Well, it IS Hallowe’en, after all … what did you expect, a sappy love song?
Bobby “Boris” Pickett was a nightclub entertainer who performed with a group called The Cordials. He wrote Monster Mash with his friend Lenny Capizzi. They were both big horror movie fans, and Pickett would do an impression of the actor Boris Karloff (known for playing the monster in many Frankenstein movies) during the speaking part of Little Darlin’ that went over well in his act. As Capizzi played the piano, he and Pickett put together this song with his Karloff impression in mind. They came up with the plot about Frankenstein’s monster starting a dance craze.
The lyrics are based on the story of Frankenstein, which started as a 1818 novel by Mary Shelley and evolved into various film adaptations. In the story, Dr. Frankenstein creates a creature who comes to life, but what he created is a monster. The book is sober tale of regret and unexpected consequences, but the story is often played for comedy. In this song, the monster throws a big dance party, which is enthusiastically attended by many other creatures of lore (Dracula, Wolfman).
Pickett and Lenny Capizzi wrote this song in about two hours. They recorded a demo to tape and brought it to Gary Paxton, lead singer of The Hollywood Argyles (“Alley Oop”). They recorded the song with Paxton and studio musicians Leon Russell, Johnny McCrae and Rickie Page, who were credited as “The Cryptkickers.” Paxton, who is credited as the song’s producer, also added the sound effects.
Paxton put the song out on his Garpax label and distributed it to radio stations around southern California. Response was overwhelming, as the stations saw their phone banks lighting up with requests for the song. A deal was struck with London Records, who distributed the song worldwide.
Released in 1962, this went to #1 in both the U.S. and Canada, but did not chart in the UK until 1973 when it was re-releeased and hit the #3 spot in the UK.
Monster Mash
Bobby “Boris” Pickett
I was working in the lab, late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab, began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise
(He did the mash) he did the monster mash
(The monster mash) it was a graveyard smash
(He did the mash) it caught on in a flash
(He did the mash) he did the monster mash
(Wa-ooh) From my laboratory in the castle east
(Wa-ooh) To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
(Wa-wa-ooh) The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
(Wa-ooh) To get a jolt from my electrodes
(They did the mash) they did the monster mash
(The monster mash) it was a graveyard smash
(They did the mash) it caught on in a flash
(They did the mash) they did the monster mash
(Wa-ooh) The zombies were having fun
(Tennis shoe wa-ooh) The party had just begun
(Tennis shoe wa-ooh) The guests included Wolfman
(Tennis shoe wa-ooh) Dracula, and his son
(Wa-ooh) The scene was rockin’, all were digging the sounds
(Wa-ooh) Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
(Wa-wa-ooh) The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
(Wa-ooh) With their vocal group, The Crypt-Kicker Five
(They played the mash) they played the monster mash
(The monster mash) it was a graveyard smash
(They played the mash) it caught on in a flash
(They played the mash) they played the monster mash
(Wa-ooh) out from his coffin’, Drac’s voice did ring
(Wa-ooh) seems he was troubled by just one thing
(Wa-wa-ooh) opened the lid and shook his fist and said
(Wa-ooh) “Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?
(It’s now the mash) it’s now the monster mash
(The monster mash) and it’s a graveyard smash
(It’s now the mash) it’s caught on in a flash
(It’s now the mash) it’s now the monster mash
(Wa-ooh) Now everything’s cool, Drac’s a part of the band
(Wa-ooh) And my Monster Mash is the hit of the land
(Wa-wa-ooh) For you, the living this mash was meant to
(Wa-ooh) When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you
(Then you can mash) then you can monster mash
(The monster mash) and do my graveyard smash
(Then you can mash) you’ll catch on in a flash
(Then you can mash) then you can monster mash
(Wa-ooh, monster mash)
“Mash good” (Wa-ooh, monster mash)
“Easy, Igor, you impetuous young boy” (Wa-ooh, monster mash)
“Mash good, grr” (Wa-ooh, monster mash)
(Wa-ooh, monster mash)
(Wa-ooh, monster mash)
(Wa-ooh)
Writer/s: Bob Pickett, Leonard Capizzi
Publisher: RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind
to each 
kid out there, everyone enjoys setting aside their cares, spending a bit of their hard-earned 
to spread a little 
to their friends and neighbors.
of 
who are putting our future at risk.
— grassroots support. 
and chip in before the stroke of midnight.
:
, threatening to turn our world into an 
.
are putting a 
on the Constitution.
on the ultra-wealthy defies 
.
get worse by the day.
right now, Nan.
from one 
.
