalea, the smoking chimpanzee.

According to officials at the newly renovated zoo, which has become a favorite leisure spot in the North Korean capital since it re-opened in July, the 19-year-old female chimpanzee, whose name in Korean is "Dallae," smokes about a pack a day. Dallae is short for azalea.

Syria may have been devastated by a five year civil war, but that hasn't stopped Damascus city council tackling the problem of unsightly laundry and litter.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday hit back at criticism from his wife about his leadership, saying she "belongs to my kitchen".

A man in Sweden has been stabbed by an attacker wearing a clown mask, police said Friday, as a wave of hysteria about sightings of "creepy" or "killer" clowns sweeps the United States and European nations.

A growing number of people are heading to the streams and rivers in search of gold. There is plenty to be had, experts say, but probably not enough for you to quit your day job.

To find the specks of gold or even a nugget or two, you will need to the right equipment and keen sense of where to find it. A few tips from the experts:

Marijuana legalization has chefs trying out pot pairings, and pot growers seeking new aromas and flavors. Colorado now has a few private dinners where guests can try different flavors of marijuana and see how they match with food.

But legal obstacles remain for businesses that want to combine marijuana and dining, even in legal weed states. Ballot measures being considered this fall could change that, though.