“You are a bold and courageous person — afraid of nothing…”

October 30, 2020 7:26 AM

So begins Disneyland Records' Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House. Narrated by Laura Olsher (IMDB), side one of the certified gold 1964 sound effects record consists of ten "frightening" tracks sure to entertain children who were alive 40 years before YouTube was a thing. Track listing and more inside.

Side 1:

1. "The Haunted House"
2. "The Very Long Fuse"
3. "The Dogs"
4. "Timber"
5. "Your Pet Cat"
6. "Shipwreck"
7. "The Unsafe Bridge"
8. "Chinese Water Torture"*
9. "The Birds"
10. "The Martian Monsters"

*Track eight contains a short snippet of mock Chinese speaking of the kind that was common in 1964 but is cringe-inducing and offensive today. This track begins at 10:43 if you'd care to listen.

Side two of the record is made up of only sound effects, without narration. Many of these sound effects were from Disney cartoons and would be used in the Disneyland Haunted Mansion attraction (wikipedia).

On October 31, 2014, American rock band Phish used samples and inspiration from the album, performing ten new, original instrumental songs as part of their Halloween musical costume at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas (2014 Phishbill PDF). Several of these songs have since made it into the band's regular rotation.

The Dogs (8/21/15) (audio only)
Very Long Fuse (7/20/16)
Martian Monster (12-31-14)
Your Pet Cat (fan-made terrible / awesome video featuring... cats?)
The Birds (7/1/16) (audio only)

This Saturday night at 8:30 PM Phish will rebroadcast the entire Haunted House set as set one of their Halloween Triple Feature, part of their free, pandemic-long Dinner and a Movie archival webcast series. Donations collected during the webcast will be donated to charity. (YouTube Link, this months' recipes, charity page)

posted by bondcliff (31 comments total)

Oh, man. I played that ...Sounds of the Haunted House record to death when I was a kid! Pretty sure I don't have it anymore. I'll have to rummage through my vinyl and see.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:36 AM on October 30, 2020 [5 favorites]

I HAD THIS RECORD!!!!

We bought it when we were at Disneyland when I was in fifth grade. I remember being so disappointed that our hotel room didn’t have a record player so I could listen to it right away.

My friends and I used it all the time and recorded parts to add sound effects when we designed trick or treat scenarios in our front yard at Halloween. We also used it when we were doing pretend radio shows and who knows what else. Literally hours of fun!
posted by bookmammal at 7:41 AM on October 30, 2020 [5 favorites]

Ah, yes, this record--our Girl Scout leaders used to play it over the outdoor speakers on Halloween.

It turns out I slightly misremembered the bridge sequence, which I thought ended when someone sawed off the end (instead of it just collapsing).
posted by thomas j wise at 7:43 AM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

We had this record when I was a kid. My dad, one Halloween, put the stereo speakers outside and played side one over and over as kids approached. At least one child was so scared he came to the door with a prodigious nose bleed.

which I thought ended when someone sawed off the end (instead of it just collapsing)

Were you confusing it with the sawing from "Timber" (track 4)?
posted by hanov3r at 8:13 AM on October 30, 2020 [2 favorites]

I, too, had this record as a child and played the heck out of it.

I remember the album cover had a picture of an old haunted house on it, surrounded by cemetery gravestones. I was captivated by the dim light that shone from a small, upper window...

...and now, clicking on the link, there it is! That spooky image from my youth!
posted by darkstar at 8:20 AM on October 30, 2020 [2 favorites]

I probably listened to that album once s day between the ages of five and twelve.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:31 AM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

I rushed into the thread to talk about the Phish set, good work OP!
posted by stinkfoot at 8:49 AM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

Yeah, listened to this LP over and over in rotation with this one.
posted by valkane at 8:49 AM on October 30, 2020

There's a hip-hop (in the 'turntablism' category) mixtape that uses the 'You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing' line, and it's hurting my brain that I can't remember which one it is.
posted by box at 8:49 AM on October 30, 2020

I, too, had this record as a child and played the heck out of it.

