# 99 Days till Halloween!



## Dinosaur1972 (Mar 28, 2007)

7/24/2013

*99 Days till Halloween!* Today I’m hitting my “Ghost Stories” collection, which covers just about any album that features the spoken word more than the music. Kinda hard to listen to this while I work though … I can’t listen very carefully, so I’ll just give you an overall feeling I get when listening.

*Al Zanino - The Vampire Speaks (1957)*
First up, Al Zanino with “The Vampire Speaks”, a little 45 single released in 1957. On Side A, Dracula gives a little speech (after shooing away his Renfield-like apprentice), and Side B is a little poem and more chatting. I LOVE this little record … nearly 6 minutes of classic Halloween scary fun. I listened to it three times.

*Alexander Scourby Reads Pit and the Pendulum (1962)*
Scourby was an actor who did a lot of voice and narration work. His reading of “Pit” sounds unabridged … over 40 minutes long. No sound effects or music – just Scourby reading. He has a great voice for radio. 

*Alfred Hitchcock & John Allen - Ghost Stories For Young People (1960)*
Alfred himself does the intro, the wrap-up, and links between the stories. John Allen wrote and narrated the stories – there’s a little music and sound effects to make things more fun. The six ghost stories are kid-friendly – some silly, some a bit scarier. It includes adaptations of “Wait Till Martin Comes” and “The Vanishing Hitchhiker”. It also has one of my favorites, Saki’s “The Open Window”. Terrific stuff from Golden Records.

*Basil Rathbone reads Edgar Allan Poe (1960)*
Album title pretty much covers it. Rathbone did a nice job of adding lots of inflection and variety to his voice without it becoming cheesy … maybe it’s the accent. Love “The Raven” and “The Black Cat”. Rathbone is a terrific reader – I’ll put him above Scourby. Maybe I’m enjoying this album a lot because I haven’t heard these stories in a while – or because I’ve only listened to this particular album maybe once. But this is really a fun listen.

*Alvin Schwartz - Ghosts (Ghostly Tales from Folklore) (1991)*
I believe this is actually a book-and-CD set … I love the noises that tell you when to turn the page. Reminds me of my childhood. Alvin Schwartz’s collections of ghost stories for kids are a lot of fun. I like reading them with my own kids. This set has 13 minutes of modern interpretations of classic stories with a bit of musical accompaniment. My favorite is a modern take on “Old Sal’s Curse”.

*Alvin Schwartz - In a Dark Dark Room (1986)*
More of the same … probably a book-and-cassette set originally. Thirteen more minutes of great stories. This narrator has a more menacing voice than the ’91 collection. Tweaked versions of “The Vanishing Hitchhiker” and “The Yellow Ribbon” are here. 

*Alvin Schwartz - George S. Irving - Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark (1986)*
The first of Alvin Schwartz’s scary compilations. I love the little pops and background noises that mp3s made from old records usually have – it’s nostalgic. We’ve got versions of “The Hairy Toe” (which I used to read to my kids when they were really small), several urban legend-type stories, a couple songs. There’s a bit of musical accompaniment. These are really fun stories.

Dang … didn’t get very far through my Ghost Stories. I might have to wrap up Alvin Schwartz tomorrow and then start up a different folder.


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## GobbyGruesome (Sep 14, 2005)

Hey Dinosaur! I just wanted to leave a quick thanks - I'm not huge into the ghost stories - but I really enjoy all the reviews you do. You've helped me discover some new stuff and it's reminded me to seek out some stuff from my past. Just gotta remember to keep coming back.


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