Roughly Translated, “Book of The Dead”
(As a big fan of the work of both Sam Raimi & Bruce Campbell, WTBC Radio has decided to bring you an audio treat, in representing 1981’s “The Evil Dead” as part of our Annual Halloween Spook-tacular!)

Playlist & Footnotes:

There would be very few things anyone could say about The Evil Dead that hasn’t been week chronicled elsewhere, and if you don’t know the story, it’s worth seeking out the detailed (and extrapolated) version.  These guys – Robert Tapert, Sam Raimi & Bruce Campbell – had been making movies on their own for years, showing them to friends and on college campuses, and largely recouping their investments.  It seemed plausible that they could make a feature, and raised all the money themselves, sealing every deal along the way to get funding and distribution for an essentially “home-made” film that has their DNA and fingerprints all over every inch of the final product that made it into theaters.  

The miraculous component is that, in spite of everything, they managed to get some genuine scares into a pictures that was, essentially, a far-from-Hollywood production.  I believe this is owed largely to the sound of the film, mixed and produced by the same creative core, and included atmosphere and texture that some creators overlook.  They knew where their strengths and weaknesses lay, and with a few well-timed scares, a good soundtrack to keep everything moving forward, and plenty of fake blood, they had a little hit on their hands, and now the franchise has not only spawned remakes and sequels, but an upcoming TV show that will continue the story of these hapless characters that wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time.  

However, there is something special about this first film.  Where all the other films that followed had a very ’80’s feel to the work, this movie is 100% rooted in the spirit and feel of the ’70’s.  Every inch of the aesthetic screams that decade, and the bits that these three are inspired by are the low-budget movies that were being churned in the wake of the Hammer Horror films that were making the circuits in those days.  Looking at The Evil Dead is like looking at a time capsule of a sensibility of a time long since past.  The tree-rape scene is something that would be hard to get into a modern film without a lot of push-back, and most likely the creators of something like that would not go on to direct three Spider-Man movies.  It is telling that a movie like this was updated for comic effect in the sequels.  Where the terror of this film is brutal from start to finish, their comedic beats were stronger, and made for something that really had never been seen on film before or since.

For this program, I selected a number of “evil” and “dead” songs to complement the story.

Enjoy!

*

Roughly Translated, “Book of The Dead”

Side A

“Which Would Put Us…” / “Join Us!” / “What’s This Place Like?” / The Drive In / “There’s Something Down There.” / “Listen To This” / “The Ruins of Kandar.” / “A Volume of Ancient Sumerian Burial Practices & Funerary Incantations” / “I Just Don’t Want To Hear It Anymore, That’s All.”

01.) Better Off Dead * The Wipers * Better Off Dead 7″
02.) See No Evil * Television * Marquee Moon
03.) Dawning of The Dead * Dead Moon * Dead Ahead
04.) Young Men Dead * The Black Angels * Passover
05.) Evil * Horde Of Two * Guitar & Bass Action

Side B

“Hey, C’mon.  I Just Want To Hear The Rest Of It.”  / “Shut It OFF!” / “She Acts Like She’s Three Years Old Or Something.” / “Is Anybody Out There?” / “Whatever I Have Resurrected Will Come Calling For Me” / “One By One We Will Take You!” / “I Don’t Think I Can Wait That Long.” / “For God’s Sake, What Happened To Her Eyes!?” / “We’re Got To Bury Her Now.” / “Where Did I See That Box of Shells?”  

06.) Everyone I Went To High School With Is Dead * Mr. Bungle * Disco Volate
07.) Dead Souls * Nomeanso * The Day Everything Became Nothing
08.) Better Off Dead * Piglet * Not Ralphing At Your First Keg Party
09.) In Love With The Dead * Behead The Prophet No Lord Shall Live * Behead The Prophet No Lord Shall Live 7″
10.) Where Dead People Live * Sun City Girls * Carnival Folklore Resurrection Vol 1: Cameo Demons and Their Manifestations
11.) Bury Your Dead * Orkestar Zirkonium * Orkestar Zirkonium
12.) Day Of The Dead * Lester Bangs & The Delinquents * Jook Savages On The Brazos
13.) Pretty Chords For Evil Sleep People * Bishop Of Battle * Prequel Plus
14.) Evil Will Prevail * The Flaming Lips * Clouds Taste Metallic

The Creeping Terror!
(We take WTBC Radio to new depths of bad horror movies with this 1964 piece of schlock-o-rama.  Originally 15 October 2015, and as “#20.1” in 2016.)

Here’s everything you need to know about this movie from 1964: there is no documented evidence that the film was ever shown to anyone – anywhere – until it first appeared on Television some time in 1976.  Even then, 12 years later, the film was mocked and panned relentlessly, as anyone who came into contact with the film could only speak of its shortcomings.  Something that bad begins to attract a certain kind of reputation with a certain kind of movie fan, and in spite of the terrible reviews, the inexcusable acting, the cheapness of the monster(s), and the spareness and near-incoherence of the plot (even without the long musical interludes where nothing happens, the film clocks in at 75 minutes), it would not die!  Rather, The Creeping Terror – miraculously! – accrued a reputation that could not be forgotten, canonized as being so bad it must be seen to be believed.  As tapes of The Creeping Terror circulated to TV stations running Shock Theater! type fare, this piece of cinematic trash not only found an audience among those dedicated to the rejects of film culture, but eventually found its way to the hallowed halls of Mystery Science Theater 3000, not only keeping it forever in the public’s mind, but forever preserving it for future generations to look at and puzzle through.

Just what did they have in mind when they made this thing?

