Again, the 'embers.

Well, dear friends, it's happened.

It is September.

The end of Summer, the beginning of the greatest season of the blessed year.

And there is still just time enough to make a real Hallowe'en.

Not that a real Hallowe'en has to be made -- Hallowe'en happens all by its glorious self -- but for we haunting types, September is the deadline month, the time of do-or-die, of now-or-never, of damnit-where's-that-glue-gun-and-why-haven't-you-been-to-storage-yet?

But this year, I am sort of combining September with October... though I suppose for true Hallowe'en types they're sort of the same long, lovely month anyway.

I could call it 'Septober,' but that's kind of lame and besides, it's already a Martian word -- when it is December on Earth, it is Septober on Mars. Just ask Chochem.

Still, because I am making little distinction between the two, I am therefore not adding September-specific songs to the ol' S&P Jukebox. Instead, for the next two months, I am just going to keep adding and changing all of my favorite Hallowe'en music, the things I have in constant rotation while creating Hallowe'en here at the Skull & Pumpkin.

Of course, there are two songs on the S&P Jukebox that never leave, that always retain their opening and closing positions -- The Great Pumpkin Waltz (our official theme song) and Pumpkintime (our official incidental score).

But for the beginning of Septob -- ah-ha! almost got me doing it, darn you! --  September, I think a visit with dear old friends is needed.

For your enjoyment and edification, the Skull & Pumpkin presents the entire 1967 original motion picture soundtrack from our beloved Rankin/Bass favorite, Mad Monster Party!

 

Yes, every recorded note of composer/music director Maury Laws' greatest (don't argue) score is available for your creepy listening delight right here on that jukebox over there to the upper right.

Oh, such mad monstery music...

... just the thing to have blaring from your speakers while whipping up all manner of All Hallow's goodness, waiting for the gathering on the Big Night.

It's a classic, and a tradition, and even if you already have this in your collection, it's nice to have it all available as we commune at the S&P to share our Autumn People... uh, personhood.

Much like your very life, it won't be available forever, so enjoy it while you may.

And what's coming up next on the jukebox?

Much like your very afterlife... who the Hell knows?

So... enjoy.

There is more Hallowe'en-making mayhem to come.


DDSePtober!

Happy THIRD-iversary, you ol' S&P!

That's right, loyal S&P-brains!

Time to get up and dance...

 We've got the band ready...

 Dr. Henry and Fritz are digging up the keg...

... all because the Skull & Pumpkin is celebrating its

THIRD ANNIVERSARY!

It's a bit difficult to believe, but this little homely house of Hallowe'en horrors has had its doors open to you fine, fine Autumn People since June 21st, 2009.

I can't believe I have stuck with it -- I never follow through with anything!

Yet here we all are. Even the zombies are full of life today...

We will be open all day and night, enjoying the S&P goodness.

In honor of a new year of publy pride, I have changed up a few images and links along the sides of the main page. Click them, see where you end up.

I have also added a few special tracks to the S&P Jukebox -- first, Side One of a great Disney/Decca LP from 1949 -- Bing Crosby once again narrating Washington Irving's classic ghost story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow!

It's a unique version -- not just a recording of the audio bed from the animated film, so it's worth a listen even for those of you who are very familiar with the film.

Then I added a medley of haunting organ music from the greatest dark ride of all time, The Haunted Mansion!

Dancing, carousing, spinning tales, talking Hallowe'en and all things spooky -- these are the heart and soul of the Skull & Pumpkin.

I thank each of you -- now over one hundred thousand unique visits! -- who have helped create this old pub, and helped to keep it alive!

So party on, my little monsters...

(source)

And as always, raise them high now, and join me in our traditional toast --

DUMDUMSHREKPOP!

Happy Anniversary, you ol' S&P.

And happy birthday Betsy!

Another year of Hallowe'en love to come...

Ray-dio.

Hello again, dear S&P-brains.

I hope you're all getting ready for your weekend. I hope whatever you want and need out of this weekend, you get it in the right time and to the right degree.

I also hope you have taken a moment to read a little something by the late Ray Bradbury. Or perhaps you've found one of the numerous TV shows or movies based on his works on DVD, or VHS, or online somewhere.

