Mark Harvey is the owner/operator of Nobody Records, Pumpkinland Studios and 13thTrack.com Halloween Radio.
In my world it tends to be Halloween much of the time. Strange most of the time. Busy all of the time. Join in on the fun, leave a comment and enjoy your stay...
Saturday, October 31, 2026
October 31st, 202...IT'S HALLOWEEN!!!
Well folks...we made it! Another FULL month of blogging and blog posts and tonight I'll be taking my kids out for trick or treating, seeing the sights, eating some candy and having fun.
If you're not already aware of it, you can surf over to 13thTrack.com Halloween Radio and stream Halloween music for your party, for trick or treaters, to play in the dark or just to vibe out to. Surf on over!
There are a few songs that resonate with me on Halloween night specifically.
First up is "Candy" from Rain Station's "DARK RIDE" CD. Jay created a fantastic video for this track - here - and I just LOVE this tune. Have a listen...
Next up is another track from "DARK RIDE" that is perfect for Halloween night. Jay created a video for this track as well - . Have a listen to "Trick or Treatin'"...
Last up tonight is a FREE download of "It's Halloween" which is an unreleased song from Rain Station. Jay made a video for "It's Halloween" and you can watch it . Have a listen to the song before you download it.
Download "It's Halloween" here.
OK, enough treats - go out and have a safe Halloween!
Twenty two years ago today, I married my wife. We both would have preferred to pick a different day for our wedding anniversary since there's always so much to do to get ready for Halloween (if you're like me), but I try to give our anniversary the attention it deserves.
Celebrating 22 years of marriage is a big thing.
I love you honey. Happy Anniversary.
So since we're talking October brides...have a listen to "October's Bride" off Rain Station's DARK RIDE CD.
If you've not taken the time to check out the DARK RIDE videos, please do. Visit JackOLantern.org or click the links below....
Piece by piece, things are coming together. I had almost put everything away for the Season when an impromptu after-school Halloween party was thrown at me. Not wanting to disappoint, I sprang into action and have been getting the house ready to host.
My decorating was aided musically by some tunes I have on a playlist. This song was particularly helpful. It's the ringtone on my phone and one of my favorite tracks from Rain Station's DARK RIDE.
October 28th, 2026...new DARK RIDE video..."This Night"...from Rain Station's DARK RIDE album
Greetings and salutations,
This Halloween season has been a little "blah". Not sure what that's about, but I was excited and encouraged when Jay created a NEW video for this Season. I've written about Rain Station's DARK RIDE album a lot. After all these years, a little cartoon video can make things "alive" again. I hope your Halloween Season has been fun and filled with all of the magic this time of year has to offer. Enjoy the NEW cartoon and make sure to have a listen to Rain Station's DARK RIDE album this year. I'm sure there's a song on there that will become a Holiday staple for you...promise...
October 26th, 2026...Disney's "The Song and Story from The Haunted Mansion"
Greetings,
Each year I feel the need to pay homage to Disney's Haunted Mansion and how it impacted my life. The aesthetic, music and overall experience is where my "haunter's head and heart" has always gravitated toward. I have never been into gore. Whimsical supernatural is fun. As my friend Brent Ross has always said, "we like old dead, not new dead"...
Disney's "The Song and Story from The Haunted Mansion" is probably one of my favorite records of all time.
As a kid I had a copy, but my Mom - in an attempt to rid our house of all EVIL LPs - threw it out (my poor sisters lost A LOT of LPs...Led Zeppelin, Bad Company...and so many more). It was a phase in my life where celebrating Halloween was OK just as long as you had nothing evil or dark associated with it.
In my adult years I began searching the Internet to see if I could find a replacement copy of Disney's "The Song and Story from The Haunted Mansion". I found a guy named Jeff Baham who was running a little site about Disney's Haunted Mansion. That site has gotten HUGE (here). Jeff suggested eBay and so I surfed over there to see what eBay was all about. Talk about SCORE. I now own several copies of Disney's Haunted Mansion LP, many in pristine condition. I'm so happy to have them in my collection. "The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion" is an LP that featured a pre-Happy-Days Ron Howard. Recorded in 1969, "The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion" featured the young Howard as "Mike," a teenager out on a date with "Karen" voiced by Robie Lester. Lester's "Storyteller" album for The Aristocats was nominated for a 1970 Grammy Award. One of her most famous roles was as "Miss Jessica", the schoolteacher who becomes Mrs. Kris Kringle (Santa Claus) in the 1970 Rankin-Bass TV special Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (TV special).
The story is narrated by Thurl Ravenscroft, one of Disney's best-known vocal talents. Ravenscroft is known for being the original voice of Tony the Tiger as well as the the singer of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," from Chuck Jones' classic cartoon How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The Disneyland ride's main scenes are represented which makes this an album well worth owning (if you have a turntable). The LP's Ghost Host is voiced by Pete Renoudet. This differs from the attraction's Ghost Host, voiced by Paul Frees. The album contains an 11-page book of illustrations by Disney Imagineer and artist Collin Campbell.
I hope you enjoy what I consider to be the starting point of my love for all things Halloween...Disney's "The Song and Story from The Haunted Mansion"...
We've begun decorating inside the house. Whether or not it'll be completed before Halloween is yet to be known. I enjoy seeing the "things" that have been packed away for a year. Is there a particular item you look forward to seeing every year? I'm thinking about that and will post a photo of an item that I look forward to seeing every season.
Today's track is "Creep" from Pumpkinland II.
Let me know if you like the track and what item you look forward to unearthing every season.
