Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House is a story album released by the Walt Disney Studios through its Disneyland Records in 1964. The album contains many stock Hollywood and Disney horror sound effects, many of which were used in The Haunted Mansion. The stories were narrated by Laura Olsher.
Stories & Track Listing[]
Side I: Stories
- The Haunted House
- The Very Long Fuse
- The Dogs
- Timber
- Your Pet Cat
- Shipwreck
- The Unsafe Bridge
- Chinese Water Torture
- The Birds
- The Martian Monsters
Side II: Sounds
- Screams And Groans
- Thunder, Lightning And Rain
- Cat Fight
- Dogs
- A Collection Of Creaks
- Fuses And Explosions
- A Collection Of Crashes
- Birds
- Drips And Splashes
- Things In Space
Releases[]
The album was released in several different forms. The album was first released in 1964 in a white sleeve, with a second release in 1973 with an orange sleeve. In both versions, the first side contained 10 stories narrated by Laura Olsher, complete with sound effects. The second side then contained 10 sound effects meant for others to create their own stories. There was also a British release in 1974 which contained a completely redesigned cover. In 1976 Disney released a follow up album by the same name and 26 tracks, however it featured no haunted mansion specific content.
The covers of the American albums were decorated with an image painted with acrylics by Paul Wenzel which he created as concept art for the attraction The Haunted Mansion. The original was 37" x 39" and was purchased in auction in 2001 for $3,000 USD. The cover of the British release is decorated with an actual photo of the ride, and the 1976 album is simply a colored image of a haunted house, skeleton in a coffin, and ravens. On October 31st, 2011, just in time for Halloween, the album was released on iTunes.
Samples and cover versions[]
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.
On October 31, 2014, the American rock band Phish performed side one of Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House with original instrumental music to accompany the album as their "musical costume" for the second set of their Halloween night show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena|MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following that performance, the band has made their interpretation of "Martian Monster" a regular part of their concert repertoire and have performed it at over 25 subsequent concerts.
Gallery[]
