The Misfits - "Halloween"

Four weeks into October, and not one Misfits post?? Well, the obvious choice is...

  

  

"Halloween" Record

We have reached the end of another week, so that means it's time for another Freebie Friday offering! Time to share another forgotten gem from the murky depths of my Halloween "spooky sounds" collection.

This week, we're diving into another classic release from 1969, simply titled, "Halloween" on D Records, a country and western label out of Houston, Texas.

If you have ever sampled any of my other Freebie Friday offerings, you already know that the "spooky sounds" cassette industry of the 80s and 90s was an unregulated free-for-all, repackaging older titles quickly and cheaply as new releases. I don't know how many times I have picked up a cassette, excited by the "spooky" title and art, only to find another cheap reproduction of a 70s classic.

Well, with this release we have just the opposite. This one is the original source material for many of the later knockoffs!

Side one starts off a little slowly, with a poorly thrown-together string of random, not-really-Halloween individual sound clips. Weird dog barks, a recording of possibly a Chinese New Year parade with drums and firecrackers, clanking pots and pans, odd springy "boings," and warbling circus organ music...

It isn't until about one-third of the way through this side that things suddenly switch and get interesting. And it's also when I knew I recognized the classic "spooky sounds" from some of those later knock-off tapes! Classic beast howls, creaking doors, howling winds, rattling chains, bubbling cauldrons and sinister laughs... THIS is the stuff!!

Side two continues to deliver the spooky sounds greatness. The harpsichord (I think?) and shrieks, more creaking doors, ghostly moans, werewolf howls, giggling goblins, a weird off-key horn, and whipping winds. It's all here and it's PERFECT! All the classics from the start of the "spooky sounds" craze.

And can you believe we've gotten this far and I still haven't mentioned the incredible cover art? A bold yellow cover with handprinted witch and bats shadows behind a creepy jack-o-lantern, cloaked skeleton, and whipsy ghosts. All under a wonderfully hand-painted "HALLOWEEN" font. It's the whole reason I bought this record in the first place! Still a definite eye-catcher in an ever-growing collection of Halloween records.

This one is a TON of fun and a sure classic that needs a prominent spot in your collection. Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD "HALLOWEEN" HERE.

  

Ripper - "Halloween"

How about a little metal for your Monday?

Recently, I have been going down a deep rabbit hole of early 80s underground heavy metal (and its obvious close ties to all things Halloween) and discovered an absolute gem.

Ripper, a band from Houston, Texas, put out an absolute banger of an album in 1986 called "...And The Dead Shall Rise."

Image courtesy of Occult Rock Magazine.

Dual male/female vocalists (bassist Sadie Paine's vocals drawing favorable comparisons to 45 Grave's Dinah Cancer) supported by solid metal guitar work and awesome spooky Halloween and Carpenter-esque soundbites, together with an absolutely incredible costume array and publicity photos quickly puts this on my "must-have" list. How this band was not featured in literally ANY 80s slasher film is beyond me. So classic. So tight. So fun! This one really nails that Halloween/horror/heavy metal sweet spot.

Enjoy!

Truemetalfan has a really great in-depth interview with singer Rob Graves (before his passing in 2016) on all things Ripper. Check it out here!

  

PEANUTS Halloween 2023 Posters

Mondo has announced their newest batch of PEANUTS posters for Halloween, 2023. Charles Schulz's classic comic strip panels featuring Snoopy, Linus, and the rest of the gang released as limited edition (and highly collectible) screen printed posters. This year's release features 3 memorable panels celebrating all things Halloween and the coming of The Great Pumpkin (including one panel that has never been published).

These posters will be available today starting at 12 Noon CT, and like all of Mondo's limited poster releases, will sell out quickly. Gotta be quick, gang!

Don't be a blockhead. Grab a poster here.

  

The Misfits - "Halloween"

Bonfires burning bright

Pumpkin faces in the night

I remember Halloween

Dead cats hanging from poles

Little dead are out in droves

I remember Halloween

Brown leafed vertigo

Where skeletal life is known

I remember Halloween

This day anything goes

Burning bodies hanging from poles

I remember Halloween

Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween

Candy apples and razor blades

Little dead are soon in graves

I remember Halloween

This day anything goes

Burning bodies hanging from poles

I remember
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween

  

Siouxsie & The Banshees - "Halloween"

It's set up day at the Cemetery! Cold and rainy weather have FINALLY relented and a sunny and warm weekend is forecasted, so it's go time. So much to do!!

How about a quick tune to celebrate!

Escape Michael Myers (The Game)

Here's a fun one to get you through a slow day. In anticipation of the release of Halloween Ends, a fun little game has been released where you, playing as Laurie Strode, have to evade the always-pursuing shape of Michael Myers!

It's pretty simple, with only left and right movements to escape Michael Myers, but there are cool little weapons that you can pick up along the way to extend your escape through different sections of Haddonfield.

I'm pretty terrible at it, but this game is still pretty fun and it keeps us in the Halloween mindset as we wait patiently for the final (probably not FINAL final...) chapter of the Michael Myers saga, Halloween Ends. Give this one a shot and see how far you can run!

