Haunting Music

While thrifting recently, I found another copy of the "Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House" record, which is a collection of spooky sounds that was released by Disneyland Records. The fun thing (for me) is that these albums actually pre-date the Haunted Mansion attraction (that I love so much!). The ride was an idea in progress, and the Sound Effects Department over at Disney had started collecting sounds that could be used in the ride itself.

The first album was released in 1964 (5 years prior to the official opening of the Haunted Mansion attraction). It became so popular that Disney re-released it in 1973 and again in 1976. I don't have a copy of the 1964 version, [It's easy enough to find on eBay, but I try to limit some of my collector's tendencies by allowing things to 'find me' and stumbling across them in thrift stores is a great thrill!] but I do now have copies of the 1973 and 1979 printings!

The 1973 version has an orange cover and my particular version does not have the yellow sunburst on the left corner pointing out the 'spooky party hints'. This was a slight change from the original pressing which has a white cover. The album in it's entirety is posted as a free download here, in MP3 files.



The 1979 cover was entirely new. It features a scene from the graveyard with a skeleton who is working his way out of the coffin and a crow standing sentry from the tree limb. This, of course, is very similar to scenes from the Haunted Mansion attraction. You can download a free MP3 version of this album here, courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan.



For everything you'd ever want to know about the Haunted Mansion, check out Doombuggies.com, where I found their history of these various "Chilling, Thrilling" recordings. *It's worth noting that Doombuggies.com cites the release of the final album as 1979, however wikipedia says it was 1976.

a must-see for Haunted Mansion fans!

Hey all you Halloweenies! If you're as big of a fan of the Haunted Mansion as I am, you won't want to miss this! There is a home in Orange County (Portola Hills) that puts together a walk-through haunted house based on the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland!

Check out their website for the details (including a night vision video from last year!). It looks SPOOKtacular and is open Friday, Oct. 30, Saturday, Oct. 31, and Sunday, Nov. 1 from 6-10pm.

I'm planning a trip for Sunday and will report back all the grim grinning details!

hitchhiking ghost jack-o-lanterns!

The hitchhiking ghosts are, clearly, some of my favorite Disney characters of all-time. And since I've had everything HHG on the brain lately, it was an obvious choice to use them for my jack-o-lantern as well!

I had intended to do 3 basic light sources: the outlines, the cut outs, and the scrape-offs (I'm sure there is a proper term for that, but I don't know it), but the rind on this pumpkin did NOT want to scrape off, so I ended up doing more cutting than originally planned. I was able to scrape out Phineas's doctor bag, but the rest of the rind was not giving up the ghost, as it were.

I think the simplified pattern works okay and I may even try it again one night this week (if I can find the time!).

Fanmade Friday - featuring.... ME!

I know you already read the Haunted Mansion Collectibles blog, because... well, why wouldn't you?

WELL today, you won't want to miss it because your favorite blogger and all-around dweeb (*ahem*) is featured for Fanmade Friday! Yay! PLUS: you can enter to win a special prize hand-crafted by yours truly!

Go! Read! Comment! Glorify me, minions!

chilling and thrilling - more Haunted Mansion crafts!

I've been busy lately making Haunted Mansion crafts. I arranged two craft swaps through Craftster, so I made two more sets of hitchhiking ghosts. One was a repeat of the previous set (in the three individual frames) and the other was custom created to fit inside a 4x6" frame (below).

I've also created a needle felted version of Madame Leota, floating in her crystal ball. This was really fun to make! Leota's tiny head is about 1" tall and is fully detailed with itsy bitsy eyelashes and eyebrows. I love the miniature aspect of it! Best part: it can be yours! Now posted for sale in my etsy shop!