'Dancing With the Stars' recap: Sean Spicer's Frankenstein horrifies on Halloween Night

Last week, the "Dances With the Stars" world was rocked with the dramatic, tearful loss of a talented star, Sailor Brinkley-Cook. No one saw that coming.

But this week, the tears turned to pure horror in the run-up to Halloween. Sean Spicer found his spirit monster with a foot-clomping Frankenstein on "Halloween Night" and "Bachelorette" Hannah Brown earned a zombie tiara for killing off her beauty pageant queen past.

There were some scares and some exquisite beauty as the top of the leaderboard was crammed with high scores. But the judges had an especially ghoulish time, because it was left in their hands to take down one of the most popular and underrated dancers, killed from the competition and buried.

Here's what went down on the dance floor:

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Kel Mitchell and Witney Carson

The freakiest thing about Mitchell and Carson's jive to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" was that the two were dressed as snakes. It was Carson's idea – she was going for "weird." Instant success there, as the green-and-yellow snake scale make-up on their faces was definitely that. But the snakey Time Warp showed more footwork than any serpent could dream of pulling off.

"You were rocking and I was reeling," said judge Len Goodman. "It was fast and fun. It was a terrific way to start off the evening."

"I love a cult classic," said judge Bruno Tonioli, nearly standing from his chair on the first dance. "But you gave it a snakey twist." He called the result "a surprising Halloween treat."

All the judges gave the couple nines, their highest scores of the competition.

Final score: 27/30

James Van Der Beek and Emma Slater

Van Der Beek rocked his hips to the couple's highest scores last week. His Viennese waltz to "I Put a Spell on You" had a drastically different flavor, with the "Dawson's Creek" star dressed as a sophisticated demon with black makeup over his eyes and slicked-back hair. The complicated, intricate twirls across the dance floor were perfect, until there was a slip blamed on the fog. The judges had thoughts of a perfect score until that moment.

"It was perfection. So flawless," said judge Carrie Ann Inaba. "Unfortunately, you had the mess-up, but it was just flawless."

"I was watching, thinking it was going to be a 10," said Goodman, who noted that despite the stumble "it was a lovely mix of tricks and treats."

The couple still scored straight nines from the judges.

Final score: 27/30

Ally Brooke and pro Sasha Farber

Last week Brooke, despite high scores, ended up in the bottom two. She only returned thanks to a judges' decision to spare her and vote off Brinkley-Cook. Brooke was determined to pay that trust back. Her tango Monday brought her head supremely upright, giving a sense of regalness despite her Harley Quinn apparel (matched to Farber's Joker). Brooke mischievously flicked her pink-dyed pigtails throughout the number before going for a full Harley Quinn villain laughter moment at the end. The judges were smitten.

"Last week you were nearly dead and buried," said Goodman. "I'm so glad you have come back to life with a terrific tango."

Tonioli called it a "premiere league tango" that was "exactly as it should be" but with a "Harley Quinn vibe."

The straight nines made the leaderboard instantly crowded at the top.

Total score: 27/30

Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten

Brown has been stalling out in the competition, so the "Bachelorette" star amped it up by killing herself — or at least her old beauty pageant self. She danced a jazz number to "Bad Girl" as a zombie-like pageant girl, with a gray dress, a "Miss Living Dead" sash and mascara that ran in all the wrong places. Brown ended the number crowning herself with a tiara and sitting on a throne

Goodman was so effusive that he argued with both other judges (in a rare reversal). "I think this Bad Girl is a terrific dancer; you came out and performed," he said, giving a nine score. He called her moves "crisp and clean."

But Inaba (and Tonioli) felt there was "something lacking" and that Brown was sometimes "disconnected from the movement." The duo gave eights.

Final score: 25/30

Karamo and Jenna Johnson

"Queer Eye" star Karamo was on a mission, dancing a paso doble to his hero Beyoncé's song "Survivor." It was a fitting song for one of the bottom-dwelling candidates who has shown charm, class and tremendous potential. And great taste. Karamo's gold-headed ghoul with white teeth drawn onto his lips was the outfit of the night. And that's saying something.

