"Halloween Howls" Cassette

An array of screams,  screeches, clanks and howls to greet trick-or-treaters

or put chills down a party-goer's spine.

Over 40 minutes of scary sounds!

It's time for another Freebie Friday segment, and we've got a great one today! Halloween Howls is a novelty Halloween cassette soundtrack that originally came out in 1988 on Gemstone Entertainment. Or was it Sterling Entertainment? The sleeve says one thing, and the cassette says another. Who knows. Maybe they are the same thing. Thus is the life of a novelty Halloween cassette...

Regardless, this cassette is actually better than most. A nice variety of high quality sound effects with some scattered, creepy vocals throughout create a really entertaining listen. It's nice to hear a collection of sound effects that weren't poorly recorded in someone's basement.

I have included both sides of the cassette, although it seems like it's the same collection of sounds on both sides, just in a different order. And hey, it adds up to almost 45 minutes of solid Halloween fun!

And unfortunately, if you listen closely, you can hear a slight static "clicking" in each track. That was something weird that was going on with my USB cassette player. Consider it added ambience, I guess?

Halloween Howls turned out to be a pleasant surprise from a blind purchase. I really like this collection of creepy sounds and I highly recommend it for some nostalgic Halloween fun.

DOWNLOAD "HALLOWEEN HOWLS" HERE.

  

"Halloween Sound Effects" Soundtrack

This is an absolutely horrible record album that no collection should be without!

This collage of gruesome sounds is perfect for Trick or Treaters who need (or deserve?) a little terror in their lives, and can set the mood or be the life of your Hallowe'en party. Many of you have bought this ghoulish collection for the sheer pleasure of it all, however, a word of caution: Use headphones to avoid disturbing the squeamish!

Wait, what!?

Welcome to the first Freebie Friday of 2018! Every Friday during the month of October, I share another gem from my ever-growing collection of old novelty Halloween records and cassettes. And today, I'm kicking it off with an infamous classic!

Halloween Sound Effects Vol. 1: Music and Effects of a Terrifying Nature is a well-known entry in the novelty Halloween sounds market. And that first sentence from the record sleeve pretty much tells it all...

Released in 1982 on Canadian label, Total Records, this novelty soundtrack must have taken all of one afternoon to record and produce. Side one, simply entitled "Hallowe'en," is your run-of-the-mill spooky sound effects collection that sounds like it was recorded in someone's basement with a cassette deck. 17 bizarre and goofy tracks that clock in at under 11 minutes. 

The standout track on this side is definitely "Gluttony and Belching From Satisfied Monsters." And yes, there are actual, somewhat-awesome belching sounds and laughter included. There is no way that the artists who recorded this were taking it seriously.

And while side one is pretty much a throw away, the saving grace for this record is side two.

I'm not sure how the audio on side two can be considered "Hallowe'en In Space," but there are actually some cool ambient sound effects here. And with incredible track names like, "Cosmic Lunacy," "Plutonian Ice Caves," and "Honing The Light Sabre" (no copyright laws in Canada??), it makes the release all worth it.

Yes, it's another goofy novelty release overall, but the oddness of side two makes it a keeper in the collection. It's just too bad that the artists never created a Volume 2!


DOWNLOAD "HALLOWEEN SOUND EFFECTS VOL. 1" HERE.

  

"Ghostly Sounds" Soundtrack

Night falls...

The forest holds its breath...

Everything is still...

The blood red moon stares through the trees...

Welcome to the first Freebie Friday of 2017! Every Friday during the month of October, I share another gem from my ever-growing collection of old novelty Halloween records and cassettes. And today, I'm kicking it off with an absolute classic!

Peter Pan Records' 1975 release, Ghostly Sounds, is the complete package. The vibrant sleeve art was wonderfully illustrated by George Peed (giggle, giggle), who was well-known for his array of Holiday-themed covers done for the label. On this sleeve, he managed to strike a perfect balance between Halloween creepiness and child-friendly character illustration.

Side one of this record is the standout track. Twelve glorious minutes of nostalgic, standard studio "creepy" and "weird" sound effects with an incredible, off-time narrative "story/poem" delivered by Peter Waldron. I could listen to his line, "It is Halloween." over and over. The forceful and somewhat overacted manor in which the story is spoken makes this a really interesting, fun track well worth a listen.

Side two again relies on Waldron's off-time, forced narration, this time telling the most bizarre and random story I may have ever heard. Aliens from another world come to our planet to discover ghosts and Halloween. A meandering storyline and the silliest sound effects can't be taken seriously, but is still a hilariously fun track. Listen to this one for the ridiculous sound effects, for sure.

Enjoy!!


DOWNLOAD "GHOSTLY SOUNDS" RIGHT HERE.

 

"Horror Sounds of the Night" Cassette

So for the first Freebie Friday of the year, I'm offering up an absolute classic. By now, I'm sure everyone has heard of Horror Sounds of the Night, but in case you haven't, it is THEE pinnacle of novelty sound effect cassettes that became the standard soundtrack for all 80s Halloween kids. This was the Halloween soundtrack that launched a thousand imitations.

I finally grabbed an original 1986 copy of this cassette, where the 20-plus minute sound track is repeated on side A and B. Upon pressing play, I was instantly transported back to those magical nights of being one of those 80s Halloween kids again. Enjoy the memories!

 DOWNLOAD "HORROR SOUNDS OF THE NIGHT" HERE.

  

"Halloween Horrors" Soundtrack

With these sound effects, you can make your own Halloween Party. For best results, listen to this album in the dark.

Next up for Freebie Fridays is A&M Records' classic vintage Halloween record from 1977, Halloween Horrors. With cover art like this, how could you pass it up?

Side One (Story: Halloween Horror) is a narrated tale of a man's journey through his inherited haunted mansion on Halloween night. The main character is voiced by Michael Bell, a professional voice actor whose credits include the cartoon classics Scooby Doo, The Smurfs, Transformers, G.I. Joe and Voltron, just to name a few.

Side Two (The Sounds of Halloween) starts with an incredible introduction from Peter Cullen, another famous professional voice talent who is best known for providing the voice of Optimus Prime in Transformers. The rest of the side finishes off with a collection of "Halloween-ish" sound effects including screams, creaking doors, pipe organs, thunder, bats, crashes, guns, flying saucers and much more.

A top-notch Halloween album, from it's incredibly spooky cover art to it's famously-voiced stories and sound effects. Just don't forget to listen to this album in a dark room.


Download Halloween Horrors here.