Play the Escape Michael Myers Game here. And fight like hell!

  

"F*ck 2021 As Well" - Sam Heimer

So here it is, the final day of 2021. And I thought this amazing print from Sam Heimer kinda sums it all up rather nicely!

But in all honesty, 2021 wasn't THAT bad of a year for Highbury Cemetery. Outside of a continuing pandemic (which has become our new normal), Halloween, 2021 was much improved over the previous year's meager showing.

Better display, better lighting, better turnout. And for that, I am pretty happy. This year's display sets the high mark to improve on for 2022 and I have quite a few ideas already banging around in the old noggin. I can't wait to dive back in!

But for now, I'm going to keep this one short and simply bid a fond farewell to 2021. And send out a huge thank you to EVERYONE who stopped by this old blog this year, especially to hang out during the annual October Countdown to Halloween. It was a blast as usual!

I hope wherever you find yourself, that the coming year is bigger, better, and badder for you. Let's kick 2021 to the curb and kick 2022 right in the ass.

Happy New Year, everyone!

(Oh, and only 304 days until Halloween. Are you ready?)

The Thistle Mansion - The Haunt of Edith Thistle

Here's another one that I wanted drop into October's Countdown to Halloween, but ended up getting bumped due to all of the other madness going on. 

Zillow, the online real estate marketplace, came up with a cool little listing just for the Halloween season.

The Thistle Mansion is a fictitious Halloween home listing for a haunted 1882 Gothic Mansion, complete with all the creepy must-haves including the ghost of its namesake, Edith Thistle. The listing is set up as a real Zillow home listing and has many wonderful/creepy photos of the mansion, as well as a great 3D home tour video.

Hats off to them for taking the time to create such a cool and fun listing just for the Halloween season. Hit the link to check out the full listing and photos, and be sure to watch the 3D Tour video!

 

Halloween - "What A Nice Place"

Halloween, an amazing 80's dark glam metal band from Detroit. Iconic samples taken from Halloween III: Season of the Witch (long before it became a cult classic). A music video themed around a horror film. A stage that looks like something pulled from an old haunted house. Incredible Halloween masks and costumes. Cheap pyrotechnics. Lots of headbangers. Zero budget.

Mix this all together and you get "What A Nice Place," the greatest music video ever produced. A fun, nostalgic 80's Halloween-themed heavy metal video. This is how metal SHOULD be made. DIY. It must have been an absolute riot to make this.

And the song itself rips! Heavy metal forever! Enjoy.

  

"Halloween" Movie Posters

Lots of things going on around the Cemetery today, but I wanted to share these super cool John Carpenter's Halloween movie posters from fanofspooky's Tumblr page. I would kill to have these printed at full size!

Crisp and clean, unlike me after a day spent setting up the yard display...

Enjoy!

 

"Halloween" For The Atari 2600

Here's one for the older folks following along! Do you remember how amazing the Atari 2600 was when it came out? The dawn of the video game home console era ushered in so many classics! Pac Man, Space Invaders, Frogger, Asteroids, Halloween.

Wait, what?

Back in 1983 when I was playing River Raid, Pitfall! and Yars' Revenge, Wizard Video Games released Halloween, based on the original 1978 John Carpenter classic.

At that time, I had never even heard of the game, partially due to the haphazard way the game was released, and then Wizard's eventual bankruptcy soon after.

But in seeing the gameplay, I wish I had picked up a copy along the way! The unnamed babysitter evades the unnamed killer as she tries to rescue random children in the house's two floors. And Carpenter's iconic film theme translates wonderfully into 8-bit mode, even if the blocky graphics are a laugh compared to today's games.

If this has piqued your interest, be prepared for sticker shock, as the game's collectability has gone through the roof! A quick check over at eBay reveals absolutely RIDICULOUS resale prices!

And if you're not ready to shell out that kind of money, simply enjoy the wonderful 8-bit music and blocky characters in the game-play video below.

You can read a bit more about Halloween here. Enjoy!

 

Halloween Kills

I'm pretty excited for tomorrow's release of Halloween Kills, the second second part of, err, the ninth part of, uh, the second Halloween II but on a new timeline of, or...

Regardless of where it falls within the Halloween franchise timeline, it's supposed to be pretty dark and brutal (like any good second act of a trilogy should be). And anything starring Michael Myers will instantly put me into Halloween mode (holiday OR movie, I guess?). So I'm pretty amped to see it.

Outside of being a huge horror film fan, I'm also a HUGE horror film soundtrack fan. I'm always adding to my vinyl record soundtrack collection, and there is something absolutely iconic about John Carpenter's amazing, and instantly recognizable, score to this franchise.

I just got my first copy of the Halloween Kills soundtrack and I am pleasantly surprised. A darker twist to the original that hopefully sets the tone to the new film. I'm not going to reveal any spoilers to it, but be sure to tune in tonight at 7 pm EST on John Carpenter's YouTube channel for a live Listening Party and Q+A with soundtrack composers John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies. This should be pretty cool!