But whether you have or haven't, I'd like to offer the chance to tribute the dear departed genius and give you the opportunity to hear some of his magic.

Let's go back in time...

Ray in the Time Machine, 1960.

©2001 Ray Bradbury

As a tribute to Ray, our old Hallowe'enith console radio has somehow reprogrammed itself with Bradbury-inspired programs which have all played here at various times.

First up, you can listen to Dark They Were, And Golden-Eyed, a fine production from Mike McDonough's wonderful 1984 radio revival series Bradbury Thirteen. Harry Bittering and his family, having moved to Mars, are stranded there when war devastates the Earth. He fears Mars and its influence on his family and friends, even though he knows there are no Martians anymore... right?

And yes, Haunted Mansion/Disney/Rankin-Bass/Jay Ward fans, that's the master Paul Frees giving us the poetic prologue, as he did for each episode in the series.

Next comes a harrowing little bit of old time radio horror from the October 4, 1953 broadcast of the popular radio series Escape! Are the neighborhood kids just playing a new (if odd) pretending game? Or do moms and dads have something to fear come Zero Hour?

Then, another tale born from Bradbury's lifelong fascination with Mars. The long-running and popular science fiction/fantasy series X Minus One first gave us Mars Is Heaven on May 8, 1955, though Bradbury had first published the tale in 1948. For brave astronauts, landing on Mars leads to the discovery of a nostalgic, home-spun kind of paradise which may be exactly what it seems... Heaven.

And finally, a two-part beauty not originally from radio but from vinyl. 1975's Usher II, voiced by the amazing Leonard Nimoy, tells of a future time when fantasy is not only out-of-vogue but illegal, and the brilliant man who exacts a bit of revenge on those who would take his fantasy life away -- using the horrors of Edgar Allan Poe as his inspiration!

I hope you will all enjoy these tales winding in the dusty corners and hallways of this old place for a while.

I also hope you will enjoy your weekend.

And thanks again, Mr. Bradbury.


DDSeriousProse!

Summer Songs.

Welcome, friends, welcome!

A bit of work-related travel has kept me from stopping into this fine old establishment lately, and soon will take me away for a short while longer, but for now, I am so glad we can visit for a spell.

I am so happy to see you here, lounging about in the dim coolness of our little pub while the temperatures steadily climb outside... because even though the meteorologists say it's not officially due for another three weeks, there is no doubt that with Memorial Day just past, a new season has arrived for a hot, sunny, months-long visit.

Summer is upon us.

With a new season and a new month, the Skull & Pumpkin once again refreshes the ol' Hallowe'en jukebox with our usual flair for oddly appropriate musical diversion.

Let me offer for those S&P'brains who are relatively new to the ol' place a brief reminder that our jukebox (over there to the upper right) will always begin with the S&P's official theme song, Vince Guaraldi's The Great Pumpkin Waltz, and end with our official incidental music, the Anger-Higbie Quintet's wistful anthem to Autumn, Pumpkintime. These never change.

For the new additions, we begin with one of the catchiest, coolest pop treats I have ever heard and loved -- a sweet, sentimental and sexy little bit of funk called Summerfling, by the one and only kd lang!

First released on her 2000 album Invincible Summer, this version was taken from her Live By Request performance on A&E in 2001. It's about joyous days and nights with new, warm summer love, knowing all the while that such spark and flame is so fleeting. One of the most singable, hummable choruses in lang's long and unique repertoire.

Next up, another mote of S&P oddliness, a summery-swingin' bachelor-pad-era (1965) musical delight by Reg Tilsley's Orchestra called Red Bikini!

I know it's more pink than red but it was too good to pass up!

After such a groovy dance, I felt another 1965 touch of summery swing would fit perfectly.

From the same Vince Guaraldi who gave us our theme song, comes a tiny toe-tapper called Surfin' Snoopy!

Oddly, this song is featured briefly in A Charlie Brown Christmas, while Snoopy is decorating his doghouse for the "lights and display contest." Surfin' at Christmastime? Snoopy can do it all!

Then, because we're the Skull & Pumpkin and we know there's no celebrating any new month without a side of spooky, we give you a selection from John Harrison's chilling synthpad score for the 1982 horror anthology, Creepshow!

