"Famous Monsters Speak" Record

It's the first Friday of October, and that can mean only one thing...

Freebie Fridays!

If you're new to the Cemetery, you've stumbled in at just the right time! Every Friday in October, I dig up one of the vintage novelty Halloween soundtrack cassettes or vinyl records from my ever-growing collection and share it with all of my "spooky sounds" junkies.

I've been doing this for quite a few years now, and I still absolutely love doing it. It's a great way to share the love during the Halloween season, and a great way to discover some really neat-and-or-hilarious old novelty soundtracks from Halloweens past.

So let's get down to business!!

I just added this classic gem to the collection, and I'm so, so glad I did! Famous Monsters Speak is a horror classic from 1963, originally available from the the back pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. It features two "modern" tellings of classic movie monster characters, Frankenstein's Monster and Count Dracula.

I was THOROUGHLY surprised at how good both stories really are, but the winner for me is "Frankenstein's Monster Talks!" It's a deep, tormenting look at the tortured life of Frankenstein's creation, as unexpectedly and very eloquently told by the monster himself. Complete madness, anger, and despair. Such palpable revenge!

"Which one of you is next?"

The flip side, "Dracula's Return!", contains an equally interesting telling of a reporter's fateful story on meeting Count Dracula himself! A fantastic, rich vampiric character, completely channeling Bela Lugosi. A classic, gothic tale of the vampire set in a modern metropolis.

"My friend, it is time. I have come for you."

Famous Monsters Speak isn't a standard "spooky sounds" record, but it is so much more!! Such great production all around with two really great horror stories, and this one should definitely be in your collection, too. It's a really great, fun release all around.

Download Famous Monsters Speak here.

  

Winchell's Donut House - "Hear The Monsters - Spooky Sounds & A Scary Tale"

Welcome to the first Freebie Friday of the new season, where I rummage through and share my ever-expanding collection of old novelty Halloween records, cassettes and CDs! 

This segment has become my absolute favorite. There's just something so fun and nostalgic about listening to the old gems (and the stinkers!) that populated store shelves each Halloween. And getting to share these old classics every Friday brings back so many great Halloween memories.

So let's dive in!!

Whooooo, oooooowheeeeeeeee! Ghosts and the wicked witch. A rattling skeleton. A scary swooping bat. And more! What a way to liven up a Halloween party.

So listen to the stories and shiver with fright. Then play the sounds of Halloween at the end of the record. And turn your party house into a haunted castle. Hahahahahahahaha!

I had seen this particular novelty record quite a few times and finally added it to my collection earlier this year. The Winchell's Donut House "Hear The Monsters" Halloween record from 1976 is a 45 flexi mounted directly to a cardboard backing, so sound quality and shelf life were traded in for cheaper mass production. But in this case, the pops and clicks only add to it's greatness.

The record itself is a 7-minute story about a talking jack-o-lantern (he could talk after eating a Winchell's donut) sprinkled with a few trick-or-treat safety tips, a silly Winchell's jingle, and a few random "scary sounds" at the end.

But about half way through the story, it takes a rather creepy turn when the jack-o-lantern convinces the children to take him trick-or-treating. He then makes scary sounds and tells them a story of a haunted house. And it gets pretty intense for a children's story!

"You take the seventh step..."

I was surprised at how much I liked this one. It really checks all the boxes of a great novelty Halloween record. It's silly, it's spooky, and it's fun.

"Winchell's donuts do magic things to your mouth."

Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD WINCHELL'S DONUT HOUSE "HEAR THE MONSTERS" HERE.