Halloween Playlist (Songs I know)

So now that Professor Johnson, Organ Donor AKA The Mad Organist is born..... Time to plan for next years playlist.

To be considered songs have to meet one of these criteria:

• Must be associated with Halloween 
• Must be spooky or dealing with death, funerals, monsters, vampires etc...
• Must be best known as a song played on the organ

  As I see it there are three categories of songs to play on the organ for Halloween..

1. I already know
2. I have the means to learn
3. I am still searching for a way to learn

Lets check out category 1, I already know:
  Haunted Mansion Foyer Music
  The Shining
  Dark Shadows
  Tales From The Crypt
  Phantom of the Opera

Not a bad list to begin with.

Now let's check out category 2, have the means to learn. First I'll define "means to learn". First off I can't read sheet music. 

One way I have learned these songs is through "How to play ****" postings on YouTube. These are basically someone playing the song on a piano or organ with a camera pointed down on their hands. 

Here is what I looked at to learn my Category 1 songs:

How to Play Haunted Mansion  

[How to play] Haunted Mansion

How to play The Shining

Tales From The Crypt (scary part at the end) 

Phantom of the Opera (EASY VERSION)

Phantom of the opera
EAE GFF DGD E
EAE GFF DGD E
ACE DDD GDE
EAG FED CBA G#
FF EE

How to play Phantom of the Opera [Piano Hero] 

Another way I have learned is to find a midi file of the song I want, then play it through Synthesia.

Synthesia on YouTube

Synthesia, Piano for Everyone Website 

A great source for MIDI files is Omar's Haunted Trail.

Here is the MIDI for Dark Shadows I used to learn that song:

Dark Shadows-1.mid  

Next time, my Category 2 songs. That's it for tonight from 1313 El Potro.

The Vampyre at the Harpsichord

In 1974 Verne Langdon recorded a perfect record for Halloween called "The Vampyre at the Harpsichord" (TVATH) . Highly recommended for your spooky music collection. 

 You can buy the Vinyl LP here at Amazon:

www.amazon.com TVATH $34.99 

Or do an MP3  download here

us.7digital.com the-phantom-of-the-organ-vampyre-of-the-harpsichord $8.99

Artists Direct has great presentation on the double album with links to itunes.:

www.artistdirect.com The Phantom of the Organ 

They are on YouTube if you want to watch and listen to them here:

THE CARNIVAL OF SOULS

NOCTURNAL QUEST

FLIGHT OF THE VAMPIRE

UNDEAD THEME

WALTZ OF THE GHOULS

MOONSPELL (TRANCE)

That's it for tonight from 1313 El Potro.

Doctor Druid's Haunted Séance

There is a website that seems to be untended these days. They had some wonderful items for sale but ....well as they put it"

Obscure books and recordings for
magicians, sorcerers and mad scientists

We are NOT currently processing orders. Please do not place any orders at this time.

nevermore@ravenoir.com

House of Ravenoir
PO Box 8593
Portland, Oregon 97207
USA

I bring them up because they have a great write up on Dr. Druid's Haunted Séance by Verne Langdon. If you EVER want to do a Séance for Halloween.... this is it! LOOK NO FURTHER.

Just because we can't buy from them, they are a great source for research. Take a look at what they have to say about Dr. Druid's Haunted Séance:

Spirits Abound! Spooks Around! A Spook show in your parlor!

An classic gem from the vaults now on CD! Doctor Druid is back ... and has he got a paranormal haunted séance for you. You will now be able to resume spirit séances in your very own parlor with the return of the original Doctor Druid, the world's most renown psychic, spiritualist, and parapsychologist extraordinaire! Once a popular  LP record album available from James Warren's Famous Monsters Of Filmland Captain Company, Doctor Druid's Haunted Séance is now digitally remastered from the original tape master in CD form for your enjoyment, edification, amusement, amazement, and fright!

This unique CD is all you need to haunt your house (or Castle, or parlor, or tomb), as it comes complete with progressive demonstrations of supernatural emanations, inexplicable transmogrifications, paranormal incantations, plus a real live apparition!

Sound like fun? Trust us, it is!   Druid's Haunted Séance CD is a good old fashioned séance in the purest sense of the word, and with easy instructions and very little preparation, you can throw a séance that will delight, astound, spookify and terrify your friends!

Perfect for any paranormal house haunting. Make spirit contact with our spirit! Doctor Druid's Haunted Séance is the CD that will make you the spookologist of all spookdom! Performed by none other than the ethereal Doctor Druid himself, this is the kind of phenomenal spirit "happening" that you and Doctor Druid can do together.

Doctor Druid's Haunted Séance runs a full half-hour but your guests might be running long before that! The recording is a ghost show unto itself! Produced by Verne Langdon and Milt Larsen (he who built the magic castle). Liner notes by Forrest J Ackerman and cover by Ronn Cobb. Recorded with paranormal pride in a haunted séance parlor in Horrorwood, Karloffornia.

Compact Disc in Jewel case

Originally recorded in 1974

CD released in 2008

Electric Lemon Record Company (USA)

30 minutes

Dr, Druid's Haunted Seance on the Ravenoir site. 

  

Great liner notes:

Listen to this rare gem online while you still can:

Lets take a listen one side at a time:

reelybored.wordpress.com haunted-seance 

Or the whole thing at once (This has the best presentation):

 siciliano66 dr-druids-haunted-seance

It is wonderful. Here's how to get your own copy of DDHS::

DDHS on amazon.com $8.99

You can always go to Amazon to buy it.

 

DDHS iTunes $9.99

Then there is always iTunes.

Well that's it for tonight from 1313 El Potro.

Posters, Signs & Cards

I was at Knott's Berry Farm last summer and saw some decay along with some beauty. The logo above came from an old park poster that was in a glass frame, broken on the top so water came in. The poster was discolored, and had sagged down. Sad really.

On the next street there was the Bird Cage Theatre. 

http://www.thecagepage.com/

The Cage Page has some great background on this theatre in Knott's. I took some great photos of some posters inside.

 

I am thinking of making a similar style poster for next year. Next year what you may ask? 

The Birth of The Mad Organist

This last Halloween I played spooky songs on a Gulbransen Transistor organ out front is costume. More details on that later. But it was so well received by the neighborhood and my family I am thinking of promoting it more next year. Hence the blog. And here are some other ideas for a poster to promote it.

And maybe a business card to hand out in the area to promote people coming by to see the show.

Front

Back

Well that's it for tonight from 1313 El Potro.