TURN-ONS AND TURN-OFFS IN CURRENT HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES : Excellent Good Fair Poor : VIDEOCASSETTES

“Hollywood Ghost Stories.” Warner. $29.98. This could have been the perfect tape to rent for Halloween, but the 75-minute mishmash of film clips, interviews with psychics and other material never decides what it wants to be. The result is sometimes entertaining, but the meandering structure, lack of focus, missed opportunities and wide-eyed approach (skepticism gets short shrift) try one’s patience. Scenes from “The Exorcist” and other horror flicks provide a few scares and a few vintage moments (Mrs. Harry Houdini acting in a 1939 film about her attempts to communicate with her dead husband, for instance) are interesting, but too much emphasis on unsubstantiated spectral sightings makes this tape less than a treat. Information: (818) 954-6000.