© Pickwick Records
The year was 1974 and I must have found this LP in the Halloween aisle at Zayre or Roses or maybe K-Mart. From that point forward, it was in regular rotation on my record player year-round. Why? Because it was extremely disturbing.
The Monster Mash, touted so boldly on the cover, is just another run of the mill Pickwick “sounds like” recording. These guys were masters of that stuff in the 70s. Can’t afford the real hit? Here’s a decent enough copy for you! Anyway, once we get past the goofball Monster Mash schtick, we get 19 short audio vignettes that present horror scenarios that play out with a narrator and sound effects. Most are actually quite good and absolutely terrifying. The whole thing is a bit of a copy of the Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House record from Disney, but without Disney’s good taste holding them back.
A werewolf eats a baby. Impressions of famous horror stars run amuck. A hapless soul is keel hauled. A prostitute is knifed to death. A woman has an orgasm as she’s drained of blood. A crying man is buried alive. How this ever got past the censors (and my uber-conservative parents) is beyond me, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.
The text for these scenes was written by none other than screenwriter Frank Daniel who went on to become the first artistic director of the Sundance Institute. The only other production personnel I could find was the infamous Wade Denning who was also responsible for another of my faves.
If you think you’re brave enough (and you’re over the suggested age of EIGHT!) give this one a listen at this link.