Space Ghosts, Coast to Coast
The Creche Koalabird is always staring into mirrors, which leads to its reputation for vanity. But our zoologists have discovered another reason for its behavior: It is watching for space ghosts.
Each square in the Vampire, Ghost, and Zombie grids will be filled with either a letter or a diagonal mirror that's reflective on both sides. Place these letters and mirrors such that the answers to each clue or string of clues will follow a path that starts at the appropriate white letter on a black background, travels straight into the grid, bounces off each mirror it encounters (making a 90 degree turn in the proper direction), and eventually exits at the corresponding black letter on a gray background. Each square, whether it contains a letter or a mirror, will be used exactly twice.
Vampire
A. 1-800-Cash-Call's is 99.25%: Abbr.
B. What's My Line? mainstay Francis; The Giant Ocean Tank has one
C. It bothered a princess
D. Govern; More in Spanish
E. "Dear ____:"
F. Mythological being
G. What a Windows user may need cleaned
H. View from ______; Pig's digs
I. Slices of a pizza that's been cut four times, e.g.
J. Poi ingredient; What a gin player can take: 2 wds.
K. A source of lemons: 2 wds.
L. How some pharmaceuticals are obtained: Abbr.
M. Movie adapted from a Shakespeare work
N. Mash into pulp; Smooth transition; Do a lot of damage to; Part of a race; Net addresses: Abbr.
O. Narc's agency: Abbr.
P. Like pi, as opposed to i
Ghost
A. Purse brand; What the sheep says
B. When repeated, a dolphinfish
C. Little bit; Grampa Simpson
D. Thin pastry dough: Var.; Fold
E. Eighth World Chess Champion Mikhail; Nervous spasms
F. Ornate drinking cup
G. The limit, as N approaches infinity, of (1 + 1/N)^N
H. Spew
I. In the middle of nowhere
J. It's right after viernes; Headwear that may accompany kilts
K. Distraught
L. Fool or deceive
M. Points of religion?
N. Himmler commanded it: Abbr.
O. Unchanging
P. First murder victim; Fertile soil; Mon's successor: Abbr.; Controversial relief org.: Abbr.
Zombie
A. French bread
B. It's far from land: 2 wds.
C. Video game company: Abbr.
D. Deal with an actor's departure, in a way
E. Homophone of the second answer in L; Legendary Central Square nightclub demolished in 2005
F. Happen again; Caesar's accusation: 2 wds.
G. Tippy-top
H. Most northeast county in Massachusetts; John McClane's alias in Die Hard
I. Tigger's creator
J. Nightmarish street; The E in BPOE
K. HBO biopic that garnered Angelina Jolie a Golden Globe; Dipsomaniacs
L. In _____ of; Homophone of the first answer in E
M. Practiced animal husbandry
N. On Lost, Hurley has said this single-word catchphrase more than 200 times; Substance
O. The Second was 300,000 nobles in France
P. More delectable
Frankenstein
To fill the Frankenstein grid:
- Transcribe the mirrors from the other grids into this grid.
- Every square that does not have a mirror will contain a Vampire, Ghost, or Zombie.
- There are an equal number of each type of monster.
- Each number around the edge of the grid indicates how many monsters can be seen by someone standing in that spot and looking straight into the grid, taking into account reflections. (The same monster seen twice due to reflections is counted twice.)
- True to legend, Vampires cannot be seen in mirrors, and can only be seen head-on.
- Ghosts cannot be seen head-on, and can only be seen in mirrors.
- Zombies can always be seen.
- The three shaded spaces contain the same type of monster.
- No two monsters of the same type are orthogonally adjacent.
- Once all the mirrors have been placed, the grid will contain two infinite loops (paths that neither enter nor exit the grid, but bounce around endlessly between mirrors). One contains two Vampires; the other contains a Vampire, a Ghost, and two Zombies.