You can thank the twisted mind of Vic Savage for that.  “Director” does fully cover Vic’s role in this film, who also starred in, produced, edited, paid for, scammed other’s to participate in, and – essentially – made the movie what it is, in every sense of the word, at the age of 28.  As the story goes, Vic paid Allan Silliphant to be the writer for the film, but it was clear once production began that Vic was in over his head, and had a “unique” vision for the film that was not what Allan was prepared for.  Vic had a number of excuses time and again: the location “fell through” at the last minute, most likely something that was never secure in the first place.  An impressive monster had been made for the production, so Vic claimed, but “disappeared” before filming could take place, so Vic and a few others created the “carpet remnants” monster you see in the picture.  Supposedly the film was going to be a well-funded horror film, as Vic had sold it to everyone, but as the filming date got closer, more and more of the cast were made up of people who paid to be in the film, “funding” the production from within.  Vic’s sound crew “never showed up,” so the majority of the audio was to be recorded in post-production.  As the production went on, more and more people backed out, delaying time it was taking Vic to put the thing together.

The stories about this film don’t end there.  Vic had to use another name (for “Union Purposes,”) and “Directed” (among other things) under the name “A.J. Nelson,” which led to some confusion moments on set when a financial backer was trying to figure out who had just ripped him off.  (A mystique that Vic was hoping to maintain.)  Vic had secured a location for the film eventually – a pond that a friend of his by the name of Randy Starr – yes, THE Randy Starr that provided Charles Manson with the gun used in the Tate-LaBianca murders – had found, which stood in for Lake Tahoe in the film, and was near where the Manson Family lived at the time.  When all the footage was shot, Vic rented a motel room, “borrowed” a 30 year old movola to cut the film.  As the movola was from the silent era, the soundtrack was essentially destroyed by this move, something that Vic had not anticipated.  Some of it could be made out, but large chunks were gone now, and the edits were noticeable.  To help cover for this, Vic turned to his friend Frederick Kopp, a teacher at Los Angeles State College, who taught music composition and worked occasionally in television, though not in a “credited” capacity.  Kopp scored the entire film, his first and only composition where he was credited, and was even conned into dropping a few dollars to help the production, on the promise that his son, Pierre, could get a role in the picture.  Vic then asked Larry Burrell, then working as voice talent in radio, to narrate the film.  (Larry might be the most famous person associated with the film outside of Randy Starr, who worked on Batman, Columbo and the amazing TV movie, They Saved Hitler’s Brain.)  When Vic mixed these with what remained of the original audio bits that were worth saving, and added a few stock sound effects to pad out the sound of the monster and other bits here and there.  (Sound effects that also appeared in in Battle Beyond the Sun and Jack the Giant Killer, as well as Rosemary’s Baby, though it should be added, not intentionally.)

Vic “completed” (or, as some would say, “stopped adding to”) the film in 1964, but before he could try do anything with The Creeping Terror, everything began to fall apart.  True, Vic had a working “print” to try and sell, but actors began to demand compensation for the money they had put into the picture.  Allan Siilliphant, angry over the changes Vic made to the story, sued Vic successfully, over clear breach of contract.  Vic actually disappeared completely rather than face the financial consequences of the lawsuit, and Allan was awarded the rights to do with the film as he wished.  Allan washed his hands of it, giving it to his agent, and through a series of hand-offs that have yet to be tracked down, was eventually shelved by a TV exec who pawned the problem off on the future.  Vic spent the rest of his live in a drunken stupor, and died of liver failure in 1975.  He never attempted to return to film in the time since the disaster that was The Creeping Terror, and he died knowing that he was the only person who had seen it, and thus, know the vision he had for the film.

In this rare instance, time was a friend to Vic Savage.  Even when you fail at something so spectacularly, that failure can open up a whole world of possibility in the future.  Sure, the camp value of it is the only thing recommending The Creeping Terror to modern audiences, and even on MST3K, the film is hard to get through.  But I think that people see an artist trying to make their voice heard when they see a failure like this.  They see themselves, barely an adult at age 28, wanting to express themselves in film the way so many others have before.  Vic was willing to go out on a limb, and pay the price of that taken chance, to see his vision completed.  Sure, it was a dumb vision, but who hasn’t put all their eggs in a basket, if only to learn that lesson up close and personal?

To accompany the film, I’ve selected a sort of stream-of-consciousness set of tunes to complement this narrative mess.  The Creeping Terror barely makes any sense, so really, just absorb the ambience and the musical accompaniment, and try to imagine yourself watching late night TV in the mid-70’s, and then, suddenly, this comes on.

Enjoy!

*

The Creeping Terror!

Side A.

The Glowing Rocket / “Must Be An Accident Or Something.” / “Get In, Honey.” / At The Location Of The Crash / They Looked At The Rocket In Utter Amazement / “It’s No Airplane” / The Monster Attacks / “Car One, Calling In.” / A Temporary Military Headquarters / When, As, And If They Were Contacted / The First In A Series Of Tragedies / Maintaining Secrecy / If The Truth Were Known / “I’ve Heard A Lot About You.”  “Nothing Bad, I Hope?” / A Magnificent Opportunity For Mankind / In Advance Of Anything On Earth / Bachelor Buddies For Years / Dating All The Girls In Town / Married Life / Life Has It’s Way of Making Boys Grow Up / “Poor Baby.” / Come From Beyond Our Solar System 

01.) Crash! Crash! * The Agenda * Start The Panic
02.) Drug Fueled Accident * The Punks * The Punks
03.) Rocketship * The Dead Milkmen * Bucky Fellini
04.) Creeping Crawling * Guyve * Delaying The Inevitable
05.) Negative Creep * Nirvana * Bleach
06.) Truth * The Dead C * Vain, Erudite And Stupid
07.) Experiment In Terror * Fantômas * The Director’s Cut
08.) Creep In The Cellar * The Butthole Surfers * Rembrandt Pussyhorse
09.) 102 Creep [Excerpt I] * Eric Hausmann * Invisible Films

Side B.

