Music Corner - Monster Mash (1962 novelty song)

Horrorific content by penguin_pete on August 27th, 2018 | Culture, Videos |

Normally here at the Satellite of Love, we only blog about music used in horror movies. Buuuut, this is a special occasion. Next Friday, August 30th, is Frankenstein Day, by way of being author Mary Shelley’s birthday. And her novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus was first published in the year 1818 (yes, there were people then), which makes this year the 200th anniversary of Frankenstein!

Well, talk about a horror icon! As you can see from that list we linked, Frankie babe has sired 47 flicks with his direct namesake, as well as the influence of the good doctor inspiring the entire mad scientist trope in horror fiction. Many other horror subgenres owe a debt to Mary Shelley’s creation as well.

So here we present “Monster Mash,” a fun 1962 novelty song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. In his vocals, Pickett is channeling horror movie icon Boris Karloff, who became famous for portraying the monster in Universal horror films of the early 20th century. Speaking of Universal horror, the song also pays tributes to The Wolf Man and Dracula in his languid lyrics.

Which is not to say that the story ends there. The song has since been covered by talent such as The Beach Boys, British ska group Bad Manners, horror-themed punk group Misfits, and the Prince of Horror Vincent Price on a 1977 UK EMI Records release. It has also been used as part of the soundtracks for the films Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988), Fender Bender (2016), Don't Blink (2014), and Clickbait (2018), to name just a few!