We’ve talked before about the genre of scary media for children. The main delivery system was vinyl albums. (Kids, ask your parents.) First thing I wanted to do today is point out one of the best archives of such retro weirdness: Scary Sounds of Halloween. If you want hours of sounds to delight and confuse your own children, they’ve got you covered.
As always, I start down a train of thought and that leads me to stuff to share. Like Alfred Hitchcock’s Ghost Stories For Young People.
There isn’t an embeddable version but you can find a playlist of them online.
I also wondered if there was a specific point at which somebody decided to combine Hitchcock and young adult spookiness. And the answer is: not sure. The album is from 1962. The other example of this that immediately comes to mind is The Three Investigators, the book series from the 1980s.
I will probably explore this when I have more time (HA!), but I now wonder…what was the first time somebody said: “You know, if we just paid somebody to let us put their name on this thing, we could probably sell more of it.” Was it something along the lines of… Edgar Allan Poe’s Sea Shanties For Landlubbers? Johannes Kepler’s Starry Biscuits? John the Baptist’s Tea Tree Oil Shampoo? Anyway. Hitchcock.
This is a great clip from a seminar he gave regarding his craft. And it’s similar to the distinction I like to draw between the genre of horror and the genre of thriller.
And lastly, since we’re squarely in his neighborhood now, a trip into the realm of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. It’s “Night of the Owl,” starring Brian Keith. Enjoy.
