HALLOWEEN plays on our fascination with the line between life and death. Bringing things to life is the focus of a rich variety of stories — from Frankenstein’s monster to Chucky the scary killer doll to Pinocchio the puppet.The golems of Jewish folklore date from at least the 12th century. Greek myth contains several examples, from Pygmalion’s sculpture of a woman who is brought to life, to Talos, a man made of bronze.

As our ideas about what constitutes the essential elements of life continue to evolve, science continues to worry at the edge of the distinction between dead and alive, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT

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