The Trials Of Re-Entry & Impact / Failing To Establish Communication / A Frightening Theory / A Product Of Engineering / Humanity Might Be In Grave Danger / “You Stay There.  Stay Calm.” / The Remains Of A Guitar / There Must Be Another Monster / The Monster Was Moving Toward The Community Dance Hall / The Monster Next Appeared In Lover’s Lane / Enough Lives Were Being Endangered / Highly Specialized Test Animals / “Get Out Of My Way.” / The Transmitter Stopped / What Was In Store For Humanity / The Vastness of The Universe Was Incredible / Only God Knows For Sure

10.) 102 Creep [Excerpt II] * Eric Hausmann * Invisible Films
11.) Communication Breakdown * The Dickies * Stukas Over Disneyland
12.) The Creep (Twist) * Frankie Stein And His Ghouls * Monster Sounds And Dance Music
13.) The Creep * Bob Luman * Lux And Ivy’s Favorites Volume 15
14.) Exploration In Terror * The Ventures * The Ventures In Space
15.) A Fistful Of Terror * The Bomboras * Head Shrinkin’ Fun
16.) Terror * Les Baxter * RE/Search: Incredibly Strange Music Vol II
17.) Go To Hell * Railbirds * Killed By Dead Vol. 14
18.) Gotta Get Away * The Blues Magoos * Kaleidoscopic Compendium: The Best Of The Blues Magoos
19.) The Creeper * Quintron * “These Hands Of Mine”

The Daily NewsBlas 31 October 2014: Happy Halloween!

This Halloween Season was fantastic, and I really enjoyed all of the excellent places we have gone over the last month.  I will be honest: this shorter format was a lot of fun to play with, and I really got to introduce people to some of my favorite Halloween Ephemera.

As my gift to you, I’ve put together a four-hour Halloween Music Presentation, that you can download and play at your party.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you:

The Halloween Spook-tacular 2014!

This is a collection of 95 tracks by artists recording some serious monster rock.  This music in this collection all comes from the crucial 1920 – 1969 period, and are culled from a variety of sources and compilations that are readily available from a variety of sources.  Quite a few of these have appeared in previous episodes, by many are new to me, and have never aired on our program.  My gift, to you, this holiday season, is some serious party music you can dance to.

We’ve offered quite a few incredible Holliday Treats, and to summarize, here’s a run-down of some of the features we’re had this month:

Haunted House Ambience Mix 2014 
This is a mix of various “Spooky Sounds” LPs from my private collection, that runs a full 60 minutes.  Great atmosphere for trick or treaters!

There were a number of other great NewsBlas this month, and you can find all of our Halloween Programming (going back to 2004) here:

Blasphuphmus Radio’s Halloween Spook-tacular!

This includes all of our shows, and Halloween episodes of What’s This Called?, Closet Radio & The Guitar Shop.  It’s just another way that we deliver unique programming to our listeners.

While it is sad to crawl back into the crypt for another year, we know that it can’t be Halloween the whole year through.  Otherwise, it wouldn’t be as cool as it is.

Happy Halloween.

Enjoy.

Mother Box 044

NewsBlas 30 October 2014: The War of The Worlds Trailer

This edit highlights some of my favorite moments from the original show.  Welles really pushed to make his program as much like a radio broadcast as possible for the first two-thirds of the show, and these are some of the best moments, in my mind.

On 10 October 2009 I aired the entire “War of The Worlds” broadcast as part of a three hour mega-mix of Halloween treats that day.  This, among many other means online, are the best way to enjoy the entire show.

I really encourage listening to and researching the show.  The story behind this broadcast is as compelling as the show itself.  Not only has it be re-interpreted a number of times over the years, but the affect of the broadcast was covered in depth in a fantastic Radiolab Episode.

Enjoy.

Mother Box 043

The Daily NewsBlas 29 October 2014: Haunted House Ambience Mix

From my crypt to yours, I offer the 2014 Haunted House Ambience Mix, constructed from a variety of “Spooky Sounds” LPs from my private collection.  While today’s NewsBlas is merely a sampling, I am offering to everyone a 60 minute mix using these LPs as the basis for the mix.  This is great for playing in the background to create a spooky environment for any home, porch, or place where trick-or-treaters may arrive.

Halloween Bits

Mother Box 042

The Daily NewsBlas 28 October 2014: An Arrest

This is a selection from the Ambrose Bierce collection, “The Ways of Ghosts.”  These stories are now in the public domain, and make for excellent holiday reading.

Various effects edited and created by Austin Rich.

Enjoy.

Mother Box 041

NewsBlas 27 October 2014: Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of The Haunted House

“Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of The Haunted House”

Released by Disneyland Records.

Narrated by Laura Olsher

A simple Google Search reveals a whole range of other listening options.  (And I recommend the image search view to check out the variety of album covers over the years.)

Mother Box 040

NewsBlas 24 October 2014: The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall (Part V of V, read by Vincent Price)

A Hornbook for Witches by Leah Bodine Drake (1950)

Read by Vincent Price

Taken from the LP released by Caedmon Records in 1976.

Mother Box 039

NewsBlas 23 October 2014: The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall (Part IV of V, read by Vincent Price)

A Hornbook for Witches by Leah Bodine Drake (1950)

Read by Vincent Price

Taken from the LP released by Caedmon Records in 1976.

Mother Box 038

NewsBlas 22 October 2014: The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall (Part III of V, read by Vincent Price)

A Hornbook for Witches by Leah Bodine Drake (1950)

Read by Vincent Price

Taken from the LP released by Caedmon Records in 1976.

