ThirteenForHalloween.com - 10/13/2007 - New website features fun family-friendly music, art, recipes, games, projects and more from musician-artist M. Ryan Taylor

Kids, families and teachers will benefit from the new Halloween-themed website by musician-artist M. Ryan Taylor, ThirteenForHalloween.com. The site contains Halloween songs for kids from Taylor's album "Thirteen for Halloween" as well as "The Part of Thirteens" which features art, games, recipes and craft ideas grouped in sets of thirteen. The site and all it's content was created by Taylor to give families and classrooms a good source of family-friendly Halloween fun. The content stems from Taylor's long-time love of the spooky holiday and his experience hosting extended-family Halloween parties and public Halloween concerts.

The "Thirteen for Halloween" album features 13 songs; some are based on classic folk songs but most are Taylor’s own work. Taylor was inspired to create the album from his own childhood memories of singing Halloween songs in school and with his family as a child. "Music made Halloween more than 'trick-or-treat' for me. Some of my favorite memories involve singing songs with my mum and brothers. I wanted to share that kind of experience with kids today." Titles on the album range from simple songs like “‘Welcome,’ said the Spider” to more sophisticated part-songs like “We’re Back!” where each person can sing the part of a different ‘undead’ creature (mummy, vampire, skeleton or zombie): all at the same time. The website lets kids, parents and teachers listen to the entire album online.

ThirteenForHalloween.com also features Taylor's original artwork, recipes and other creations that he has compiled over the years of hosting his own extended family's annual Halloween party. An example of one of the recipes, which should prove popular with Harry Potter fans, is "Red Hot Cauldron Cakes" : a gooey brownie with a crisp “red hot” candy crust. Among the 13 crafts featured on the site are a "Canned Spider," glow-in-the-dark placemats, "Imps," and other fun projects. All the recipes and crafts feature high-resolution color photos so visitors can get a good picture of what they will be making.

M. Ryan Taylor’s children’s music is informed by his education, and his art by the humor and whimsy of the Halloween holiday, rather than the gore. Taylor has degrees in vocal performance and composition and is the author of two operas (both of which have been produced), numerous choral works, art songs, and other instrumental works.