Something To Tide You Over is a classic tale of revenge from beyond the grave. That's Gaylen Ross and Ted Danson as the waterlogged undead lovers returning from the sea to wreak their revenge upon the spurned husband who killed them, played with perfectly smug villainy by the late, great Leslie Nielsen.

That smugness rapidly vanishes when he realizes what's about to happen to him. Better hold your breath, Leslie!

Then I thought I'd offer a somewhat obscure song from a somewhat obscure album which featured songs about childhood Junes and Julys in central California's rural wine valleys and beaches, written by Van Dyke Parks and sung by Parks' sometime collaborative genius, Brian Wilson.

From 1995's Orange Crate Art comes Summer In Monterey, a nostalgic remembrance of youthful joy and those endless teenaged summers when shorts and bare feet meant freedom, and the near-promise of a kiss from your crush was all it took to spend an entire summer waiting for the right moment...

And since we've now mentioned the musical genius of Brian Wilson, how can we possibly pretend to have assembled a Summery Song List if we haven't loaded up something from The Beach Boys?

All Summer Long is the infectiously happy 1965 classic about girls, cars, friends, and adventures in summertime fun, whenever and wherever it was found. You'll be singing All Summer Long all summer long, as you do your best to grab some sun-baked fun before summertime is through...

... all the while knowing with a secret smile in your Autumn-loving heart that when summertime is through, the best time of the year is coming soon. 

Even here at the beginning of Summer, we know Hallowe'en is just lying in wait along the shoreline of another season...

Happy June, and happy Summer, dear S&Pers.

DDSummermeansPlaytime!

Fools.

Aren't we all, at some point?

Sometimes, I feel like the king of the whole lot of 'em...

I suppose there are worse things to be than Fool Nobility. Being such a lordly fool, I am quite versed in spotting the foolishness in others. One might think this would help me avoid being fooled, but all it really does is help me make more friends and we can all sit around and enjoy our foolishness.

I think few changes of season bring about more lovely, blessed foolishness as does Spring; that the first of April is celebrated as a Fool's Day comes, then, as no surprise.

April awakens, arouses, and then perfectly befuddles the senses, so that perfectly sane people become insane with love, virile and passionate, in a dainty, pastel-colored madness to celebrate new life and the warmth of Spring.

And I love every bit of it.

How can I not?

So, new life and new music for a new month, fool that I am.

First up on the ol' player to the upper right over there, is a traditional S&P April offering, the classic ballad from Simon & Garfunkel, April, Come She Will, from their 1966 masterpiece album The Sounds of Silence. It isn't necessarily a happy first tune, but it's a good one.

Then, because I will be traveling soon, and because it means much to me to feel devoted to my love, I thought Joni Mitchell's All I Want (from her iconic 1971 album Blue) would be a nice dulcimer and voice addition to the player.

I wanna shampoo you, I wanna renew you again and again. Yep.

Next, from last year's April jukebox I give you the Paul Weston Orchestra's gorgeous, jazzy When April Comes Again, from his lush 1950 album Music For The Fireside. So pretty. So glad April comes again, every year.

Then I thought a little tribute to the sun rising on a warmer, livelier season was in order. Norah Jones' 2004 ditty Sunrise is a fitting tale of loving the lazy day with your lover, feeling the sun melt you together.

Of course, April is a month of changes, and it's not all sunlight and butterflies. From his gorgeous 1994 outing Bluesette comes the harmonica master Toots Theilmanns on the standard Here's That Rainy Day. "It's funny how love becomes a cold, rainy day," the song says. April can hurt, too.

Finally, I found a fun, flippant little waltz called simply Spring Waltz. I haven't any kind of information on this recording, save that it was part of a package of stock music from the '70s. It sure sounds like the '70s, with its electric piano, flute lead and three quarter wistfulness. I have always suspected it may be a Joe Raposo composition (he of so much wonderful music from Sesame Street and The Electric Company in the 1970's and early '80s) but I have no way of really knowing at the moment. All I know is that it just feels like a beautiful Spring day.