Mother Box 037

NewsBlas 21 October 2014: The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall (Part II of V, read by Vincent Price)

A Hornbook for Witches by Leah Bodine Drake (1950)

Read by Vincent Price

Taken from the LP released by Caedmon Records in 1976.

Mother Box 036

NewsBlas 20 October 2014: The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall (Part I of V, read by Vincent Price)

A Hornbook for Witches by Leah Bodine Drake (1950)

Read by Vincent Price

Taken from the LP released by Caedmon Records in 1976.

Mother Box 035

NewsBlas 17 October 2014: Halloween Nuggets!

You can purchase the album at Amazon.com.

You can stream the entire thing at Spotify.  (I think you need to be logged in for that link to work.)

It is also available in a number of other places, too.

Watusi Zombi * Jan Davis * Halloween Nuggets
Graveyard * The Phantom Five * Halloween Nuggets
Scream * Ralph Neilsen & The Chancellors * Halloween Nuggets

Mother Box 034

NewsBlas 16 October 2014: Mad Monster Party?

Mad Monster Party? on Wikipedia

Blasphuphmus Radio Broadcast from 22 October 2011

Mad Monster Party Trailer [Excerpt]
The Baron * Maury Laws * Mad Monster Party Soundtrack
Mad Monster Party [Excerpt] * Ethel Ennis w/ Maury Laws * Mad Monster Party Soundtrack
Pills Will Save The Day * Film [Excerpt]
Waltz For A Witch [Excerpt] * Maury Laws * Mad Monster Party Soundtrack
Mad Monster Party Trailer [Excerpt]

Mother Box 033

NewsBlas 15 October 2014: Johnny Takes A Dare

Johnny Takes A Dare (The More The Merrier) [Edit] * John Allen * Ghost Stories For Young People (Golden Records, 1960)

Mother Box 032

NewsBlas 14 October 2014: Frankie Stein And His Ghouls!

Stoned (Monkey, Watusi) [Excerpt] * Frankie Stein And His Ghouls * Shock! Terror! Fear! (1964)
Mummy’s Little Boy (Monkey, Twist) * Frankie Stein And His Ghouls * Ghoul Music (1965)
Dance Of Doom (Monkey, Watusi) * Frankie Stein And His Ghouls * Monster Sounds And Dance Music (1965)

Their page on discogs.com

Roger’sBasement.com.  (A fan site from the ’90’s / early ’00’s that details every scrap of information anyone can find / has / knows about Frankie Stein.)

Amazon.com sometimes has a remastered CD containing most (but not all) of the Frankie Stein songs.

I recommend a Google Search, which yields some pretty good download results for the dedicated and diligent fan.

These albums were originally released on Power Records, and subsidiary of Peter Pan Records.

Mother Box 031

NewsBlas 13 October 2014: A Cold Greeting

This is a selection from the Ambrose Bierce collection, “The Ways of Ghosts.”  These stories are now in the public domain, and make for excellent holiday reading.

Violin music provided by Béla Bartók, and performed by Gyorgy Pauk & Kazuki Sawa.

Various effects edited and created by Austin Rich.

Mother Box 030

NewsBlas 9 October 2014: Tarantula Ghoul & Her Gravediggers!

Tarantula Ghoul & Her Gravediggers! (discogs.com)

Tarantula Ghoul discussion board (with articles and links) (monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.c0)

“Pity the ghoul who’s never seen Tarantula Ghoul” (The Oregonian)

 Tarantula Ghoul (facebook.com)

An Image Search for Tarantula Ghoul yields excellent results.

And yet another good Image Search turns up here.

House of Horror! (KPTV website detailing Tarantula Ghoul’s show.)

Mother Box 028

The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
(Featuring Halloween selections from the early 1960’s and an audio version of a story from Vincent Price’s Tales of Terror.  Originally podcast on 30 October 2013 on BlasphuphmusRadio.com, and re-aired in 2015.)

Playlist & Footnotes:

As we close this year’s Halloween Spook-tacular we do it with two guest stars that make any Halloween gathering well worth the effort: Basil Rathbone & Vincent Price!  Those two alone almost make anything worthy of Halloween viewing, no matter what the premise, and in this case, reenacting a story by Edgar Allen Poe only seals the deal.  Minus some bad acting, this is a great way to close out the spooky season, as we segue into overeating and songs about snow.

While I do make fun of the acting in this movie, this era of horror films were absolutely seminal in the world of horror films and horror music.  Roger Corman’s studios made so many movies – many from excellent source material – that occasionally a real gem will get lost in the mix.  Price and Rathbone’s overacting is only half the fun, and the clips from this movie make for some compelling audio theater.  Plus, there’s plenty of early sixties monster songs to keep everything flowing smoothly.

I really love putting together these shows, and Halloween music is some of my favorite music.  Plus, my Horror Host – who has really transformed into a sort of Ghoulardi character at this point – is a lot of fun to do.  Hopefully, you’re enjoying it too.

Lots of cool stuff on the horizon.  But until then, take care, okay.

Happy Halloween!

