Special Halloween treat for all you Audium readers around the world. I present: "Selections from The Haunted House and Other Spooky Poems and Tales". I've digitized all the tracks into mp3s and scanned the cover too. This is a pretty "high-culture" kid's record, including work by Langston Hughes, Goethe, Theodore Roethke. It's also interesting to think of all these authors having written spooky or macabre pieces. I bought this 45 in a thrift store in Honolulu several years back. As the ballpoint pen on the back attests, it once belonged to an "Anne Wong". The record was released by Scholastic in 1970, and contains selections from a book of the same name.
"Selections from The Haunted House and Other Spooky Poems and Tales"
The Haunted House (by Vic Crume) 1:14
Winter Moon (by Langston Hughes) 0:18
Sir Roderic's Song (by William Schwenck Gilbert) 0:29
A Young Lady from Glitch (by Tamara Kitt) 0:10
Ruth and Johnnie (by Anon.) 0:14
A Skeleton once in Khartoum (by Anon.) 0:12
It Isn't the Cough (by%2
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20 comments:
I think I own this 45. It was one of my favorite Halloween mood pieces. Very cool.
That looks great. It's kinda sad that vinyl ghost stories aren't about any more, all that crackling adds brilliantly to the atmosphere. I managed to download a copy of Vincent Price's "A Graveyard Of Ghost Tales" lp not that long ago and I can't imagine many of today's horror stars making such a great record.
Holy smokes! I remember this version of Velvet Ribbon from when I was a kid. I've always wondered where it came from, and now I know. That "I told you you'd be sorry!" still gives me shivers. Thanks for posting it!
Hey Stephen,
Glad to bring back this poem for you. Pretty great, huh?
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!! What a delight to find this long-lost and much-cherished record from my childhood. I haven't heard the selections in over 30 years. And what a treat to hear radio actor Paul Hecht's voice again. Did I mention the thank you? THANK YOU!!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you....I've been searching for this album for the past few Halloweens and have not had any luck until now.
My father used to play it every Halloween, I have most of these poems memorized. My favorite has always been 'the velvet ribbon'...I can still imagine her head rolling into the moonlight...
Wow, thanks.
Please tell me how I can a get a copy of this record on CD and a copy of the book. I would like to buy this as a present for my siblings. We grew up listening to this and to this day we quote the stories. My email address is
wellsdmc@aol.com.
God bless you! I've been searching for this record for a couple of years now. I had it when I was a kid and the poem "Ruth and Johnny" gave me permanent curvature of the spine! Thanks!
Scarecrow63
glad you all like the record!
My sisters and I had this 45 as kids...we used to speed "The Velvet Ribbon" up to 78 RPMs, and laugh our butts off while listening to it. Thanks for posting it!
My Aunt used to have this record when I was a kid and when I slept at my Grandmothers house she would play it for me. It was like a big deal back then. I haven't heard it in 20 years ! Thanks for putting it on the web !
Thanks for posting this. Like others I listened to this as a kid. Just like audiosports we'd also speed it up, as well as slow it down, for the key phrase of "I told you you'd be sorry"
My brother and sisters and I used to wear this record out, it was the scariest thing in the house! What a blast from the past I hadn't heard it for more than 30 years! Thanks for posting it I've been looking for it for months!!
Some time ago, my mom found my childhood copy of "Sounds to make you Shiver". Alas, when I received it, it was cracked. However, I was able to obtain another LP through the wonder of the internet.
The strongest memory I had of this record is the narrator saying "Don't turn around! There may be something behind you." in the middle of the spookiest section.
And then later in the record, you heard the same line again, but at an almost subliminal level. It was creepy. I always wondered if it was intentional or a mistake in the mixing.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! My sisters and I have been on a hunt for this record for the past 30 years. It was SO scary when we were kids.
I too would love to have this for my family. We would turn out the lights and play it after trick or treating. And my sister used to scare me with the BLOODY MARY story... littlenymph1975@yahoo.com
Thanks - Nikki
You are absolutely my HERO !!! I purchased this GREAT record when I was in the 5th grade. I've always loved the poems on this record and have really missed hearing them. My sister accidentally melted my copy (left it in the car in the summer)one year. You have brought back some great memories for me. I remember the first time I heard this record in grade school back in 1970. The stories scared me, really gave me the heebie geebies !!! Thank GOD for people like you, so generous to share your GOLD with others. You were in the right place at the right time, when you found that GEM, and you were the right person. THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES OVER !!!!! John
I am so excited to hit on this site. I've loved this album since I was a kid and played it over and over and over... I know most of the stories by heart but my kids think I'm crazy and made them up! Unfortunately, the playlist isn't complete and the track I would really like is The Velvet Ribbon. If it was omitted somehow before I found your site, could you repost it. I've been looking for soooo long for these tracks and it would really make my day if I could get the complete playlist. Thanks for caring enough to post these tracks.
I'm so happy to have hit upon this site. It was quite by accident, actually! I haven't seen this record since my teacher played this in class one afternoon, at our Halloween party! I was in like third grade or something and I remember blurting out "That's the man on the radio!" referring to the beloved Paul Hecht and his CBS Radio Mystery Theater days. I had the thrill of seeing him do poetry readings at Yale University last year and I actually got up the courage to tell him how wonderful he was. Of course, he was ever so gracious and nice. I'm glad about that too, because I couldn't even remember my name at that point!
Links are now all dead. :-(
Any hope, anyone?
snowleopard
at
coho dot net
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