What's the Deal With The 'PLL' Halloween Episode?

We've come to expect a certain something in October thanks to the past three seasons of Pretty Little Liars featuring an epic Halloween episode that held us over during the painfully long hiatus between the summer and winter halves of each season. So imagine my disappointment when the ABC Family mystery drama decided to ax this year's Halloween episode. No liars in costume? No Aria getting locked in a box? No horrifying baby doll killer? (Actually, I'm okay with skipping the latter.) Nope. None of that. There will, however, be a Pretty Little Liars Halloween Special and "fan appreciation" episode on Oct. 21. But it won't be the usual October order.

The mystery series is changing things up and focusing our usual fall treat for a different holiday — the Pretty Little Liars' Christmas episode airs at the end of December. But before you all freak out, there'll be something worth tuning in for when ABC Family airs "We Love You To DeAth." (Get it? Because A and because everyone gets murdered all the time?) So what exactly can we look forward to?

Though the fan appreciation episode won't be a traditional episode of your favorite ABC Family series, it will hopefully satisfy the PLL itch that so many fans get in the terribly long months between the end of the summer season in September and the beginning of the winter season, which starts in January. That's because this episode is all about the fans, so much so that fans can start participating in the event via social media. It's sort of like a social media slumber party, case in point:

According a press release from ABC Family, the episode will air as part of ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween event and feature the cast and crew answering questions from some of Pretty Little Liars most hardcore fans. If you're one of these hardcore fans, send in your questions by tweeting using the hashtag #PLLHalloween or by posting on the PLL Facebook page.

But before you start asking the little liars about A's true identity (cough cough, Wren), know that this is a Pretty Little Liars appreciation episode — and from the looks of it, it's not exactly spoiler city. The sample questions for the series are more about what it's like working on the series, rather than the series itself. Things that seem on the table are questions like, "What was the scariest scene to film?" or "What kind of conditioner does Tyler Blackburn use?" (Okay, so that one is mine.)

The Halloween special probably won't give you clues to burning questions like "Who killed Mona?" but, luckily, it will reunite us with some dead-and-gone characters. So far Bryce Johnson (Detective Wilden), Bianca Lawson (Maya), Ryan Merriman (Ian), and Janel Parrish (the very recently deceased Mona) are slated to make an appearance on the show. They'll be joined by the little liars (obviously) as well as many more fan favorites.

Plus, there's one reason we won't find out who A is on the liars-hosted Halloween special. It doesn't seem like all of the little liars know yet! As seen in the below preview for the Halloween special, Troian Bellisario appears to be the only one who knows the true identity of the elusive A. And that's almost as shocking as, well, anything that happens on Pretty Little Liars.

Images: Eric McCandless/ABC Family; Giphy