Welcome back to another Old Time Radio Show of the Week! Today, we'll be looking at and listening to a 1936 episode of a lost series titled "The Devil's Scrapbook". Excusing the mislabeled year on the picture above, The Devil's Scrapbook was a 1936 radio series much in the same vein as The Hermit's Cave, and was actually narrated by the same man who played the Hermit on the West Coast. His name was Charles Penman. The premise was pretty simple- the Devil, himself, would introduce each story as if it were a lovely memory out of his own scrapbook (ala Mr. Applegate in the musical Damn Yankees), and the story unfolds before the audience's ears. While it was an interesting concept, the show did not last long and fell into obscurity, with this being the only surviving episode. Perhaps in 1936 the idea of the Devil himself narrating a story seemed unattractive to many people, since this was a delicate time in American history and radio censorship was becoming more common. At any rate, this story is one of the most eerie radio show episodes I have heard in a long time. Sit back, relax, and let the Devil tell you a little story about a man named Mr. David Rugg... Listen below-
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Gretting, Ghostly Grotto readers and welcome back for a holiday-themed post that I know you're going to DIE for. Puns aside, I'm pleased to announce that I will be posting again on a semi-regular basis (hopefully at LEAST twice a month, but I make no promises) and that means much more content and many more entertaining and exciting terrifying tales. But enough prefacing. Let's get down to business- What is a Monster Kid?According to MonsterKidsOnline.com, a "monster kid" is a person who grew up watching horror movies, reading ghost and horror stories, and falling in love with pretty much all things spooky and ghostly. Not only that, an enduring monster kid is a person who has held onto that imagination and wonder their whole lives. For many monster kids, Christmas was one of the best times of the year. For although Halloween was the season for witches, ghosts, goblins and all things that go bump in the night, Christmas was a season for giving. And for getting. There wasn't a monster kid alive who didn't put at least half a dozen ghoulish items on their Santa lists. Some went above and beyond (asking for a shrunken head, crawling hand, etc.) but goodness knows that no self-respecting horror loving juvenile would have turned down something as wholesome as an Aurora guillotine model kit or an Uncle Fester Magic Lightbulb. Come on, it was Christmas. There was no harm in asking. And maybe old Saint nick would come through and bring the little freckle-faced boy who asked for a Voodoo kit what he really wanted because he had just been that good of a boy. Parents of the 1960s- wondering what to get your monster kid for Christmas? Well, there's one sure-fire place you can always turn to: the advertisement pages of Famous monster of Filmland Magazine! And here, through the glory of the website http://www.mrfink.com/mm_ads/, you can peruse these ads and see what you want to get your little monster for the holidays: How about this lovely little specimen? A monster record player! How would you like to be able to play horrifying sounds to raise the dead with this $1.98 gem? And best of all, it's portable so you can take to "all joyous occasions: seances, funerals, executions, morgues and monster parties". Most surprising (and suspicious to an analytical mind), the record player does not run on batteries, electric power, or any sort of charge. All one has to do is "turn the handle" and the record will play before your blood can curdle. One may wonder how well this record will play with the only power being generated by a child's hand. I would show a picture of what it really looked like, but I can't seem to find any actual images of it out there today. I suppose that says something about its durability... How about the Famous Monster Yearbook? Plenty of fun looking through your favorite moments in horror film history in those little beauties. And, among all the glorious black-and-white images of the greatest monster to grace the silver screen are ads for even MORE things to buy! The vicious cycle begins anew after New Year's! I won't continue giving you the sales pitch- you can read the adverts for yourself on http://www.mrfink.com/mm_ads/ or see a selection down here: As for the rest of the holiday, there were two record that every monster kid should have had- Len Maxwell's 1964 masterpiece "A Merry Monster Christmas" and the 1970's Peter Pan "Monster Christmas Mash". As of yet, I haven't found a copy of either of these records to add to my collection, but I'm always in search of them. A Merry Monster Christmas the brainchild of a great voice actor, Len Maxwell, and was recorded on the 20th Century Fox label in 1964. It was re-released on CD awhile back, but it was severely edited and made almost unbearable with all the terrible new things they out into it, but iTunes released a digital download a few years ago and I bought it. If you've never listened to it, you really should give it a whirl this year. Here it is on YouTube: (the full album as a playlist) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mBOeFOs7F82Lp-6_jOLLnWsbyvn0TGiF0 The second album, which you saw as the header of this article, is not nearly as good as A Merry Monster Christmas. Though it satisfies the average monster kid's spooky sweet tooth, it's not exactly the same caliber. Ah well, at least it tried. Here it is in all of its glory: https://open.spotify.com/album/3uJQZhBFyqUGcNIUSJRu9e Well, that's all for today's Ghostly Grotto post. In all seriousness, I hope you all have a lovely holiday spending time with your friends and family, and here's to a happy New Year as well! Below are a few more Addams family ads, and the link to the Christmas episode of the show as well. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xuaim |
AuthorA Halloween fanatic, scary story vinyl collector, and ghost story teller extraordinaire. All self-proclaimed titles, however. Archives
December 2019
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