Well, we are halfway 'round the year from Hallowe'en, dear S&P-brains. And whether we are fools or not, we all need to celebrate and honor the renewal of life and love that Spring seemingly brings to all of Nature.

Blessed foolishness, indeed.

Monsterpalooza comes very soon. I'll keep you up to date.

Until then -- wait... the radio's crackling again...

DUMDUMSHREKPEEPS!

Happy 203rd, Mr. Poe.

Oh yes, pubgoers, one of our most celebrated icons, most beloved literary, horrorary and Hallowe'enary icons is having a birthday!

(source)

Sure, he's not necessarily 'around' to see it, but Edgar Allan Poe's spirit is alive and well -- well, okay, gloomy and brooding -- even 203 years after his birth in 1809.

A remarkable man was Poe. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the detective story. He is considered America's first true regularly published (and scathing!) literary critic. He wrote books of poetry before he left grade school. His works have been in print, continuously, since 1827. Ponder that a moment.

I have always enjoyed his works, even when I was too young to grasp the language or even the concept (in some cases) of much of it when I first attempted to read him seriously. Hell, even now I have to admit he's not an easy read.

But the great, dark magic that is a Poe work is a thing of beauty.

(source)

In honor of his birthday, the Skull & Pumpkin will be celebrating all day and night with Poe goodies -- fireside readings of his works in our library, absinthe and bourbon and cognac at the bar -- and I hope you will join us in our celebration wherever you are, if you cannot get to the S&P in person.

I'd like to think we are all here in spirit.

As a treat, do this: go here, and download/print/cutout/assemble this awesome paper Edgar Allan Poe from the cool folks at Toy A Day.

 Sweet!

And then another treat: give a listen to the jukebox to the right. I've added two delightful tracks of Poe's genius recorded in the early 1960's, and sure to bring a smile to any Monster Kid who ordered things from the Captain Company in Famous Monsters magazine, and in fact any genre magazine from the '60s to at least the early '80s -- Richard Taylor reading The Tell-Tale Heart and The Masque of the Red Death!

Oh but I must comment briefly, here. You see, I don't know who Richard Taylor was, or is. I am certain (as you will be after hearing him) that he loved doing these things, and his heart is easily in the rightest of right places.  Heck, the back of the album says he's fast becoming the Crown Prince of Terror:

See?

But when you get around to actually listening to it, Taylor's narration seems less "sinister", "mystifying" and "full of suspense", and more like the kid who played Fat Sam in Bugsy Malone reading Poe over the telephone in 1960. Amazing we haven't heard from him since.

And I love it. LOVE it. It works (especially with that cool jazz guitar back), and it's fun, and it's goofy, and it's timeless to us Monster Kids who pored over magazine ads like this:

Ah!

It's the perfect stuff to listen to while making a paper Edgar Allan Poe doll.

Have a wonderful Poe Birthday, good Autumn Folk.

(source)

And happy birthday, Mr. Poe. A toast...

DUMDUMSHREKPOE!

Yule tubes.

Hey there, S&P-brains!

After a week of shows, errands and even a little dental surgery, your humble pubkeep is ready for a restful Christmas season.

I know. But even if we Autumn Folk consider it That Other Holiday, we also know very well it's a fine time to let our families and friends in on our darker tastes, a chance to beg for gifts that are decidedly different -- darker than the usual under-tree fare.

And since we all know giving is far, far better than getting (it is, and you damn well know it), this is a fine time of year to pass some of our Autumnness around to our loved ones. Get Gramps a vintage leatherbound Lovecraft collection. Get Mama a pretty sweater... with skulls on it. Get your baby sister or brother a set of DVDs of the shows or films that scared you silly when you were their age.

In short, it's a fine time to help bring more people to Autumn.

And it's a fine time to gather with loved ones around a fire, with good food and drink, and fine distractions full of tales of the supernatural.

The parlour with the ol' Hallowe'enith radio here at the S&P is the perfect spot for relaxing for That Other Holiday, and even as I have been dusting and decorating for the Yuletide, the spooky old console has been buzzing, spluttering and humming.

Let's see what's happened, eh?

Ah! First up, a spooky little bit of seasonal suspense from... Suspense! From December 1943, this legendary radio series brings us Peter Lorre as a strange sort of gardener in Back For Christmas.