 

Ghost - Hunter's Moon

So technically, the annual October Countdown to Halloween starts tomorrow, but this one is WAY too good not to share now!

Ghost (a long time favorite of the Cemetery) and the Halloween film franchise (another long time favorite of the Cemetery) team up for a new track for the upcoming Halloween Kills.

It took 2 listens and I was hooked. Surely another Ghost classic and it gets me even more excited to see Halloween Kills on October 15.

Enjoy the new track and video, and we'll see you tomorrow for the official kick-off to the Countdown to Halloween!!

 

Schroeder Myers

Here's another hilarious one from Franks Kid Art. Schroeder channels The Shape to finally get his revenge on that awful Lucy Van Pelt. She was always so overbearing...

The Misfits - "Halloween" & "Halloween II"

It's already the week of Halloween and I still haven't posted anything from The Misfits!?

May The Fourth Be With You.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...


Halloween, 1979
Ben Cooper Darth Vader. More machine than man now. I obviously had no problem going to the dark side...

Halloween, 1980
Ben Cooper C-3PO. Protocol Droid. Human-Cyborg Relations. I also learned to say "Trick or Treat" in Bocce...

Quarantine-o-ween: Halloween Atmospheres Vol. I & II

Happy Quarantine-o-ween! It's the second greatest day of the year!! A day full of Halloween fun to enjoy while waiting out our Coronavirus quarantine.

I don't have a lot of time today, with trying to work from home AND homeschool my son, but I can't let the day go by without doing something!

So here we go! A little something from the incredible Witching Season Films! Some much-needed Halloween atmosphere, packed full of spooky sights and creepy sounds from our favorite holiday. And they really nailed it in both volumes!!

So kick back, press play, and be transported straight to October!! Enjoy!

Tomorrow Is Quarantine-o-ween!

If you haven't heard, there's a new holiday for all us Halloween fanatics trying to stay sane during the Coronavirus pandemic. Part Quarantine, part Halloween, it Quarantine-o-ween!

A fun little event for all haunters and Halloween lovers. Something to do to prevent us from going insane...

Decorate for Halloween

Put on a Halloween costume

Take photos

Share Your Photos Online

#quarantineoween

I'm actually looking forward to this new holiday. And although I will be busy working from home AND trying to play teacher for my son, I am definitely going to do SOMETHING!! And so should you! Let's make this a day of Halloween fun, and don't forget to tag it #quarantineoween!

Check back tomorrow to see what I come up with. And also check out the Highbury Cemetery Instagram page, where I'll be posting up some photos.

Happy Quarantine-o-ween!!!

  

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Bonfires burning bright

Pumpkin faces in the night

I remember Halloween

Dead cats hanging from poles

Little dead are out in droves

I remember Halloween

Brown leafed vertigo

Where skeletal life is known

I remember Halloween

This day anything goes

Burning bodies hanging from poles

I remember Halloween

Candy apples and razor blades

Little dead are soon in graves

I remember Halloween

This day anything goes

Burning bodies hanging from poles

I remember Halloween...

The big day is finally here. Our high holiday, Halloween! It's hard to believe that we have already made it through another October, but here we are, basking in the fiery orange glow of All Hallows Eve.

Looking back, it has been a hell of a ride. But it still seems so strange to me in that I won't be getting up like a bolt of lightning, ready to recreate the ghastly magic of Highbury Cemetery tonight. Instead, I'll simply be going to work on Halloween, the first time in over 15 years...

But honestly, I'm okay with it. I wasn't sure that I would be, but having our new neighborhood's trick-or-treat last Sunday night has given me an unexpected week of calm enjoyment. And today I can just relax and really reflect on the season and enjoy myself. 

We were very lucky to have great weather and a great turnout for our trick-or-treat, and it looks like Highbury Cemetery has started a haunting new chapter. There's a calm satisfaction and a small spark of excitement for next year's display already smoldering inside me.

But for today, I'm just going to take it easy. Halloween music cranking all day today, the last of my pumpkin beers and Halloween movies tonight. And I'm super excited for it.

I wanted to take a second and thank each and every one of you who stopped by this month and hung out at the Cemetery. I truly love sharing all my random Halloween thoughts and goodies, and interacting with my fellow haunters and Halloween enthusiasts really keeps me going. I actually still have quite a bit to post, so let's keep this Halloween party going well into November, shall we??

I also want to extend the happiest of Halloweens to all of you, especially my fellow haunters who are battling the elements in order to spread some frightful cheer and fear tonight. It seems that a large number of us across the country will be battling wind, rain, snow, and even fire to try and do what we do. Do what you can do to the best of your abilities, but more importantly  please stay safe. There's always next year and we'll need all of you to keep this wonderful tradition alive and kicking. And screaming.

And finally, don't forget to have fun! This is our night! It's what we have literally spent the last 364 days planning for, so go out and scare the hell out of 'em!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM HIGHBURY CEMETERY!!!