Sounds of Darkness

Disney’s Thrilling Chilling Sounds of the Haunted House (1964)
SOUND EFFECTS
Here’s one of the real classics … and one of the earliest scary sound effects albums in recording history. Hard to believe that good old family-friendly Disney was one of the first to break ground in this genre.

For the most part, this album isn’t necessarily all that thrilling or chilling. There are several tracks such as “The Very Long Fuse”, “Timber”, and “Your Pet Cat” which don’t really strike fear in the hearts of, well, anybody. And when the narrator starts speaking “Chinese”, it is just plain silly, if not offensive.

On the other hand, the first track has a wonderful old-timey spooky feel to it, and the sound effects on side 2 of the album are classics in every sense of the word. You’ve heard the ghost sounds before, in Disney’s “Lonesome Ghosts” from 1937 all the way up to the “Red Right Hand” remix by DJ Spooky on the soundtrack of “Scream 2”. And you’ve heard the cat sounds in even more places.

I realize I’m having difficulty NOT recommending everything I’ve reviewed … but if you really consider yourself a Halloween album collector, and you’ve got an appreciation for the old-time stuff, then you’ve got to have this one.

Halloweiner, as always, is the man.