Saturday, October 31, 2020

Happy Halloween!

The final spooky song of this year and this blog is one that not only celebrates the fun-filled spirit of the Halloween season, but also gives me much hope for the future of Halloween music. Some say the number of Halloween songs is limited and finite, but I think that's because the same handful of songs get played over and over during October every year. The purpose of this blog was to change that perception, and hopefully the 300 or so songs we've featured here over the last ten years have at least gone a little way toward doing that! 

Last year actor and writer Sean Keller released his first Halloween compilation album, The Killer Sounds of Halloween. It was inspired by his love of making his own Halloween mix tapes, but while Killer Sounds appears to be a compilation album in the classic sense, it has a twist. All of the songs were written and performed by Keller (and a few guests), but each song is performed in a different style and credited to a fictitious band fitting that style. So you'll hear the folksy Mary O'Neill Group do the tender ballad "Terror at Blood Lake," These Bloody Hands evoke Bauhaus with "The Old Dark Haus," and Zombistein sounds like Rob Zombie's cousin in "Hate Living, Love Dead." Keller even snagged Nightmare on Elm Street's Amanda Wyss to do the recitation for "I'm Gonna Have a Nightmare"! 

Just to make things extra-authentic, the album includes a fake movie trailer for Axe Night 4, and a commercial for the fictional horror host Dr. Bloodwrench. The album is a joy from beginning to end, and I recommend you click the link above and give Sean Keller $6.66 so you can own it yourself! Before you do so, however, check out the video for "The Monsters Trick or Treat." It's an homage to "The Monster Mash," but like many of us this year, the monsters have no Mash to attend. Instead, they try out trick or treating, and love it so much they come up with a catchy tune to sing about it!


Just last month, Sean Keller released Revenge of the Killer Sounds of Halloween, which is another wall-to-wall round of fun songs, guest vocalists, and clever commercials for "local" attractions. Reportedly he's working on a third installment for next year, so hopefully that means we'll continue to be treated to new Halloween tunes for some time to come. 

Hope you all have enjoyed reading and listening over the years! Have a great Halloween, and stay sick!

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