I was perusing a Vincent Price archive on the internet not too long ago, and came across this little creepy curiosity of an album from 1969. This double LP is incredibly rare and hard to find, but one could easily find it uploaded on Halloween related blog sites or YouTube - or you can purchase an MP3 album at Amazon.com.
Throughout the course of the album, our pal Vincent takes us through the history of witchcraft, including the Salem Witch Trials. He treats us to incredibly graphic descriptions of the various torture methods used to punish witches back in the old days. Every now and again, he'll toss in some of his trademark snark along with some tongue in cheek humor to lighten things up. What I've just described is only the first part of the album, which is relatively harmless and quite fun to listen to.
And then things get...well...scary. A little too scary.
From this point on, the album turns into a sort of "how-to" play by play on conjuring spirits and demons. It is very thorough, mapping out the types of symbols that one should draw up on the floor in order to properly turn your living room or kitchen into a portal from Hell. He even gives you instructions for making a pact with the Devil, complete with the proper incantations and whatnot, right after telling us "You should only attempt this in the most dire of circumstances. Heh, heh!".
At the very end of the album, Vincent begins to speak of the Witches Sabbath and all of the lovely things that this entails, including mass orgies involving incest, blasphemy, and devil worship. And then right before the conclusion, he talks about the Age of Aquarius and makes the subtle implication that witches may be far more enlightened than the rest of us. This doesn't surprise me. This was 1969, after all - the year that the Satanic bible was published and many celebrities - including Sammy Davis, Jr and Jayne Mansfield - were connected with the Church of Satan in California. Rosemary's Baby had become a huge hit the year before. For whatever reason, people were preoccupied with the Lucifer around this time, and this album is merely a reflection of that.
You can find it easily. I mean, I have provided links for all of you brave souls. You can get to it if you want to. Highly recommended! One of the greatest albums ever made.
Throughout the course of the album, our pal Vincent takes us through the history of witchcraft, including the Salem Witch Trials. He treats us to incredibly graphic descriptions of the various torture methods used to punish witches back in the old days. Every now and again, he'll toss in some of his trademark snark along with some tongue in cheek humor to lighten things up. What I've just described is only the first part of the album, which is relatively harmless and quite fun to listen to.
And then things get...well...scary. A little too scary.
From this point on, the album turns into a sort of "how-to" play by play on conjuring spirits and demons. It is very thorough, mapping out the types of symbols that one should draw up on the floor in order to properly turn your living room or kitchen into a portal from Hell. He even gives you instructions for making a pact with the Devil, complete with the proper incantations and whatnot, right after telling us "You should only attempt this in the most dire of circumstances. Heh, heh!".
At the very end of the album, Vincent begins to speak of the Witches Sabbath and all of the lovely things that this entails, including mass orgies involving incest, blasphemy, and devil worship. And then right before the conclusion, he talks about the Age of Aquarius and makes the subtle implication that witches may be far more enlightened than the rest of us. This doesn't surprise me. This was 1969, after all - the year that the Satanic bible was published and many celebrities - including Sammy Davis, Jr and Jayne Mansfield - were connected with the Church of Satan in California. Rosemary's Baby had become a huge hit the year before. For whatever reason, people were preoccupied with the Lucifer around this time, and this album is merely a reflection of that.
You can find it easily. I mean, I have provided links for all of you brave souls. You can get to it if you want to. Highly recommended! One of the greatest albums ever made.
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