The Fact in the Case of M. Valdemar

Part I: To Escape A Pitiful & Painful Decline To Death!
01.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part I
02.) The Mad Scientist * The Zanies * 1958
03.) Graveyard * The Phantom 5 * 1966
04.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part II
05.) Nightmare * Scottie Stuart * 1960
06.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part III
07.) The Whip * The Creeps * 1959
08.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part IV
09.) Midnight Stroll * The Revels * 1959

Part II: The Time Has Come.
10.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part V
11.) Down In The Basement * The Munsters * 1964
12.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part VI
13.) Igor’s Lament * Tony’s Monstrosities * 1960
14.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part VII
15.) Cha-Cha With The Zombies * The Upperclassmen * 1959
16.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part VIII
17.) Dead * The Poets * 1958

Part III: You Do But Sleep!
18.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part IX
19.) The Monster Hop * Bert Convy * 1958
20.) Spooky * George Barnes * 1959
21.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part X
22.) Rockin’ Zombie * The Crewnecks * 1961
23.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part XI
24.) Frankenstein Stomp * Lorry & The Biters * 1965
25.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part XII
26.) Wombie Zombie * Billy Taylor * 1959
27.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part XIII
28.) The Lurch * Ted Cassidy * 1966
29.) “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” Part XIV
30.) The Boogie Man * The Cadillacs * 1960
31.) The Blob * The Five Blobs * 1958

32.) Frankie And Igor At A Rock ‘N’ Roll Party * Bob MicFadden * 1959

Monster Movie Party!
(Featuring Halloween selections from the early 1960’s, mixing our annual Halloween Spook-tacular with Blasphuphmus Radio Goes To The Movies!  Originally podcast on 26 October 2013 on BlasphuphmusRadio.com and re-aired in 2015.)

Playlist & Footnotes:

I am always looking for ways to mash-up my own themes and tropes, and when it dawned on me to do a Halloween Spooktacular AND a new installment of Blasphuphmus Radio Goes To The Movies, it was hard not to follow this idea to its most logical conclusion.  With that in mind, I put together three Audio Essays, each focused on a different Famous Monster from the classic era of Hollywood Horror.  Vampires!  Frankenstein!  The Werewolf!  They’re all right here, in this Monster Movie Party!

Credit must be given where credit is due: this show is also inspired by the Wavy Gravy compilations that were put out by Beware Records.  Starting in the late 80’s and early 90’s, this label was putting out compilations of hard-to-find rock and roll gems, interjecting trailers for b movies.  This was clearly inspired by the mix tapes that Lux Interior had been making since the ’70’s, and of course, the radio work of The Mad Daddy.  Since these records were released in a pre-Internet era, it can’t be stressed how strange and incredible these albums were, when this kind of stuff was hard to find.  It was their idea of including trailers that has really swept the radio landscape for DJs and oddballs who are into this kind of music, and since I was mining that period in rock history for this show, it only makes sense to do the same.

The early ’60’s – my cut-off date for this show – is a very interesting period in rock music.  The beginning sounds of what would become Garage Rock is starting to take shape, but the sound is still heavily rooted in that late ’50’s naiveté.  But Shock Theater is starting to take over late night television, and the shape of things to come is just as scary.  I really enjoyed putting this show together, and I hope you did it as much as I do.

Enjoy!

Monster Movie Party!

Part I: Vampires!
01.) “Atom Age Vampire” Trailer * Anton Giulio Majano * 1963
02.) Vampira * Bobby Bare * 1958
03.) Vampire * The Crystals * 1960
04.) “Macabre” Trailer * William Castle * 1958
05.) Screamin’ Ball (At Dracula Hall) * The Duponts * 1957
06.) “Dracula” Trailer * 1931
07.) Graveyard Cha Cha * The Three D’s * 1959
08.) “The Vampire & The Ballerina” Trailer * 1960

Part II: Frankenstein!
09.) “I Was A Teenage Frankenstein” * Herbert L. Strock * 1957
10.) At The House Of Frankenstein * Big Bee Kornegay * 1958
11.) Satan Takes A Holiday * Tommy Dorsey * 1937
12.) “Frankenstein” Trailer * James Whale * 1931
13.) Frankenstein Rock * Eddie Thomas * 1958
14.) “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die” Trailer * 1963
15.) You Can Get Him Frankenstein * Castle Kings * 1961
16.) “Calling Dr. Death” Trailer * 1943
17.) Don’t Meet Mr. Frankenstein * Carlos Casual Jr. * 1962
18.) “Frankenstein’s Daughter” Trailer * 1958

Part III: The Werewolf!
19.) Dead Man Blues * Jelly Roll Morton * 1926
20.) “The Werewolf” Excerpt * Alan Smithee * 1935
21.) The Werewolf * Carl Bonafede * 1960
22.) “I Was A Teenage Werewolf” * 1956
23.) Werewolf * Garry Warren * 1958
24.) “The Curse of The Werewolf” Trailer * 1961
25.) Mr. Werewolf * The Kac Ties * 1963
26.) “The Wolf Man” Trailer * 1941
27.) Monster Party * Bill Doggett * 1959

28.) “The Mummy” Trailer * 1932

Chance of A Ghost!
(Featuring Halloween selections from the 1950’s and earlier as we continue this years Halloween Spook-tacular!  Originally podcast on 14 October 2013 on BlasphuphmusRadio.com, and again in 2015.)

Playlist & Footnotes:

I often associate Peter Lorre with this time of year, as his voice is forever associated with the 100s of imitators who would do his voice as a Halloween Shorthand when I was growing up.  His career in film is incredibly well known, but his radio career is less familiar.  So I was happy to find a program he hosted that fits the Halloween theme perfectly: Nightmare, a supernatural anthology show that presented a different story every week, hosted by the Master of Macabre, Peter Lorre himself.  For this particular broadcast, I chose an episode from the mid-1950’s, and decided to pair it with a fair amount of period music to bring the point home.

As was typical for these kinds of Ghost Stories, there is only the smallest hint that something supernatural has happened during the tale, and even that is handwaved by the participants at the very end.  However, as we can see in comparison to last week’s program, rather than report something “supposedly true,” we are starting to get to the point where radio was dramatizing the story, in a way that sets a very good Halloween mood.  Considering that the 1950’s saw a resurgence of the Universal Horror Pictures – coupled with The Shock Theater TV package of horror movies that was sold to most stations in the mid-50’s – horror was starting to take hold of the public at large.  (Horror comics started to sell like crazy in these days, too.)  However, this was a budding genre, and there were still a lot of “mood” pieces that were not so much scary, but evoked the imagination.  This is exactly where Nightmare fits in.