They claim it proves that little rat brains are much more capable of performing complicated tasks than previously realized. The scientists also claim that driving appeared to reduce the rats’ stress … hmmmm … quite the opposite effect than it has on humans. But then again, the rats weren’t driving on the Interstate highway with 10,000 other rats trying to get ahead of everyone else!
The Ackleys would live in the house for more than 20 years before deciding to sell, not because of the ghosts, but simply to move to a warmer climate. They sold the house to Jeffrey and Patrice Stambovsky, who placed a $32,500 deposit into an escrow account. But, turns out the Ackleys rather forgot to mention that one pesky little detail about the ghosts. Well, it wasn’t all that strange that the Stambovskys would hear about the ghosts, since Ms. Ackley had submitted an article to Reader’s Digest that was printed in 1977 detailing the paranormal experiences inside her home.
Take a look at these pictures. Notice anything? Some pretty detailed photography, right? Wrong. These are not photographs but are portraits done by artist Dylan Eakin.
That is about it for me this week, folks. Have a safe and awesome week, and remember to share those smiles with people you run into, people you work with, people you live with … we all need smiles … and yes, Roger Jacob, this means you too!!! Love ‘n hugs from Filosofa and Jolly!
Katie, a seven-year-old border collie, escaped from a hotel room in July during a trip to Montana with owners Carole and Verne King. Though she’s a social and friendly dog, she’s also skittish and the couple believes the pup was scared by thunder and fled the My Place Hotel while they were out for dinner.
They searched the hotel grounds, calling for Katie until early morning. Nothing. The next day, King continued her search, putting up fliers, knocking on doors and posting on social media. In total, King thinks she put up about 500 flyers in the town and surrounding area. She and her husband also brought game cameras and night-vision goggles to their search.
The pair decided to take a walk in the neighborhood, scanning the area with binoculars. They encountered a couple walking and asked if they’d seen a runaway border collie. They hadn’t. But the man said he saw a black dog heading north. King gave the couple a flier and was about to continue on her way.
After taking Katie to a local emergency vet clinic to assess her condition, King learned that her pup had lost 12 pounds and was severely dehydrated and in starvation mode.
And then … as I was scrolling through looking at the pictures, I saw Tiger Lily looking over my shoulder with some strange look in her eye. She must have called to the rest in that way of silently communicating that they have, for within 30 seconds, I had Oliver in my lap, Boo atop my desk, Pandora on the arm of my chair, and Tiger on the back of my chair. I was scared, let me tell you. No, Izzy didn’t come out of hiding … actually, I think at that time she was in the kitchen taking advantage of a fresh bowl of kibble. 
I’ve got to admit that it is pretty cute. The ‘Haunted Mansion Cat Scratcher’ combines a cat’s favorite thing in the world – a cardboard box – with black and orange Halloween elements of a scary house riddled with cobwebs and ghosts. It comes with a two-floor design that includes a perch pad on top and features a scratcher floor on both levels for “endless entertainment”.
Sigh. I will be making a trip to Target tomorrow.
But it’s really …
A cake!!!
Pretty cool, yes?
Starbucks has celebrated Halloween since 2014, starting with the Franken Frappuccino blended beverage, followed by the Frappula Frappuccino in 2015 and 2016.
Now, I thought that surely they were not using real insects … I mean, aren’t there rules against that sort of thing? But it turns out this ‘masterpiece’ is stacked full of edible mealworms and ant mayonnaise, atop a regular beef patty, cheese, etc., all sitting in a bright blue bun. I do hope my Aussie friends, Ian and Andrea, are not planning to try one of these, but if they do, it’ll cost them A$10.50, or $8.10 USD. A bit pricey for … bugs. Blech.
How do you guys feel about ramen noodles? We eat a lot of them in my house … they’re cheap, quick & easy, taste pretty good, and cost about 20 cents per pack, so we eat a lot of them! Now, my girls eat them with chopsticks, but I rather like the noodles actually making it into my mouth rather than slithering down the front of my shirt, so I crunch them up before cooking, then eat them with a spoon, like soup. Anyway, when eaten with chopsticks, one tends to make slurping sounds. Now there is a solution for offsetting those slurping sounds … a noise-canceling ramen fork!
How does it work, you ask? Well … a microphone embedded inside the large, white fork detects the sound of slurping, prompting the user’s smartphone to play a sound effect using near-field communication.
The event was held in the Oval Office with children of reporters on Friday. A few of his remarks to the children …
Filosofa's Word 