If you're looking for a scary ghost for Halloween, forget about Casper, because as the most famous ghost of all, he's also the most unthreatening and kid-friendly, being a kid himself. The cute, pudgy animated character has been around for about 70 years and is still as benign as ever.

Seen in theatrical cartoons before he was a Saturday morning TV staple and comic book character, Casper was created by Seymour Reit, who, in 1939, came up with the concept, and Joe Oriolo, who provided the visual image, for a children's book. When Reit went off to serve in World War II, Orioli sold the rights to Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios animation division, which debuted the character in a 1945 cartoon, “The Friendly Ghost,” followed by two other Noveltoons based on succeeding Reit-Oriolo books, “There's Good Boos Tonight” in 1948, and “A-Haunting We Will Go” the following year. It was about this time that the head of Famous Studios, Sam Buchwald, decided to make Casper the Friendly Ghost the focus of a series.

As has been pointed out by several critics, almost every Casper cartoon has virtually the same plot. Casper sets off from his haunted home, tries to make friends with some people or animals who run off shuddering at the sight of him. Outcast and dejected, the poor little guy tries to kill himself (forgetting that he's already dead) by stretching out on a railway track before an oncoming train, but then finally convinces someone that he's OK by performing a heroic deed, leading to a happy ending — and that's pretty much it.

In 1949, Casper and his other Famous cohorts were licensed to appear in Jubilee comic books, a contract taken over the following year by St. John comics. In 1952, the Harvey Co., founded by Alfred Harvey, began producing Casper comics, then buying the rights to all the Famous characters, including Casper, in 1957. The comic book and cartoon artists together created a cast of supporting characters that included Nightmare the Ghost Horse, the Ghostly Trio, a tough little ghost called Spooky, and Wendy, the Poor Little Witch Girl. Between 1950 and 1959, Paramount/Famous Studios produced 62 Casper cartoons.

Casper made his first TV appearance in 1959 on a show called “Matty's Famous Funnies,” which was sponsored by Mattel. The cast and crew became Saturday morning TV staples in 1963, in a show that ran for six years, followed by other series in 1969 and 1979 (“Casper and the Angels”), followed by two Hanna-Barbera holiday specials. And the spectral character's fame extended into the 90s, when Steven Spielberg produced a $50-million feature film. Casper has also served as a recruiter for the Boy Scouts of America, and in 1972, painted on the side of Apollo 16, he flew to the moon.

When it comes to collectibles there are, of course, the early comic books. There has been, in addition, a massive merchandising program over the years. Milton Bradley put out a “Casper the Friendly Ghost” board game in 1959, followed by a “Wendy the Good Little Witch” game in 1966. There were plastic mugs and drinking cups, a highly collectible blue vinyl King Seeley lunchbox and thermos (now valued at up to $300), a 1961 talking doll by Mattel with a terrycloth body and plastic face and a pull string to activate the voice and a 1959 Mattel Casper Musical Ge-Tar; a cookie jar, figural lamps and a nightlight, two Pez dispensers (avidly sought by crossover Pez collectors), playing cards and trading cards, a set of hand puppets, jigsaw and sliding-tile puzzles, a tin wind-up Casper toy, train sets, tops, flicker rings, and a 3-reel View-Master set. And, of course, lots of Casper costumes, just perfect for Halloween.

Linda Rosenkrantz has edited Auction magazine and authored 18 books, including "Cool Names for Babies" and "The Baby Name Bible" (St. Martin's Press; www.babynamebible.com). She cannot answer letters personally. To find out more about Linda Rosenkrantz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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