“You are a bold and courageous person. Afraid of nothing.”
With these words we begin our journey into the chilling, thrilling world of the haunted house!
First released in 1964, Disneyland Records (now known as Walt Disney Records) album Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House offered up “stories in sound” meant to scare and thrill it’s audience. Side one contains ten stories told with sound effects and introduced with narration by Laura Olsher. Side two gives us ten collections of sound effects, mean to be incorporated into your own “stories in sound.”
The album was originally released with a white sleeve, then reissued in 1973 with an orange sleeve (which, btw, is the vinyl copy we listened to while recording this episode.) In 1974, a new version titled New Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House was released. This version had all new cover art as well as thirty three new tracks consisting of all new sound effects and “stories in sound.” This was the version I grew up with and am most fond of. We’ll take a listen to that one in a future episode.
So now, turn off the lights. Close your eyes and join us as we brave explorers embark upon an adventure in the chilling, the thrilling sounds of the Haunted House!
Oh, and before we forget… here is a link to the spaceship ambient sounds mentioned in our episode. Enjoy!