Al Zanino - The Vampire Speaks (1957)

I wish I could find more information on Al Zanino … there isn’t much out there. This single was recorded by Zanino and Cliff Juranis in 1957. It looks like they collaborated on a Christmas single in 1950 as well … A Message From Santa … but that’s about all I can find. This single features some dialogue between Dracula...

Pickwick Records - Sounds of Terror! (1974)
Sound Effects

I’m not sure I remember this one from my childhood – it might have been too scary for our local small-town library. It opens with an out-of-place and Picket-less re-recording of “The Monster Mash”. I suppose they were hoping it would help sell the record. (It doesn’t.)

The rest of the album is a nice little set...

Ruth White – Flowers of Evil (1969)
Weirdness

I find this one hard to describe. I was introduced to it by my favorite Halloween internet radio station, Never Ending Wonder radio. It is an odd recording of Ms. White’s readings of the collection of poems “Flowers of Evil” by Charles Baudelaire, set to sparse and unusual electronic music. Ms. White’s voice is often twisted...

Various Artists – Monster Party 2000 (2000, of course)
Music

Was Halloween Hootenanny, the 1998 album compiled by Rob Zombie, so popular that it inspired a similar release? Sure seems like it … this album reminds me of Hootenanny a great deal.

Creepy voice introducing the album? Check. (Though they may have saved a few bucks not using Zacherley. Too...

The Day the Earth Stood Still – Soundtrack (1951)
Soundtrack

Bernard Herrmann was an American composer who gained most of his fame scoring motion pictures. His most famous movie scores were for Alfred Hitchcock (such as Psycho and Vertigo and Ray Harryhausen (such as Jason and the Argonauts and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad). I’m a fan of many of these movies and these movie soundtracks, but my favorite...