Answers to Puzzle Contest (from the winner):

"1. mummy (mum)
2. vampire (umpire, empire)
3. pumpkin (pump, kin)
4. Michael Myers (Halloween movies, Mike Myers-comedian)
5. Dracula (card, impaler)"

For #5 the "impaler" was more specifically Vlad the Impaler. #4 was the most commonly missed, I think moreso from non-U.S. readers who may not be as familiar with the Halloween movies and funnyman Mike Myers.

Winner: Shirley Wolf, Rockville, MD

Contest Statistics: Newsletter sent to 301466 subscribers, 28 answer sets submitted, 25 answers sets correct, 89.29% accuracy. Chance of a correct answer set winning: 4.00%.