This record must have been the easiest thing in the world to make. "Memo to the Disney sound effects library: Put together 24 and a half minutes of haunted house sounds. Hire Laura Olsher to narrate."
posted by Gelatin at 8:59 AM on October 30, 2020 [3 favorites]

My copy of the album had the orange border on the front.
posted by darkstar at 9:00 AM on October 30, 2020 [2 favorites]

There's a hip-hop (in the 'turntablism' category) mixtape

I remembered--it's Mr. Dibbs' 'Live in Memphis'
posted by box at 9:08 AM on October 30, 2020

I bought this for myself on vinyl as a teenager in the late 90s. Now wondering if my folks still have it...
posted by potrzebie at 9:13 AM on October 30, 2020

I started playing this for my 7yo and he is laughing and enjoying it. My dog, however, was Very Concerned about the noises. LOL
posted by jillithd at 9:43 AM on October 30, 2020 [4 favorites]

Make sure you play him the Phish songs. It's never too early to start them down that path.
posted by bondcliff at 9:44 AM on October 30, 2020 [3 favorites]

I have a copy of this. It's great and I'd totally forgotten about it. I'm 100% pulling this out and playing it for the kids this weekend.
posted by sleeping bear at 9:54 AM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

The album is on Spotify too btw.
posted by schoolgirl report at 11:00 AM on October 30, 2020

I have the "NEW!" 1979 version, on yt here. I think the other one is better.
posted by ApathyGirl at 11:03 AM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

Like side two there's many similar scary sound effects albums. We had one with a track "Possessed Piano", which was 60 seconds of a somewhat talented pianist randomly bashing around on an out-of-tune piano with tons of reverb. That one went on lots of cassette mix-tapes.
posted by ovvl at 11:56 AM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

Were you confusing it with the sawing from "Timber" (track 4)?

Aha! Yes, that's it.
posted by thomas j wise at 1:00 PM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

Oh man! I just remembered something from my childhood that I haven’t thought about in 40 years.

The spoken bit at the end of “The Martian Monsters” segment was a catchphrase in our house for YEARS, whenever someone ate something tasty.

*cromch, cromch, cromch*

“That was delicious! I wonder what it was!”
posted by darkstar at 1:14 PM on October 30, 2020 [2 favorites]

I remember before we could look stuff up, there was a rumor that the narrator was Grayson Hall of Dark Shadows fame. The voices are similar.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:35 PM on October 30, 2020

I own not one, but two copies of this record. Orange border...
posted by Chuffy at 2:17 PM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

O M G. I know this! Or... a sample of it anyway.

I've been listening to this since I saw it here, and it's great, and then, right after some anachronistically uncomfortable stereotyping at 12:28, there it is. I think that the frisson of bumping into an original sample that is included in a favorite electronic/turntablist/hiphop track needs a term of art. Sample tripping or stumbling? It's so delightful when it happens.

That said, I CAN'T FIND IT. It doesn't seem to be in Frontier Psychiatrist (in case you are one of the 10,000: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS3AZ12xf6s ), but I would swear by my cockles that this sample is somewhere in Since I Left You.

Hmph.
posted by pol at 2:38 PM on October 30, 2020

WhoSampled thinks 'Frontier Psychiatrist' samples a different track from this album--'The Very Long Fuse.'

(Also, the scream from 'The Unsafe Bridge' has been sampled a lot--not, like, Amen break or Wilhelm scream levels, but more popular than I would've guessed.)
posted by box at 2:50 PM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

According to Wikipedia:

Some of the stories on the album are better known for being sampled in rap songs such as N.W.A's "Quiet on Tha Set," Ice Cube's "Look Who's Burnin'" and "Jackin' for Beats", and Jedi Mind Tricks' "Chinese Water Torture". In 1997, Xero, precursor to the rock band Linkin Park, sampled "The Very Long Fuse" on their demo tape.
posted by bondcliff at 2:56 PM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

I was wrong! It was Plug! In Drum'n'Bass for Papa! One of my favorite DnB albums of all time, and it must have just gotten filed away next to the Avalanches in my brain. About 5:30 into the 6th track: Delicious. Right here!
posted by pol at 3:54 PM on October 30, 2020 [2 favorites]

pol, you should listen to The Martian Monsters next.
posted by solarion at 3:55 PM on October 30, 2020

OH hoh hoh! I wonder what it was indeed! That was great. The chewing noises are really unpleasant. <3

Now I know why the track is named Delicious. :D
posted by pol at 4:57 PM on October 30, 2020 [2 favorites]

I totally had this record. Holy crap. I'd forgotten
posted by thivaia at 6:41 PM on October 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

Great post!
posted by juliplease at 8:04 AM on October 31, 2020 [1 favorite]