Finding musical accompaniment  for this episode was harder than I thought it would be.  While there is plenty of music that is labeled “1950’s Horror,” when you start to actually compare dates, many of these songs are from 1960 or later.  The musical “monster craze” really doesn’t get started until 1957, when Shock Theater was nationwide, and people were seeing horror on TV late at night.  However, there were enough songs to help flesh out the show, and in some cases, foreshadow bits and pieces of the story.  I was pretty pleased with the evolution of music from last week to this week, and hopefully we’ll continue this evolution as we begin to enter the 1960’s, when the Monster Song genre really began to take off.

Among the selections from this show include a few really excellent gems worth mentioning: Tarantual Ghoul And Her Gravediggers!  While I had heard this song on a few compilations prior to this show, in researching this artist I discovered that she was actually a Horror Host here in Portland Oregon in 1957 – 1959 on KPTV!  You can find a few images of her here, and I would recommend searching around for other images and the flip side of her 45, “King Kong.”  Clearly influenced by Vampira and the other Horror Hosts of the era, this is a great discovery for me, and I’m very excited to learn more about her.  Novelty Record nerd will also like to hear that “The Casual Three” is actually a Dickie Goodman production, of the incredibly duo “Buchanan & Goodman,” most well known for their hit, “The Flying Saucer.” While it was common for people to work under a number of names in those days, I thought I knew just about everything there is to know about those guys.  Always something new to learn.

Stay tuned, as we will be edging our way into the 1960’s, with more of our Halloween Spook-tacular, 2013!

Enjoy!

Chance of A Ghost!

Part I: Nightmare In A Haunted House!
01.) Chance of A Ghost * Peter Lorre * Nightmare (31 March 1954) (Throughout The Show)
02.) Nightmare Hop * Earl Patterson * 1959
03.) Skeleton In The Closet * Artie Shaw & His Orchestra * 30 October 1936
04.) The Ghost Song * Salty Holmes * 1954
05.) Dead * The Poets * 1958
06.) Haunted House * Cris Kevin And The Comics * 1959
07.) Mad House Jump * The Daylighters * 1959

Part II: In The Graveyard!
08.) Satan Takes A Holiday * John Cali & Tony Guttuso * 1937
09.) Graveyard Rock * Tarantual Ghoul And Her Gravediggers * 1958
10.) Graveyard Boogie * Buster Doss & His Arkansas Playboys * 1948
11.) Nightmare * Jack Turner * May 1955
12.) Midnight Monster’s Hop * Jack And Jim * 1959

Part III: What Is And Isn’t There!
13.) White Ghost Shivers * The New Orleans Owls * 1926
14.) He’s A Vampire * Archie King * 1959
15.) The Invisible Thing * The Casual Three * 1958
16.) The Rockin’ Ghost * The Modernaires * 1962
17.) Nightmares * John Lowell
18.) The Monster * Bobby Please * 1959
19.) Swingin’ At The Seance * The Deep River Boys * 1940
20.) Ghost Satellite * Bob & Jerry * 1958

The Ghost of General Moulton!
(Featuring Halloween selections from the 1940’s and earlier as we begin this years Halloween Spook-tacular!  Originally podcast on 6 October 2013 on BlasphuphmusRadio.com, and again in 2015.)

Playlist & Footnotes:

Since 2003 I’ve been actively collecting Halloween music and recordings, and since 2004 I’ve been hosting this annual Halloween Spook-Taculars on my program.  What can I say?  This is my favorite time of year, and my favorite kind of music.  I’ve been listening to Halloween Music for the last few months, in and effort not only to get into the spirit, but to continue the quest to find new and exciting music.  And this year is no exception, as I found a huge treasure-trove of Halloween goodies that I cannot wait for you to hear!

Using a somewhat chronological format for presentation this year, this first show is offering music from the Pre-1940’s ear of Halloween Music.  Halloween is a very old celebration, but the music side of this holiday has often been suppressed, or relegated to the “novelty” portion of any record collection.  This is a shame, as music like this is really evocative, and presents a kind of musical narrative that is absent from so many other kinds of music.  It’s always a pleasure to find a new song about ghosts and monsters, especially from this early period when the “novelty hit” hadn’t quite made it possible to make a whole career out of spooky songs.

To complement today’s selection of songs, we have a period radio broadcast of the Yankee Yarns series, a show hosted by Alton Blackington, who would present a story rooted in Americana in some form or another.  For this particular episode – The Ghost of General Moulton – he retells the life story of Johnathan Moulton, and the spooky tale surrounding his life (and death).  It not only fit the theme and the mood of our annual Spook-taculars, but is a very curious piece of radio history, making it doubly relevant to our interests.

I’m going to make every effort to bring you a show every week this month, and for next week’s program we’ll be creeping into the 1950’s.  Welcome to Blasphuphmus Radio’s Halloween Spook-tacular 2013!

Enjoy!

The Ghost of General Moulton!

