For years Jason Willis freed vintage Halloween records from their rare vinyl cages and unleashed them into the digital realm (via his Scar Stuff blog) where they have spread like a zombie virus. Amid all the sharing Jason was able to reclaim and make available a recording that held tremendous sentimental value to him (and many others), the 1973 Johnson Smith Horror Record.
It was coveted regularly because it appeared as a perennial listing in Johnson Smith's ubiquitous comic book ads. However, only the really lucky kids got it because unlike most of the products sold by the company, this item was exclusively available through them.
(MP3s of the entire record are available here.)
The second side of the brief record features a "semi-cohesive story line," the details of which could only be deciphered by the minds of young listeners—until now. For Jason's first-ever animated project he chose to illustrate the crude story with gruesome graphics from old magazines produced by Eerie Publications. The marriage of the audio and visuals is spot on. These elements are born of the same era and they share the same over-the-top, b-grade vernacular.
So unless ye be squeamish, I invite you to click on over and experience this brutal scarefest in all its bloody glory. Note that it's certainly not for the kiddies, and your boss may not appreciate it either.
You can read more about the technical specifics at Jason's blog
I had "Chilling Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House," and "Sounds to Make You Shiver" on LP, but was always VERY curious about the Johnson-Smith horror record! I had some of those Eerie publication magazines too...some of which were truly horrifying. This pairing of the two may be the thing that finally gets me into the Halloween spirit this year...thanks for sharing this!!
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