There's No Age Like a Morgue-Age!

Yup, the second of three new Halloween-music comps for this year.

01 - Gonna Go Down (To See My Baby) - The Rainbows - 1962  (1:59)

02 - Blood - Zro4 - 1980  (3:25)

03 - Brecon Beacons - Supergrass - 2023  (2:53)

04 - Frankensteiner Polka - Eddie Lawrence - 1958  (2:20)

05 - Nightmares - Art August and the Dorian-Aires - 1965  (2:09)

06 - Supernature - Cerrone - 1977  (3:52)

07 - Barnabas - The Merrymen of Barbados - 1968  (3:47)

08 - My Girlfriend's Ghost - The Oil Tasters - 1982  (3:11)

09 - The Birds Is Coming - Louis Jones with the Bobby Scott Orchestra - 1963  (2:04)

10 - The Hearse - Paul Chaplain - 1967  (1:26)

11 - Boo! Boo! Boo! Here Comes the Loch Ness Monster - The Connecticut Collegians - 1934  (2:23)

12 - Zombies Dance in the Night - Alberta Jordan - 1956  (2:27)

13 - The Invisible Thing - The Casual Three - 1958  (2:45)

14 - Do the Standing Still (Classics Illustrated) - Table - 1977  (2:59)

15 - Demon Lover - Lyn Cornell - 1960  (2:58)

16 - Nightmare - Billy Sills - 1958  (2:31)

17 - Zombie Stomp - Billy Gholston - 1963  (2:22)

18 - Haunted House - The Other Side - 1985  (2:54)

19 - Tombstone - Johnny Darcy - 1958  (2:49)

20 - Life After Death - Funboy Five - 2009  (3:12)

21 - Cannibal Dolls - Land of Giants - 1982  (3:29)

22 - Did You Ever See My Ghoul - Rod Derrett - 1965  (1:53)

23 - Graveyard Paradise - 126 - 1967  (2:59)

24 - Graveyard - Leroy Bowman and the Arrows - 1958  (2:07)

25 - Year Without a Halloween - Lugosi's Morphine - 2006  (2:48)

26 - Halloween Is All Around Us - Golden Records - 2012  (1:22)

27 - The Wind and More - Roky Erickson - 1979  (4:07)

THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

Like they say, you might check in, but you won't walk out under your own power!

PERMANENT LINK.

See ya next time, fellow pumpkinheads!

   

Stay Chilled!

From 1984 ...

Believe it or not, there was a time when Stephen King books were not full of overstuffed cultural references and stream-of-consciousness rants.  They had plots which ticked along, and the things actually had endings!

Well, maybe the ones from the Eighties and earlier had all those things, but perhaps the versions that got published in those Olden Tymes had been judiciously trimmed?  Comparing the shorter version of The Stand first published awith the mound of excess that was later released as the "uncut" version, a lot NEEDED to be cut.

[editor's note: this blog post was once four times as long before editing]

See you Monday!

  

An Instant Paperback About the King of Monsters!

 Scary Books, Kiddies!

 

The Frankenscience Monster.  By Forrest J Ackerman.  Ace Books, 1969.  Cover painting by Verne Tossey.

            Rushed into print soon after Karloff’s passing, this fine little paperback is one of a long line of “instant books.”  Of course in ye olden days “instant” took awhile.  Everyone’s favorite “uncle monster” died on February 2, 1969.  According to Ackerman’s preface, “Farewell to the Master,” FJA got the OK from Donald Wollheim of Ace Books on March 7.

            This is a worshipful tribute to the gentleman of horror.  The book is an anthology of salutes and reminiscences from the likes of Chaney, Lee, Bloch, Bradbury, Glut, and many others.

            This is a fine production by “the world’s biggest sci-fi fan,” back when a sobriquet like that meant something.

            We salute you, Henry Pratt, and you also, Ackermonster!  See you on Friday, fellow Fiends!

 

Still Milkin' the Munsters!

Yup, we STILL haven't finished presenting ALL of the 1965 MUNSTERS coloring book!

Say!  Shouldn't we call this page "BOO-gle practice"?

The lame-o illustrated above is a guy who met Marilyn at a costume party and offered to walk her home.

How apt that the above image is THE LAST PAGE of the coloring book!  However, I cannot promise that you've seen the very last of this tome .... but it WON'T be on Wednesday.  

Come back to see just WHAT it is!

  

Fun Halloween Pastiches

I think this guy did a good job of emulating various authors ....

This is from the September 1971 Playboy.  I read it for the articles!  See you Monday.

  

WELCOME TO BLOG-O-WEEN 2025!

Yup, my friends, that magical time has arrived.  The time we wait for all year.  That glorious celebration of ... MY BIRTHDAY!

Oops, that was YESTERDAY.  Now it's October, time for ... BLOG-O-WEEN!

Here's the first of three new music compilations for this creepy month ...

