Halloween Help

[ClaraB]

Hello Loungers,
This is a rather strange post but I'd appreciate any help you can provide.

Here is the situation: (I'm getting to the music, be patient!)
I'm putting together a "haunted" depot for an excursion railroad in my area. I've chosen to take advantage of the railroad's great history and taken a sort of "frozen in time" approach to the haunting. The railroad currently runs a steam engine from 1920 although the depot was built in the late 1880's so this, give or take a few years, is the time frame that I'm working in.

So here is the problem:
I want to avoid the usual cliche spooky soundtrack that most haunted houses use. I've imagined some dark and crackly recordings that are sort of appropriate to the time frame I am working in. So far I haven't been able to find what I am looking for. Sure there is a lot of great music out there but most of it is upbeat and definitely not appropriate for a haunted house.

So, can anyone help? Does any song spring to mind that could properly set the mood?

Thank you,
ClaraB

 

[Vornholt]

Check out your local Halloween stores for CDs by Midnight Syndicate. There's a wide variety, none of which use the old goofy stuff you hear everywhere. I can't describe them; you have to hear them for yourself.

http:\\www.midnightsyndicate.com

 

[flat-top]

How about something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Nosferatu/dp/B00042YKUA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1221263600&sr=1-1
Unexpected yet totally appropriate.

 

[Diamondback]

If you check out the Classical section, a lot of composers had very dark, moody pieces--I suggest Bach's heavier stuff like Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, even though it is a cliche...

Welcome back, BTW!

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Midnight Syndicate's great and if you can't find them locally, they can be ordered from their website.

Another thought...Disney's had a lot of success with piping in music actually from certain periods of time. To make them sound old, they use actual music from the era and crank up the treble, turn down the bass, add some pops and clicks like old well used records would have. And just have it playing lightly and sounding "tinny." It sort of sets the mood, yet it's not really loud enough that people are stopping to listen to it. Since it's a train station, you might think of a separate track with ocassional clanging bells, train horns & whistles, chugging sounds of trains stopping and taking off and "All 'board!"

You can get CD "boom boxes" for $20 or so apiece at Big Lots & others. Two or three or more of those hidden outside or inside with different sound CD's (they're easy to mix & burn on a computer) on continuous replay can give you sounds from different areas to keep everyone guessing. You can also add echos and other sound effects with sound editing software on your computer.

If you want lights for a moonlight effect - BLUE spots discretely placed. That's what we use with great success, one area with green instead (swampy look) and the only white lights are hooked to a controller that ties into a thunder CD. It makes the light flash 3 seconds ahead of the sound of the thunder.

You might try to mix in some railroad-themed songs - Chattanooga Choo Choo, Sixteen Tons, etc.

As for period songs - Charleston, Black Bottom, WWII songs like Over There, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Scott Joplin rags, When Johnny Comes Marching Home.

If you can snag a fog machine (Target's got some fairly cheap), you can have fog to give the outdoors a somewhat ethereal setting, or use it with the sound of the "phantom train" arriving & departing - the one they hear on the soundtrack but don't see. It arrives with a blast of fog and takes off with one.

If you couldn't guess, Halloween's one of my "things" so PM me if you want something specific but need ideas on how to accomplish it.

 

[Vornholt]

I do some audio production work on the side, so if you need some tracks modified for your purposes, send me a PM as well.

 

[Story]

The railroad currently runs a steam engine from 1920 although the depot was built in the late 1880's so this, give or take a few years, is the time frame that I'm working in.

Spirits of the long-gone Coolies that laid the rails?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY1pcEtHI_w
(Ok, Tuvan throat music is a stretch but it's spooky enough)

Or Mississippi John Hurt, singing about John Henry?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRQgQhcEPHI

 

[ClaraB]

THANKS!

Sorry to unearth this dead thread but I just wanted to thank everyone who replied to my query. I decided to go with a classic halloween track (thunder, screams, howls and "twilight zone" inspired music) with occasional "phantom" train noises and discordant train songs, such as i've been working on the railroad and the like.

Again I appreciate all that contributed. Everyone's ideas were very helpful!
fftopic: If anyone is interested here is a link to pictures from the event.
http://buffalo.myspotted.com/galleries/index.php?id=312458