Happy Halloween!

Loving these haiku entries!

Be safe out there!

Timeless Thursday – Fave Horror Soundtracks

It’s Timeless Thursday and we’re jamming out with the greatest horror soundtracks of all time.

It should be no surprise that the three most recognizable horror themes are “Halloween Theme – Main Title” by John Carpenter followed by Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” from The Exorcist, and the “Jaws” score by John Williams.

But, did you know the best selling horror soundtrack of all time is Dracula 2000? According to Loudwire Dracula 2000 soundtrack earns an estimated $1.7 million in royalties from 445 million plays on Spotify, thanks to the headbanging power songs from System of a Down, Saliva, Disturbed, Static-X, Powerman 5000, Taproot and the biggest driver of them all ‘One Step Closer’ by Linkin Park.

The second best selling horror soundtrack is Tim Burton’s Nigtmare Before Christmas with music by Danny Elfman. The best song off that album, is “This is Halloween” by Danny Elfman.

Rumor has it that Kiefer Sutherland originally turned down his role in 1987’s vampire hit The Lost Boys, but changed his mind upon hearing INXS and Jimmy Barnes would be doing music for the soundtrack. There’s so many cool songs on this soundtrack, it’s easily one of my all time faves. Who can forget Tim Cappello’s I Still Believe which he got to perform on the boardwalk for a scene in the movie.

Another of my favorite spooky songs comes from the 1992 Candyman soundtrack. It’s carnival fervor dream turned nightmare and the epitome of the sound of innocence being stolen by evil forces.

Lots of folks love Italian disco rock band Goblin’s score for Dario Argento’s supernatural thriller Suspira, and it is an amazing soundtrack for certain, but my favorite score from them actually comes from George A. Romero’s zombie masterpiece Dawn of the Dead from 1978.

No theater goer will forget the opening scene of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, which featured one of the most memorable scores in movie history with a segment from “Dies Irae” from “Symphonie fantastique” by Hector Berlioz, performed by composers Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind. Omnious and haunting, the music immediately sets the tone of one of the greatest horror films ever produced.

I hope you have a chance to check out one of these great horror films. Happy Halloween!🎃

Songs copyright by respective owners. No copyright infringement intended. This is fan appreciation and critique. Reposting video under the “fair use” privilege of U.S. Copyright law. These videos still could be removed at anytime. Please email me at Halloweenkristy@gmail.com to report broken links.

Timeless Thursday – My Fave Witchy Songs

It’s Timeless Thursday and we’re walking down memory lane with my favorite witchy songs. I had so much fun making a Youtube playlist of Halloween 80s songs that I decided to make one for witchy songs.

Again, I had trouble getting my playlist to post to WordPress. So here is the link:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw-pyzpxGDXnX_hMm3errCaCq4iJGitFr&si=OiR5w0aQ55JKKK8C

That Old Black Magic by Frank Sinatra
I Put a Spell on You by Nina Simone
Black Magick Woman by Santana
Swamp Witch by Jim Stafford
Witch Queen of New Orleans by Redbone
Devil Woman by Cliff Richard
Witchy Woman by The Eagles
Spellbound by Siouxsie and thr Banshees
Mummer’s Dance by Loreena McKennitt
Crystal by Stevie Nicks
Seven Devils by Florence and the Machine
Black Magic by Little Mix
Burn Your Village (Same Old Energy pt. II) by Kiki Rockwell

These 13 songs are not in any particular order of preference. Honestly, if I had to pick one absolute favorite though, it would have to be Swamp Witch by Jim Stafford. Man, do I miss the good old days of musical storytelling and concept albums.

Released in 1973, Swamp Witch was a song off his debut album “Jim Stafford” The Southern crooner who also often performed on the Smother Brothers Comedy Hour, was known for his lyrical talent and humor. Stafford wrote most of his own songs and had a follow up hit “Spiders and Snakes” another good song for a Halloween playlist.

Happy Halloween!🎃

Timeless Thursday – Halloween 80s Playlist

POST UPDATE 10/16/25: I cannot seem to get the videoplayer to upload my entire playlist, so it’s now a hyperlink that opens in a browser or Youtube. Sorry! Some GenXers just ain’t great with technology! LOL

Timeless Thursday, Throwback Thursday, it’s all the same, it means, we’re going back in time!

I made an Halloween 80s Playlist on YouTube. These are some of my favorite songs. Growing up in the 80s actually feels a lot like this year of 2025, GOP in control and ruining just about everything. Cold war was on, threat of nuclear war was high, terrorism threats were daily, antiwar songs were on the radio, high unemployment, groceries prices were rising, no one had healthcare, no one had rights but old white guys with money, racism, sexism, bigotry was running rampant, and of course, capitalism was consuming the world.

But the 80s had the best music and you should add these obscure gems to your Halloween Playlist.

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw-pyzpxGDXmNPaTZpLAEYoVeDLjHrfYe

I’ll keep adding more songs as they return to my memory. Cuz that’s a real thing when you get old! LOL

Happy Halloween!🎃

Timeless Thursday – Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett’s Other Monster Hits

Timeless Thursday, Throwback Thursday, it’s all the same, it means, we’re going back in time!