... with a bunch of critters to get ya in the mood.

01 - Lizard Man - Jim Nesbitt - 1988  (2:16)

02 - Twist with the Yeti - Fia Chaplin - 1962  (2:40)

03 - Eighth Wonder - Lemon Demon - 2009  (3:52)

04 - The Abominable Snow-Man - The Copycats - 1960  (2:52)

05 - Kelpie - Jethro Tull - 1979  (3:35)

06 - Beast of Busco - Grave Robber - 2015  (3:35)

07 - Bigfoot Motel - The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy - 1982  (3:55)

08 - Curse of the Bog People - Lunatic Fringe - 1985  (2:03)

09 - Chupacabras - Groovie Ghoulies - 1997  (1:25)

10 - Big Feet - Sierra Rhythms - 1978  (2:47)

11 - Beast of Gévaudan - Powerwolf - 2021  (3:32)

12 - Mason County Mothman - Anne McCoy - 1969  (1:41)

13 - Jackalope - The Okee Dokee Brothers - 2016  (2:56)

14 - Swamp Gal - Tommy Bell - 1959  (2:11)

15 - The Bunyip’s Gonna Get You - Dot and the Kangaroo - 1977  (3:02)

16 - Running with Bigfoot - Groovie Ghoulies - 1997  (2:35)

17 - Honey Island Swamp Monster - John Farr Jr - 2022  (2:00)

18 - Fouke Monster - Billy Cole and the Fouke Monsters - 1971  (2:36)

19 - Bearilla Woman - Leroy Thomas - 2010  (2:39)

20 - Lake Monsters - They Might Be Giants - 2018  (2:58)

21 - Mothman - Mike West - 2009  (3:36)

22 - I'm the Monster of Loch Ness - Leslie Holmes - 1934  (1:57)

23 - Loveland Frogman - Fangs and Twang - 2017  (5:11)

24 - The Legend of the Jersey Devil - Country-Ghost - 2024  (3:09)

25 - Where Are all the Bigfoot Bones - Filthy Still - 2015  (2:27)

26 - Big Foot Stomp - Asleep at the Wheel - 1987  (3:34)

THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

PERMANENT LINK.

This installment is about critters of folklore and rumor, from the well-known Bigfoot or Nessie to more obscure ones like Arkansas’ Fouke Monster or the Frogman of Loveland, Ohio.

See you Friday!  Welcome to the season of spooks!

  

Rumors at Warp Speed

I don't know how fast warp-speed rumors might be, but they might be too fast to hear!?!?

Here's a whisper from the December 21, 1991 TV Guide.  You might have heard of it, it was a magazine that used to be the supreme way to plan your week.

Speaking of weeks, come back on Wednesday, October 1, for the first installment of this year's sock- boffo BLOG-O-WEEN!

  

Take THAT, Professor Jones!

Here are a couple of articles from the Tulsa World, in re Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

Yup, Star Trek III beat Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom in box-office biz.  Paramount was happy to own both of them, you bet.  The above ticket-sales report is from the June 4, 1984 World.

This review is from the June 7 World,  I do agree with the reviewer that this film has a slower pace than II, but still much more romping and jumpin' about than The Motion Picture!

My biggest bone to pick with STIII is the casting of Kruge.  Christopher Lloyd cannot be mistaken for anybody else.  Certainly not a Klingon.  It's Christopher Lloyd in a bunch of makeup.

I really do enjoy and appreciate the Space Opera tone of the film.  In this case, Space Opera is not cheese, but grandiloquent.

What do you think?  See you Monday for our final installment in TREKKING WITH CLIPPINGS!

  

A New TREK Series Launches!

That's what we learned in this article from the October 3, 1987 Dallas Morning News.

Boy, don't all the cast members of TNG look so young?  See you Thursday.

  

You Can Preserve Nature If You Want to

In other words, Nimoy claimed he wasn't preaching in Star Trek IV.  But if you decide to be inspired into conservation practices, he won't mind.

First, above is the Tulsa World's review of the film, from its December 2, 1986 edition.

And here's where he says he ain't necessarily preaching.  This comes from the December 7, 1986 (or thenabouts) Tulsa World.

While you're at it, you can save your local blue jays or bunnies, too!  See you Monday.

  

Glad THE NEW YORKER Wasn't Bored

I think it speaks volumes for the integrity of the folks at The New Yorker to assign their review of Star Trek - The Motion Picture to somebody who treats it fairly even-handedly.

Medium-boring?  Maybe in places.  Forgive the wrinkles and thickenings?  You betcha.

The reviewer watched the film with the right crowd.  He said that he felt like he was sitting in a clubhouse.  And he was correct in calling aspects of Roddenberry's philosophy "ineffable humanistic nonsense."

But unlike the guy at TIME magazine, the reviewer at The New Yorker at least paid attention!

See you Thursday.