"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.

  

Great Pumpkin Project Drop #1

I've been a big fan of the Great Pumpkin Project for many years, usually contributing at the end of the season with my annual pumpkin dumps. The idea of spreading Halloween jack-o-lantern fun with a little mischief added in hits dead center in my wheelhouse! So this year, I decided to do a little more...

Alongside my continuing tradition of the pumpkin dump, I decided to add a few extra jack-o-lantern drops throughout the season to spread a bit more Halloween cheer.

Last night was the first drop of the season...

I covertly dropped tagged jack-o-lantern number one into a small, old cemetery on the other side of town. Quiet, yet highly visible from the elementary school directly across the street. The central obelisk tombstone in the cemetery made a perfect backdrop with its "Father & Son" epitaph, as this pumpkin was also a father & son project.

I did the carving of the face my 10-year-old son created.

Long live the Great Pumpkin Project! More drops coming soon...

  

Trick 'r Treat In Theaters Tomorrow!

Well, I have been sitting on this one since I first heard about it, but... Sam FINALLY gets to bring his show to the big screen. I THINK I'm excited about this? Since 2007 when it got a "straight-to-DVD" release, I have faithfully and gleefully watched Trick 'r Treat on Halloween eve (and a few other times throughout the Halloween season). But for the first time ever, due to it's ever-increasing popularity as a new cult classic, fans across the country get to watch it all on the big screen.

I quickly went back and forth, but decided that I simply HAVE to see it in the theater. It's too great not to! It's too important of a Halloween tradition to skip out on, so I will most definitely carve out a time (see what I did there?) to head to my local theater and take it all in.

Regal Cinemas starts their showings tomorrow, with other theater chains starting soon after, so let's make Sam a box office hit.

Even if it IS fifteen years late...

And on a Trick 'r Treat sidenote, Spirit Halloween is also doing a themed giveaway. Enter for a chance to win a pack of their Sam-themed tchotchkis here!

  

Horror Gurdy & The Apprehension Engine

Is there a more wonderfully horrifying sound than the one produced here? Combine the magnificently ghastly sounds produced by composer Mark Korven's (The Witch, The Lighthouse) Apprehension Engine, and couple them with the wailing, wheeling sounds of a traditional, medieval Hurdy-Gurdy.

A soundtrack fit for any horror tale. Or your October nightmares...

Enjoy!

  

Stockings & Fir

Did that headline grab your attention?? Unfortunately in this instance I'm only talking about a candle...

I'm not a big "candle" person, in that I'm usually underwhelmed by the scents they produce. Cool in concept, label and description, but lacking on the nose. So it takes a real find for me to actually write about it.

I received this Scentsible Scents' Crowsline "Stockings & Fir" candle from my wife earlier this year as a gift. After the quick joke and a wink in regards to the name, I set it on my desk and let it sit. Until now.

I was surprised by the wonderful scent when I first received it, but wanted to wait for the proper season to finally burn it: Halloween!!

I know it wasn't meant as a Halloween candle per se, but the warm, sweet incense aroma really feels "right" as we head into October (even if the site's description tries to convince me that it contains the scents of that next big Holiday coming up...). And the cool little black wax crow at the top of the candle really sets the mood for the season, as he slowly melts into the main body of the candle as it burns. A small offering to the Pumpkin Gods!

I'll be ordering another one of these in the near future as this one is getting used up quick. You can grab one here, if you're in the Halloween mood, too!

  

Dr. John's Complete Guide To A Haunted House, Vol. 1

There's nothing better than a little Halloween nostalgia, and today we're heading back to those wild and wonderful 80s. So grab the popcorn, get comfy, and prepare yourself for a hilarious look back!

Dr. John's Complete Guide To A Haunted House, Vol. 1 was the first instructional haunted house how-to video to come out during the rise of "professional" haunted house attractions of the early 1980s. It was geared toward Jay Cees and other community groups and was a start-to-finish, comprehensive video guide on how to create and run a financially successful haunted house.

Filled with solid tips on creating a fully-functioning and profitable haunted house attraction, it was also accentuated with enough Halloween creepiness to keep it exciting and thoroughly entertaining. From Dr. John's eccentric character (and the way he "mouths" his cigar while presenting), to the spiciness of the scantily-clad ladies, and even to the somewhat uncomfortable creepiness (I'm looking at you, Cousin It, and the weird Roach Motel "commercial" at the end), the video definitely proves that the 80s were a far different time and place than today.

Unfortunately, Dr. John Anderson passed away just last week, but this slice of VHS gold remains a wonderfully historic look back into the early days of the haunted house industry. Well worth the hour of viewing time!!

(A big thanks to Larry Kirchner of The Darkness Haunted House for posting the video along with the informative intro!)

Rest In Peace, Dr. John...