Then, another odd little program.

(source)

In December of 1941, the WKY (Oklahoma City) radio series Dark Fantasy brought us the tale of three people lost in the wintery woods, trying to comprehend The Demon Tree.

And finally...

Of course!

The ultimate spooky Christmas tale, this time as a CBS Radio tradition begun on Christmas Eve 1975 -- series host E.G. Marshall as Ebenezer Scrooge in  The CBS Radio Mystery Theater's own A Christmas Carol.

Plenty of shivery Christmastime listening, for now. Just find the Hallowe'enith radio list on the left of this page and select your program!

Please enjoy your families, your friends, and each other.

And please keep visiting this ol' place. Even if your busy pubkeep can't bring new things as often as he'd like (and is now referring to himself in third person for some reason), there is still  lot to see.

A safe and warm holiday season to us all -- a toast!

DUMDUMSHREKPOP!

Elevend.

Yes, the end of '11.

Elevend.

Oh, we still have a month but come now -- it's so chock full of That Other Holiday that before we know it, 2012 will be on our doorstep asking to come in 'cause it's cold outside.

And yes, it is going to be cold outside for a while.

Because it's December.

(source)

The twelfth month.

Shorter days and longer nights of reflection, of reassessment, and eventually a little rest, heralding winter... and harboring Christmas.

A new month is new music at the S&P.

Because, ready or not, Christmastime is here...

Loo-loo-looooo, loo-looooooo...

Yes, we keep finding the S&P's jukebox full of jazzy waltzes from the late Vince Guaraldi, but what could fit better after Guaraldi's own The Great Pumpkin Waltz?  Why, Christmastime Is Here, and everyone's favorite 1965 animated TV special reminds us to stay true to ourselves, and the true meaning of Christmas.

Now with holiday TV on my mind, I felt a little tribute to another classic TV special was in order. Of course, being the proud pubkeep that I be, I wanted to do a little more than just play a part of the CD soundtrack...

On the player for the third year in a row is my own rendition of The Most Wonderful Day of the Year, better known as The Island of Misfit Toys Song from Rankin-Bass's 1964 holiday mega-icon, Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Still wish I knew why the doll was there...

I recorded Misfit Toys waaaaaaay back in 1999, changing the feel to a bossa and playing all instruments (guitars, piano, bass, electric piano and harmonica) myself, with the exception of all percussion, which was performed by my buddy Matt. I enjoy this recording an awful lot and never miss a chance to show it off at this time of year.

Can't get enough of your (apparently not so) humble pubkeep?

Well listen on.

For the same 'album', I whipped up a five part a capella rendition of Winter Wonderland, and sang each part myself.

It was initially meant to just be a scratch track until I realized it didn't totally stink. I like its sloppy, silly happiness more each year, and so it gets added to the jukebox for another year. 

With my ego soothed, I think we need a tune from better known artists...

James Taylor's gorgeous version of Joni Mitchell's River (originally released on her now-legendary album Blue in 1971) is sweet, sad, beautiful and mesmerizing, like Winter itself.

But of course, ours is a Hallowe'en pub, after all, and it simply won't do to dwell on pure Christmas too long.

NO, no, I didn't just throw a version of the Monster Mash on the player...

Okay, yes I did. But it's the 1974 Peter Pan Records version called the Monster Christmas Mash.

Come on, it's awesome and ridiculously addicting and a perfect tune for the ol' S&P.

Another monstery bit of musical madness, you ask? Say no more...

In 1964, horror film icon Lon Chaney Jr. recorded a gem of a tune, the Monster Holiday!

You can hear his infectious joy and great sense of humor in every creaky note!

Yes, the Skull & Pumpkin is a fine, fine place for monsters to take their holiday, and we are proud to host any and all who knock on our door -- including each of you!

Oh, December...

... light our nights, make our spirits glow with your red-green and blue-white magic.

More audio fun later. For the moment, sit, warm up, and bless our pub with your Autumn goodness, each and every one of you.

I'll be back soon, but much work calls for the rest of this week and next.

Then, I can rest.

And hey... is that ol' Hallowe'enith radio crackling over there?

Hhmmm....

DDSP!