Thirteen for Halloween

Download it now at Amazon.com for $6.99

"Thirteen for Halloween" includes:

1. Welcome Said the Spider
2. The Ghost of John
3. Three Little Ghostesses
4. Mactavish Is Dead
5. Skin and Bones
6. Queen Nefertiti
7. Old Witch, Old Witch
8. Witch, Witch, Where Do You Fly?
9. I’m a Mean Old Witch
10. Unlikely Company
11. The Ghost Ship
12. We’re Back
13. Five Little Pumpkins
14. Welcome Said the Spider (Spider Mix)
15. Plus Karaoke Tracks of All the Songs! (Perfect for Schools and/or Singing in the Car)

You can download "Thirteen for Halloween" for no charge when you sign up for a free trial on eMusic. Follow these 2 easy steps:

1. Sign up for a free eMusic trial (get 25 free tracks).
2. Visit the Thirteen for Halloween album page on eMusic to download the album.

"Thirteen for Halloween" is also available for sale at:

• MP3s at iTunes
• CD at CD Baby
• CD with illustrated songbook! at Songs for Teaching
• Illustrated songbook is also available at Lulu.com (preview the book at this site) in printed and downloadable versions.

The Thirteen for Halloween Songbook has been enjoyed by children and adults, music teachers and piano students, as well as several children’s choirs.

Praise 

"The songs in Thirteen for Halloween are just a joy, and well worth the price. They will appeal to both children and adults, alike. The arrangements are bright, fun, and easy to play. My kids love these songs and always stop to listen, and better yet join in, when I sit down to play them. Many are traditional texts set to original melodies. The "Three Quodlibets for a Gaggle of Ghouls" [Tracks 10-12] are full of fun sonic references to classic monsters, and is just plain fun to sing with your family and friends. The best recommendation I can give for this collection is this. Not a week goes by since getting this collection that my five year old doesn’t come to me as say, "Dad, will you sing the song about the mean old witch for me?" Cost of the CD/book? $16 [Songs for Teaching]. My kids wanting to sing with me? Priceless." ~John Newman

"M. Ryan Taylor’s holiday music CD’s have enhanced my first graders’ experience in the classroom. The music was a perfect tool in introducing each holiday and its cultural background. The children enjoyed each song and would often sing along as they worked on their class work, which brought a very positive vibe to the learning atmosphere. I feel every teacher would benefit from this holiday music, and that it would be a great addition to the social, cultural, and learning environment of the classroom during the holiday season." ~Leanne Custer, 1st Grade Teacher, Pony Express Elementary

Many of the classic Halloween and ghost stories that have become a part of our popular culture have long been in the public domain (meaning they belong to the public and can be freely copied and used - any book published before 1923 fits into this category). One of my favorite online resources is a repository of these public domain books which have been edited and proofread by volunteers: Project Gutenberg.

This page lists a few selections from Project Gutenberg appropriate for your Halloween inspiration. I’m also including links to some of the popular movie adaptions of these books, with comments when I have them. 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

• Sleepy Hollow in the Movies : From the famous Disney cartoon to the bloody Tim Burton adaption. Also many lesser known versions. One of my favorites is the Jeff Goldblum version that is no longer in print, but that you can get used (Katrina is spunky, strong and cute in this one). There are also versions that I have never seen before, including a Shelly Duvall version and a Hallmark version.
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in Concert (Utah) : I have actually played a small part in this show as well as providing thier preshow music. Hopefully it will end up on CD someday.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

• Free Dracula Audiobook : Read quite well, I’m enjoying it as I write this post.
• I Bid You Welcome : A Creepy Chronology of Dracula Films : My favorite has always been the classic Bela Lugosi version, but there are many here to choose from. Among the more recent is Van Helsing, which though a bit campy is fun and has a lot of cool visuals.
• Something left off the list above is the Dracula comedy, Love at First Bite. Dracula and Renfield take on the disco scene in the 70s classic. The performance of Renfield in this is wonderfully memorable. Not really a good one for kids (though the free love and drug references went right over my head when I was seven).

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

• The classic Boris Karloff portrayal of Frankenstein is the one I have enjoyed the most.

Children of the Corn,
or The Curse of the Candy Corn 

M Ryan Taylor

Zeke found a bag of candy corn
up by Ms Strangle’s place.

"Ms Strangle has 3 dozen cats
who guard her house from mice and rats."
"Her windows look down on our street."
"The paint is pealed, but the grass is trimmed neat."

Orange and white and yellow,
the candy corn smelled sweet.

"Don’t touch that candy corn; I think
it might’ve been dipped in poisen ink!
You never should eat any candy you find.
My mum says you’ll die or go out of your mind!"

Karen was alway listening
to some grown up or teacher. Ha!

"Three corn left," said Ryan.
"One for each," said Bryan,
"These must be special," said Zeke,
"They’ve a different color streak."

Green and black and purple,
We ate the last candy corn.

"Delicious!" "Superb!" "What a taste!"
They said as their thoughts were erased.
"Hello," said Ms Strangle, "come into my flat,
my monster, my skeleton, my vampire bat."

That is how Ryan, Bryan and Zeke,
lost their families and became
the Children of the Corn.

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