Part I: Ghost Dance

01.) “A Welcome Date On Our Calendar” * Bing Crosby * Philco Radio Time 30 October 1946
02.) The Halloween Song * Bing Crosby & Boris Karloff * Philco Radio Time  29 October 1947
03.) Ghost Dance * Truett & George * 1927
04.) The Ghost of General Moulton * Yankee Yarns w/ Alton Blackington * 13 October 1943 (throughout the program)
05.) Ghost In The Graveyard * The Prairie Ramblers * 1938
06.) I’m A Ghost * Scrappy * “Scrappy’s Ghost Story” Cartoon 1935
07.) Haunted House * Ray Noble & His All Stars * 1931
08.) The Skeleton Rag * The American Quartet * 1912

Part II: T’ain’t No Sin

09.) T’aint No Sin * Fred Hall & His Sugar Babies * 1928
10.) The Bat * Alvino Rey & His Orchestra * 1959
11.) The Skeleton In The Closet * Putney Dandridge * 1936
12.) The Wobblin’ Goblin * Rosemary Clooney * 1950
13.) Haunted House * Betty Grable & Dan Dailey * “My Blue Heaven” 1950
14.) Halloween Spooks * Lambert, Hendricks & Ross * 1962
15.) The Boogie Man * Todd Rollins & His Orchestra w/ Chick Bullock * 1934

Part III: The House Is Haunted

16.) Haunted Blues * Memphis Minnie * 1937
17.) Nightmare * Artie Shaw * 1938
18.) With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm * Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut Yankees * 1937
19.) The House Is Haunted (By The Echo of Your Last Goodbye) * Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra * 1937
20.) Skeleton In The Closet * Louis Armstrong * 1936
21.) The Ghost Walk * Borrah Minnevitch * 1933

An Evening With Vincent Price!
(Featuring the master of horror readings himself, Mr. Vincent Price, performing classic tales from his Caedmon Records releases.  Originally podcast 23 October 2012, re-aired in 2015, and as “#22.1” in 2016.)

There are a number of people who have become so associated with horror and the macabre that they become culturally associated with Halloween, a holiday that celebrates not only ghosts, vampires and monsters, but these kinds of celebrities as well.  While he was most certainly not the first to achieve this kind of notoriety, Vincent Price managed to use this association to his advantage, building a career that spanned stage, screen, radio, television and LP.  His singular looks, commanding voice, and overall sense of theater and drama made him perfectly suited to wear capes and speak knowingly about the undead and the midnight hour.  While his dedication to the craft was always apparent in everything he produced, his sense of humor was always lurking just beneath, and one need only look at his appearance on The Muppet Show for proof of that.  It is with no small amount of fanfare that we bring you an entire hour dedicated to the man himself, presenting his own voice reading stories and poems about ghosts, witches, goblins, and all things creepy as part of our annual Halloween Spook-tacular!

Beginning his career in the late 1930’s, Vincent Price’s horror film debut was with Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone in 1939 in The Tower Of London, but the role that really established his career was 1944’s Laura, a film noir by Otto Preminger, and adapted from the novel of the same name.  In 1947 he took on the role of Simon Templar in the radio program The Saint, a heroic adventure program where he solved crimes in much the same manner of The Green Hornet, The Avenger, or The Whistler (a program that shared a similar introduction).  He appeared in horror, film noir, and radio programs, and a comedy here and there, throughout the ’40’s and ’50’s.  By the 1960’s he was known to many as the character of Egghead in the television adaptation of Batman.  However, his work with Roger Corman not only made him permanently associated with horror films (and in particular, screen adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe short stories), but made him a go-to actor when filmmakers wanted to use his incredible voice, or lend a moody atmosphere to the production.  Throughout the remainder of his career he worked for a number of director’s, lent his voice to animated films, and hosted endless programs, including PBS’s Mystery! from ’81 – ’89.  He passed from this dimension in 1993, but his long career and spectacular command of drama has made him a Halloween icon, and one who I enjoy every year around this time.

One aspect of his career that is often overlooked is his work for Caedmon Records (now Caedmon Audio).  Founded in 1952 by Barbara Holdridge and Marianne Roney, Caedmon focused on all manner of spoken word albums, which included authors and poets reading their own work, presentations of speeches or stage performances, poetry collections, children’s stories, and any number of literary works on LP (their slogan: “A Third Dimension for the Printed Page”).  They managed to amass an impressive roster of artists, featuring albums by Robert Frost, T. S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, e.e. cummings, Richard Burton, Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave and Basil Rathbone just to name a few.  These LPs were particularly popular among the hip college crowd in the ’60’s and ’70’s, and offered a new means for listeners to experience well known literary works, often read by the original writers, or at least, consummate performers.  Caedmon still releases audio books and literary recordings to this day, though now on CD and in other digital forms, leaving behind the excellent LPs that made their work unique and popular, and today they are thought of as a merely an audiobook production company.  It is with this organization that Vincent Price recorded several albums, reading a number of stories totally appropriate for the Halloween season.  These albums contained stories about ghosts, goblins, monsters of all variety, and on one record, a series of spells for witches, with their ingredients described in detail.  While he recited his share of Edgar Allen Poe stories too, today’s program features stories from his other recordings.

Ghost stories have a long and wonderful tradition that goes back to an time when people primarily heard them around the campfire, and there is something about hearing someone tell you a story that is absolutely mesmerizing.  I have fond memories listening to a few scary stories on records when I was a kid, and when I hear recordings like this, I am easily transported to a time when a four minute ghost story would leave me in awe.  Putting one of these records on is a fantastic showcase of the different kinds of literary thrills and chills that Vincent Price was so good at delivering, and it seemed appropriate to offer a sort of mix-tape of some well-known moments.  I intentionally left out his renditions of Poe works, not only because we featured The Tell-Tale Heart last week, but I wanted to offer some of the other kinds of narratives heard on records like this.  Accompanying these stories are the sounds of one of my favorite scary sounds LPs, Haunted House, an Italian record from 1985 with some hilarious typos on the back cover, and an excellent presentation on Side A.

It is sad that, now, both Vincent Price and stories like this are no longer popular, and have been replaced instead with the Horror Movie format as people loose their interest in  primary source of Halloween scares like these.  Ghost Stories seem permanently lodged in the past, somehow, and while I can easily become excited by work like this, it is very clearly a relic now.  This show is a sort of snapshot of the way this holiday used to be celebrated, and one that I wish would come back.  The real focus of today’s program are tales read by the immortal Vincent Price, and that should be something that is timeless.

