"Horror At The Graveyard" Cassette

WARNING: This cassette is not to be listened to in the dark. Listen to this cassette at your own risk!

We are flying through October and it is already time for the third installment of Freebie Fridays, where I share a selection from my ever-growing collection of novelty Halloween "spooky sounds" vinyl records, cassette tapes, and CDs.

This week's offering is Horror At The Graveyard, a Canadian cassette most likely released in the mid- to late 90s. It was put out by Distribution Madacy Inc., the same company that put out Sounds of Halloween around the same time. And like Sounds of Halloween, this has a very similar cover with a fantastic comic-style illustration and the same over-the-top shock warning label.

Luckily, the cassettes' similarities end there. Horror At The Graveyard is a much better offering in that the first side of the cassette is a rather insane full story of a walk in a graveyard, while the flip side is a collection of standard "spooky sounds."

Side A: Full length story complete with sound effects. "It was a strange, eerie night. Heavy black clouds cast shadows over the full moon, making it dark and dreary. The leaves on the trees seemed to dance in fright to the mournful howling of the wind..."

So I have listened to this side at least three times and I just keep going back to it. It's so hyper dramatic in its descriptive delivery, with wild swings of sudden intensity throughout. The story plays out more like a fever dream, which makes it so weirdly good. Add to that the narrator's quirky, unidentifiable accent as he REALLY tries to deliver the drama, and the canned "spooky sounds" to add to the story's intensity, and you have 15 minutes of campy, hilarious, but totally great Halloween fun. This story alone makes the cassette a true gem.

Side B: "Spine Chilling"/"Hair Raising"/"Heart Pounding"/Sound Effects

After the greatness of the story on Side A, everything here is just gravy. A continuous, standard collection of "spooky sounds" that have appeared on countless other offerings, but with a few darker effects added in to give the whole thing that little bit extra. Definitely worth a listen just to check the "nostalgia" box, but on its own is still better than most.

Another "spooky sounds" cassette bought on a whim (I couldn't pass up that cover art!), but turns out to be a real surprise. This is definitely one to add to your collection and your October playlist!

DOWNLOAD "HORROR AT THE GRAVEYARD" HERE.