– Actually better than the 70’s movie from which it came, Jerry Goldsmith created a permeating, pulsating, mostly electronic and strings score for this sci-fi classic. The pressure of the film’s odd, kill-yourself-at-twenty-five or run, run, run for your life scenario (the books are brilliant), is musically created in this score. I’ve yet to hear anything quite like it, and it still sounds frightfully fresh thirty-five plus years after the movie’s release. If at all familiar with the film, you’ll be pleasantly surprised as this perfect score tightens up as it progresses. In the movie, action and chase begin in a futuristic city yet end in a ruined Washington DC…. You’ll hear this perfectly represented in this killer sci-fi score. Perfect for an interesting listening experience come late October.

– Ron Grainer composed the music for this apocalyptic, last-man-in-the- world-being-hunted-by-ghouls movie, and it has stuck with me since the 70’s as just a dynamite, mood setting score. It comes very close to a stand-alone jazz album, but it isn’t. What you have here is a trippy, thick 70’s, musical trip into the world of a man left all alone in the world. There’s a heavy saxophone theme throughout this score which periodically reminds the listener of where they are in both the film and the film’s reality. This may not cut it as a Saturday night record, but it sure as hell cuts it as a “Last Man on Earth With Scary Albino Vampire Dudes All Around,” Halloween season album. Try and find it.

– John Zacherle was probably the most well known of all 60’s & 70’s late night TV horror hosts. He practically invented the job. For those too young to remember, late night weekend television, especially on the odd, non-network channels, used to play horror movies around 11pm, which were usually hosted by monster-dressed hosts. Vampira, Count Gore DeVol, Zacherle, all used to scare and titillate baby-boomers staying up late with spooky sets, wax fangs, bubbling test tubes and much more. Zacherle was so popular in Philadelphia and NYC, where he haunted the airwaves, that he built two monster-themed records around it. They’re both goofy, childish, not too scary attempts at providing teen-aged monster lovers with something to play in their rooms while building their Aurora Monster Model Kits. I crack this one out for Halloween, and it’s fun. A nice change of pace and a sappy reminder of simpler times…back when Frankenstein and the Wolfman were still scary.

– Not many left on Amazon, but also check RadioSpirits.com if you’re interested. Just a magnificent collection of spooky tales to enjoy with the kids on Halloween night or after they go to bed and you’re sitting down with an Applejack Old-Fashioned. Back when they knew what they were doing on radio, programs would ensconce a listener within velvet-lined coffins of story and sound. You can hear the industry of glorious radio-plays on this collection. I promise more than a few of these tales will creep you out as you listen. None stand out as “go-to’s,” just listen to them all and get lost. Maybe there’ll be a strong wind, or a dog will howl down the block….it’ll only add to the experience.

– A double dose of Halloween fun with this CD because you get 2 recordings for the price of one. Director Hitchcock narrates the 1st disc of charming 50’s style ghost stories which work so well as cool-weather living room fodder, perfect to have a cocktail to while hanging out with the family. We just don’t have stuff like this anymore, and believe me when I say, it’s refreshing to enjoy something a little Halloween seasonal with your family and not have to shoo kids from the room nor ask them to cover their ears.

The Famous Monster disc is a little more intense but still family friendly, dealing with a visit to hell and a retelling of the Frankenstein Monster story. There are also some wolfman & vampire stories thrown in. This collection is perfect to play while manning the home front & passing out the candy.

– Dimitri Tiomkin’s music from this 1950’s sci-fi thriller is some of the spookiest movie music I’ve ever heard. Chock full of styling and orchestration so long lost, it’s forgotten. This record is wonderful background music for a front-yard cemetery or a gathering of friends on a chilly October’s eve. Mood-setting pure & simple. It’ll creep you out as you sip your cocktail and wait for the zombies to tear through your kitchen door.

– I’ll just admit it, if you haven’t already figured it out…I’m a Halloween lover. I love the cocktails, the food, the costumes, the ghost stories, and horror movies. I just love the atmosphere. Midnight Syndicate along with the band in my next pick, are just a bunch of goth kids tryin’ to do right in my book. God bless ‘em ‘cause they sure do try. They also succeed, and here’s the proof. If you’re looking for a recording just dripping with Halloween atmosphere for your event, you could do a lot worse. Don’t buy one of those silly Halloween themed cheap CDs you see at party stores. Buy this compilation by a couple guys that eat, sleep and walk this stuff. Have it playing behind your home bar and everyone will start lookin’ creepy.

– Another bunch of crazy kids who get Mr. Booze’s respect for just following their dream, Nox Arcana will slide right on in to your Halloween home festivities with their ode to the undead. Now, I realize that vampires are crazy-cool right now. All these good-looking vampires vamping it up on television and in the movies hardly reflect my vampires which flew around smelling like dirt and scratched on your windows ready to kill you. I like my vampires scary and this record reflects the old school. Twenty-one songs will carry your party or themed yard towards the witching hour. Transylvania permeates with vampire fun.

– Down at the very bottom of my music recommendations here on the Mr. Booze site lies this recording. I’ve dug it up one more time to lay here. This is just a cooler than hell collection of Monster Themed Rock ‘n Roll songs, all from the heyday of horror movie popularity in America. It’s fun, it’ll have your guests smiling, and it celebrates the season. What more can you ask for?

Inner Sanctum – Radio Spirits is one of the best-kept secrets on the Internet. They package the classic old radio shows that your grandparents listened to back in the day. Well, along with Little Orphan Annie and Bob Hope comedies, the radio also carried horror tales into your living room. Radio Spirits sells hundreds of them and the Inner Sanctum represents some of the scariest. Mix up a pitcher of manhattans and fire up this collection, and you’ll loose all sense of time. The stories stand up today and include fantastic sound effects and voice actors. Ghost hitchhikers, murdered fiancées, haunted hotel rooms, and evil dolls will haunt your living room. Please, take the time to peruse the site. You’ll find so much there appropriate for Halloween, Christmas, heck, any day.