So: light some candles, curl up in a blanket with your loved ones, and enjoy an hour of fantastic tales guaranteed to set the mood for any party.  Let’s just hope that you live through the entire show!

An Evening With Vincent Price!

Part I: “Listen, Won’t You?”

01.) Take A Trip Through The Haunted House If You Dare! * Haunted House * Haunted House Music Co.

02.) All-Saints’ Eve * Vincent Price * A Hornbook For Witches * Caedmon Records

Published in 1950 by Leah Bodine Drake in a collection of poems entitled A Hornbook for Witches: Poems of Fantasy, this is perhaps one of the rarest collections of poetry published by a fairly large publisher, Arkham House Press.  According to one story, Leah Drake had to shoulder the cost of printing the book, and just over 500 were pressed.  300 were given to the poet for her troubles, and the remainder were sent to distributors.  While it is unclear if the book sold well at all when it was published, copies now go for over $500, mostly because of the spooky content and eerie quality to the verse.  Most people know these poems from Price’s LP, A Hornbook of Witches, containing a few of the gems from this rare book.

03.) The Lone Grave * Vincent Price * Tales Of Witches, Ghosts, And Goblins * Caedmon Records

This story appeared in a 1956 collection of stories by Carl Carmer entitled The Screaming Ghost And Other Stories.  Published as a collection for young adults and illustrated by “Irv Docktor” (a pseudonym if I’ve ever seen one), this is one of the many American folktales and stories Carmer collected and remade for kids.  These stories have taken on a number of forms and versions over the years, and made its way into similar collections by other authors, but Vincent Price (and Caedmon Records) seemed to have a fondness for Carmer’s version.  This particular story originates from Kentucky, and probably has some basis of fact buried within this frightening tale.

04.) The Phantom Merry-Go-Round * Vincent Price * Tales Of Witches, Ghosts, And Goblins * Caedmon Records

Another story from Carmer’s The Screaming Ghost And Other Stories collection, this one tells the story of the deadly hurricane of 1856, and how it destroyed the resort town of Isle Dernière, near New Orleans.

Part II: “Welcome To Gobbleknoll.”

05.) The Smoker * Vincent Price * Tales Of Witches, Ghosts, And Goblins * Caedmon Records

A story from A Book of Goblins, published in 1969 and edited by Alan Garner for young adult readers.  On the Caedmon LP, this story is listed as “freely adapted from an Iroquois legend.”  This is entirely possible, and Garner was merely the editor of this collection of stories.  I have yet to track down a copy of this book, so tracing the origins of these stories is entirely dependent on the data available via the Inter-Web-A-Tron.

06.) Don’t * Vincent Price * A Hornbook For Witches * Caedmon Records

This piece was written by Maria Leach, author of the story collection The Thing At The Foot Of The Bed And Other Scary Stories.  Originally published in 1959, it saw a number of young adult editions over the years, but is now out of print.  Maria Leach, in this collection, took a number of classic folktales and campfire stories and re-told them (similar to the style of Carl Carmer).  This was a popular tactic in the ’50’s, ’60’s and ’70’s, as people were less concerned with copyright and the origins of stories like this were never entirely clear anyway.  Other stories from this book were often used for Halloween Records, but Vincent’s delivery usually sells the story.

07.) The Leg of Gold * Vincent Price * A Graveyard of Ghost Tales * Caedmon Records

Vincent Price liked his authors British, and Ruth Manning-Sanders was a popular fairy tale collector in the UK.  Mostly known for her collections of children’s stories, Ruth would travel the world and collect a variety of stories from different countries, then retell them in her own style for English audiences.  One collection in particular – A Book of Ghosts & Goblins – became rather popular in 1969 when it was published, an stories from it have been entertaining people this time of year ever since.   This particular tale is of French origin, but the book is worth tracking down due to the wide variety of stories from all over the world.

08.) Gobbleknoll * Vincent Price * Tales Of Witches, Ghosts, And Goblins * Caedmon Records

Also known by the title “Gobble Knowll,” this story is also taken from A Book of Goblins, edited by Alan Garner (also known as The Hamish Hamilton Book of Goblins in the UK).  On the Caedmon LP, this story is listed as being “Transposed from a Sioux legend,” which could very well be the case, but most sources agree that Garner’s writing draws from English folktales and stories near where he grew up in the English countryside.  Part of the Gobbleknowll story seems to have been used in Garner’s The Weirdstone of Brisingamen book that he became famous for, and this fame most likely led to him getting the editing job, too.

Part III: “The Calamander Chest”

09.) The Calamander Chest * Vincent Price * Goblins at the Bath House and the Calamander Chest * Caedmon Records

Originally published in Weird Tales magazine in January of 1954, this story by Joseph Payne Brennan became one of his more popular stories, and might be one of the few included in this presentation that was not originally written for young adults.  (Though the audience for Weird Tales definitely skewed young.)  Brennan’s work is largely out of print in the modern age, but his stories are considered classic pieces of horror among many authors, including Stephen King.  Brennan often used strange and disturbed loners as characters in his work, and was a proponent of the paranormal detective character, which dominated much of his work in the ’60’s.  This story is an excellent example of his work, and a great way to close today’s program.

10.) The Broomstick Train * Vincent Price * Tales Of Witches, Ghosts, And Goblins * Caedmon Records

This is a small excerpt from a longer poem by none other than Oliver Wendell Holmes, taken from his collection The One Hoss Shay, illustrated by Howard Pyle.  Holmes was a physician and lecturer, and kept company with the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson & Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, among other well known luminaries and poets.  This collection was originally produced in 1858, though it was revised a number of times during his life.  While the poem is actually about the introduction of electrified street cars in US cities, Holmes strength was in his ability to draw comparisons and connections between the world around him and the supernatural world of the past.