Sounds of Darkness

Famous Monsters of Filmland was a magazine whose original run lasted from 1958 until 1983. It started in response to renewed interest in the old horror films, thanks to syndicated television and plenty of late-night classic horror movie hosts. It featured articles about old and current films, and original artwork that is still considered some of the finest in the genre. In 1963, Famous Monsters of Filmland released this record, with scripts by Cherney Berg, and voice acting by Gabriel Dell.

Berg has done genre adaptations of all kinds … particularly the “Scary Spooky Stories” album from 1973 from Troll Records and an audio presentation of King Kong. Gabriel Dell was on the Steve Allen show in the late 50’s where he perfected his Bela Lugosi imitation.

This is an outstanding album. The first track purports to be an actual audio recording of the first words from Frankenstein’s Monster as you hear it presented to a group of scientists. The second track imagines what it would be like to go hunting with Dracula for a night. The scripts are pretty effective, and never very corny or silly. (Maybe when Dracula is asking a potential victim about the bus …) Dell makes no attempt to impersonate Karloff on the first track, which is fine, but Dell’s voice doesn’t come to mind when imagining an 8-foot tall monster like Frankenstein. The script and sound effects make it work. Dell’s Lugosi is excellent, although he might overdo it on a few words (like “friendT” and “ringK”). His Dracula laugh may induce goosebumps… it is pretty chilling. There are plenty of sound effects in both tracks to lend it a theatrical charm.

You absolutely must give it a listen. It is a classic in every sense.
Famous Monsters Speak!