This Halloween, Mrs. Winton and I are going stay in while while the boy goes off  with his best friend and his family.  You see, his buddy’s grandma lives in a rather upscale neighborhood, the kind where the houses give out full sized candy bars.  They’re going to try and pull a costume change and double up on the booty.  In his younger years we always went out together, exploring many neighborhoods that we wouldn’t have otherwise.  Rockridge, Brea, La Jolla and many more lovely towns have entertained us with awesome displays and generous treats.

Anyhow, like I said, me and the Mrs. are staying home.  Unfortunately, our street is very poorly lit and the neighbors don’t decorate.  In other words–no more than 5 trick or treaters will pay us a visit!  So we’ve decided to curl up with a couple of classic monster movies.  I thought that it would be a good time to recommend a few of my Halloween favorites that also happen to be very kid friendly, even safe for the little ones.

The Ghost Breakers

First off, a movie I discovered earlier this year–The Ghost Breakers. It’s a delightful Bob Hope vehicle, seemingly one of his lesser know films.  Quick paced comedic interplay between he and co-star Paulette Goddard keeps the simple haunted house gags from wearing thin.  In a similar vein there’s the much more well known Abbot and Costello Meet Dr. Frankenstein.  How many parents remember seeing this on TV back in the 70′s?  I certainly do.

The Ghost & Mr. Chicken

Another film that used to screen around the holidays was The Ghost & Mr. Chicken. It’s got Don Knotts, a haunted organ & a Vic Mizzy score.  Mr. Mizzy just passed on last week, he’s best known for his Addams Family theme–always a possible option for your Halloween night viewing.  The short lived TV series ages quite well, its wit and subversiveness unparalleled in its time.

The Munster

Of course if you want to continue down the old TV route, a couple of Munsters episodes might do the trick.  Much more lighthearted and silly than the Addams’, Herman & Lily’s brood are always worth a revisit.

Mad Monster Party

The ultimate in groovy mid 60′s Halloween camp has to be Mad Monster Party.   Phyllis Diller, Boris Karloff and pop-psycher Gale Garnett voice a crazy cadre of claymation creatures, very much in the same vein as the Rudolph Christmas special with Burl Ives–if you mixed in mop top bands & cocktail parties!

Anyhow, just thought I’d give you a few ideas to spice up the evening after watching Charlie Brown.

Check out all our cool, free Halloween printables and activities!

Healthy Pumpkin Baby Food Recipe

Just in time for Halloween, this healthy baby food recipe is all treat! We call it “The Mash, The Pumpkin Mash.” (It was a nursery smash!)

Rockabye Baby! Pumpkin Carving Stencil

Want to be the first on the block to have a Rockabye Baby! jacko’lantern this Halloween? Well, we do too! Download our free pumpkin carving stencil and you’ll have the coolest pumpkin for miles. Nobody will dare TP your house with our bad bear guarding your front door.

Cool Cupcake Toppers for Your Halloween Party

Check out these free Rockabye Baby! printable cupcake toppers for your next baby shower or birthday party! It’s easy. Print, tape, and top!

Spooky Music: A Brief History of the Halloween Record

Welcome our new blogger, Keith, by reading his post on the wildest vintage Halloween LPs!

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Now please welcome our newest guest blogger, Keith Winton, who will be joining Lorelei and the crew at Lullaby World Headquarters to share his perspective on cool and odd kids music and activities. Just in time for Halloween, his post on classic spooky sound effects records should bring back some memories:

I believe that the Halloween recording is truly a lost art form. During the 70′s and 80′s hundreds of LPs were issued capitalizing on the kids horror market, chock full of tape echo and theremin and packaged in garish and cartoony images meant to grab youngsters attention. Every October, the rack jobbers would stock the wire racks next to the checkout at the local Thrifty’s with these LPs, forcing mom or dad into many an impulse purchase. Pickwick Records, a label who fed entirely on cheap fads, issued quite a few greats. Both the Legend of Sleepy Hollow / Rip Van Winkle (a personal childhood favorite) read by Boris Karloff and the outright terrifying Sounds Of Terror LP were issued buy Pickwick. The comic book tie in label Power Records issued many book & 45 sets featuring Dracula, Wolf Man and other infamous characters. They also issued LP sized collections of the stories.

Peter Pan records issued super low budget kids records. The quality was all over the map. During his terrible twos, my son’s favorite LP was a Peter Pan “masterpiece.” I can’t remember the title, but it was a horrible bunch of songs sung by a screechy mixed chorus that made MSR song poem singers sound like quiet storm stars. I’ve often pondered what life was like for the people making a living off of such recordings. Anyhow, Peter Pan issued many Halloween LPs, including my favorite, Ghostly Sounds. This little gem was recorded by Gershon Kingsley & Peter Waldron. I can’t find much on Mr. Waldron, but he has a perfectly whacked out delivery that keeps his yarns ridiculous enough to entertain, but not completely terrify. Gershon Kingsley, as you may already know, rose to fame as the composer of Hot Butter’s mega hit “Popcorn” and his song “Baroque Hoedown” was reworked into Disneyland’s Main St. Electrical Parade Theme. Kingsley’s classic modular synth patches run throughout Ghostly Sounds. The track “Goblin Dance” features some great rhythm box and fat Moog bass, but it also has some pretty creepy moans so your littler ones might get a bit spooked out.

Want to be the first on the block to have a Rockabye Baby! jacko’lantern this Halloween? Well, we do too! Download our free pumpkin carving stencil and you’ll have the coolest pumpkin for miles. Nobody will dare TP your house with our bad bear guarding your front door.

Instructions:

1. Download and print the pumpkin carving stencil.

2. Carefully cut out the the black sections with an exacto knife (adults, please do this for your kids).

3. Tape the stencil to your pumpkin and trace the outline on the pumpkin’s skin with a permanent marker.

4. Using a very thin, sharp carving knife, carefully carve along the lines you drew (you are cutting out the areas that are black on the stencil image).  The final  image will appear as the opposite of the stencil below.

Download here!

Visit our Activities Page for more fun recipes, coloring pages and more!

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Hooray for Father’s Day!  Get 15% off your entire order at www.rockabyebabymusic.com, now through next Wednesday, June 17.

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