Did you know that Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett had a couple of lesser known monster hits after the chart topping smash hit Monster Mash in 1962? The original Monster Mash album had 16 tracks altogether, including this one:

Title: Monster’s Holiday
Singer/Band: Bobby Pickett
Date: 1962

Well, actually, comedian Pickett was probably the only person who ever continually parodied his own music, but the success of Monster Mash was never duplicated. He sure looked like he was having fun anyway.

Title: Monster Swim
Singer/Band: Bobby Pickett
Date: 1964

I suppose, if it aint broke, don’t fix it!😄

Title: Monster Rap
Singer/Band: Bobby Pickett
Date: 1984

About that Monster Mash, it was spoof on popular dance craze songs at the time. The song was co-written with Leonard Capizzi in May 1962 and hit the top US Billboard 100 by October the same year. By 1973, it had re-charted five other times and eventually earned gold status, making it the greatest novelty song in history.

Hit up Wikipedia to learn more about Bobby Boris Pickett. By the way, did you know Monster Mash still generates $1 million dollars annually in royalties?! <grunts> Mash goooood!

Timeless Thursday – Earliest Spooky Tunes

Happy October! It’s Throwback Thursday and today we’re listening to the earliest spooky tunes ever recorded.

Title: The Skeleton Rag
Composer: Unknown
Singer/Band: American Quartet
Date: circa 1912

The Skeleton Rag circa 1912 is the earliest known recorded spooky song. Not much is known about the song, but Wikipedia has a whole page dedicated to American Quartet, a widely known vocal group that made music from 1899-1925.

Title: At the Devil’s Ball
Composer: Irving Berlin
Singer/Band: Maurice Burkhart
Date: circa 1912/1913

According to Wikipedia, At the Devil’s Ball was first composed by Irving Berlin, with the earliest copyright registered on November 14, 1912. It was recorded a few times by different groups throughout 1912, but Maurice Burkhart’s 1913 version is best known.

Title: That Syncopated Boogie-Boo
Composer: American Quartet
Singer/Band: American Quartet
Date: circa 1913

Boogie woogie is a popular type of blues music from early teens and 1920s. Wikipedia reports that the first use of the word “Boogie” in a recording title appears to be a “blue cylinder” recording made by Edison of the “American Quartet” performing “That Syncopated Boogie Boo” in 1913.

Anything created before 1923 is considered a Public Domain work and free to use or reproduce. That said, the owners of these YouTube Channels control the content they posted, so these videos could be removed at anytime. Please email me at Halloweenkristy@gmail.com to report broken links.

Monthly Haiku Corner- August

Happy August! This month’s theme is August Aliens, in honor of FX’s new show Alien Earth, the exciting new chapter in the Alien universe, brought to us this time by Noah Hawley, a writer and producer known for Bones, Legion, Fargo and more. I cannot wait!

Like tonight’s Sturgeon Full Moon, change can be good. This time of year marks the end of summer and the coming of Fall harvest. This is Halloween pre-season. It’s time to get our spooky on! So, look to the skies and wonder what’s out there. What scary monsters are peeking at us from behind the stars?

Don’t forget the corporate monsters down here, tearing apart mother earth and unending years of deep rooted traditions. Resist! Stand by your traditions and be proud of your culture. Be open to all cultures and let’s learn from each and celebrate together.

alien hive minds
steel hearts of corporate monsters
run, while monsters fight

Sometimes it’s better to hang back and observe.

Be safe out there!

Happy New Year 2025

I took a few days off and feel like I missed a month. While 2024 wasnt a bad year, I’m not exactly ending it on a high note. December didn’t go as planned and I’ve learned my lesson about saying I’m doing something and not doing it. No New Year’s resolutions. Those don’t work. I’m just gonna stop sharing my plans and do things a little more spontaneously. No reason not to, and now, no one is disappointed, especially not me. LOL

Have a happy and safe New Year and remember, take 2025 (and the next four years, hopefully less) one day at a time.

Trick or Treat Tuesdays – Candy Corn Guessing Game

Kicking off Trick or Treat Tuesdays in October with a candy corn guessing game.

Guess how many candy corn are in this jar.

Rules: First person to post the correct number or closest to the exact number of candy corn in this pictured small 16oz. candy jar, either here on WordPress or Instagram, wins the prize of a limited edition Oogie Boogie Bash pin from 2022 Halloween season.

Please see Contest Rules and Eligibility Page for more details. Sorry, contests only open to US residents this year.

Sinister Saturdays – Legend of Sleepy Hollow vs Sleepy Hollow

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the Disney animated classic Adventures of Icabod and Mr. Toad, a package film of The Wind and the Willows and Legend of Sleepy Hollow, released in theaters on Oct 5, 1949.

Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a spooky whimisical take on Washington Irving’s classic story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, featuring narration and songs by the legendary Bing Crosby, the first and only time the singer worked with The Walt Disney Company.

In 1999, Tim Burton would direct his own version of the tale into a dark gothic horror fantasy, Sleepy Hollow staring Johnny Depp and Christine Ricci, which grossed $207 million at the box office.