His high-knee power paso did wonders as flames burst in the stage background. "You were like a sonic boom," said Inaba, who lost her Maleficent horns in the excitement. She gave a nine score. "You opened up and let it rip. And it ripped the horns right off my head."

Frequent Karamo critic Goodman criticized the "shaping" of the dance, but rolled into a power-compliment and an eight score. "One of the keys to paso is to attack the dance. And you did just that," he said.

Final score: 25/30

Lauren Alaina and Gleb Savchenko

The country star completely transformed for her tango to "Whatever Lola Wants," wearing an elegant gown with a stunning femme fatale hairstyle. This subtly fanged vampire had bloodshot eyes and just a dab of blood coming out of her mouth.

She drank deep of the tango, which involved giving a death bite to her partner. There was a slight slip in the dance. But the judges were floored, especially when Alaina admitted she's dealing with at least one fractured rib.

Inaba said she was impressed that Alaina "went with it, a true transformation" noting that she stayed in glam-character even during her stumble.

Tonioli labeled it "deadly, sexy, irresistible," calling it "Marilyn Monroe doing the tango … with a little Madonna for girl power."

The judges gave straight nines.

Final score: 27/30

Sean Spicer and Lindsay Arnold

Some may not have agreed with Spicer dressing as "Toy Story" Woody on Disney Night. But it was impossible to disagree with Frankenstein — the perfect creature to match Spicer's own inelegant but unstoppable clomping dance style. He terrifying looked the part, spending four hours in the makeup chair for the impressive horrors, and rose from a coffin on the fog-filled stage in tattered clothes.

The true scares started with his samba to "Monster Mash." Spicer smiled through the Frankenstein head, even when he was noticeably off beat. He gamely attempted a solo portion among a cast of dancing mummies. The judges had the torches and pitchforks ready by the end.

"Halloween is about the supernatural," said Goodman. "This wasn't super and it wasn't natural, either."

"It was a dance only your mummies can love," said Inaba, noting that Spicer was "backsliding this week" compared to recent growth. The judges continued to note Spicer's unflagging effort and matched sixes in their scores, keeping Spicer at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Final score: 18/30

Kate Flannery and pro Pasha Pashkov

"The Office" star was at the top of the board last week, but had to learn the rumba. (She jokingly asked if it was a vacuum cleaner.) Somehow her smoking moves to "Wicked Game" as Little Red Riding Hood, complete with daring slit in the dress, were filled with a sensuality that belied the comic actress' usual rowdy humor. By the end, some of Pashkov's wolf whisker makeup had rubbed off onto her own face. Flannery, in the heat of the dance, hadn't noticed.

Tonioli called it a 'beautiful and haunting rumba. I love the way you tell a story, you capture our attention."

Inaba thought she was "oozing this kind of confidence I love." She had criticism but noted "it's happening right here. You are shining very brightly."

The judges rolled out all eights.

Final score: 24/30

So what happened?

Ally and Sasha, who were in the bottom two last week, were the first to be spared. And show producers drew out the tension keeping fan-favorite Spicer until the very end. But he too was spared despite his off-putting scores. The final tally, based on judges' scores and viewer votes, left Karamo and Jenna along with Kate and Pasha at the dreaded bottom.

The judges were at a loss making the final decision as to who could go home. Inaba stammered before voting to save Karamo and Jenna. Tonioli said Kate and Pasha deserved to stay. Ack! A tie. The final call was left to senior judge Goodman.

"It is it what it is," he said, casting the lifeline to Kate and Pasha. Rather than tears, Karamo gave a beaming farewell, and was carried off the dance floor on the shoulders of the other dancers in ebullient fashion.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Dancing With the Stars': Spicer killed Frankenstein, but who was cut?