BANGOR — As a child, Stephen King found himself intrigued and frightened by the musical tale “Peter and the Wolf.” But on Saturday night, it was his turn to deliver the thrills and chills as he narrated Sergei Prokofiev’s scary 1936 classic during the first-ever Halloween Pops Concert with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra.

The Bangor Auditorium was packed as more than 2,200 children and adults listened to the famous horror meister read about the harrowing adventures of young Peter, who encountered a hungry wolf one day in the meadow. Meanwhile, the orchestra provided the musical background, introducing each character with one of the instruments, and describing the scenes through Prokofiev’s well-known arrangement.

The audience was clearly delighted, but no one appeared to be having a better time than King himself, as he stood onstage next to conductor Christopher Zimmerman, grinning and nodding in time to the music. He clasped himself in mock horror when he read about the wolf swallowing the duck, lapsed into a quavering cant when he assumed the role of the worried old grandfather, and raised his eyebrows eerily at the end when the hapless duck is found still alive inside the wolf’s stomach.

The concert also included other spooky selections, like “Night on Bald Mountain” from the Walt Disney movie “Fantasia,” and “Funeral March of the Marionnettes,” also known as the theme from the Alfred Hitchcock television show. Even the musicians got into the spirit, some tying toy bats and tiny, lighted pumpkins onto their instruments, others wearing funny costumes and black makeup.

Earlier, during a press conference, King said that when the BSO asked him to narrate the tale, he jumped at the chance.

“It’s always interesting to try something new,” he said, adding that since ghoulish actor Vincent Price had recorded the story once, “I felt as though I was following in the master’s footsteps.”

Besides, King liked the idea of becoming “reacquainted with the scary little story” he read when he was only 4 or 5.

“I remember it with a lot of affection and a little fear. It’s still alive in my system or I would never have said yes to the orchestra’s request,” said King, laughing as he recalled a picture of the wolf with duck feathers coming out of its mouth.

But more than anything, the author wanted to be there for the Bangor orchestra.

“Anything I can do to draw attention to it is great,” said King.

Calling the event a wonderful way to “introduce children to the world of music,” King worried that many youngsters are growing up “feeling that classical music is not their music.”

Hopefully, children will “remember this experience for a long time,” said King, adding that early exposure to classical music is vital.

“Catch ’em when they’re young, and they’re yours forever,” said King, who couldn’t resist putting on a maniacal expression, rubbing his hands together gleefully and offering up an evil-sounding chortle.

In fact, according to symphony officials, the whole idea of a Halloween concert was to appeal to young people. “We wanted to attract a different crowd, to spread classical music to a larger audience, especially children,” said Zimmerman as he stood in the crowded hall during intermission.

Later, youngsters agreed it had been a night to remember.

“This is the best right here,” assured Thomas Brady, 9, whose mother, Laura Brady, drove the 90 miles from their home in Sherman Mills so the pair could attend the concert.

“I could stay here all night,” said the freckle-faced little boy, adding that although the story “didn’t really scare me, I thought it was great.”

And while 8-year-old Aliza Thibodeau of Bangor couldn’t help but delight in King’s comical narration, she felt sorry for the duck.

“I laughed, but I felt bad, too,” said the little girl whose shiny, brown hair was pulled into a ponytail.

Surely, even adults must come away feeling renewed, according to King. “Art, when it’s well done, reduces us all to a state of childhood,” he said.