tidbits, fragments, and ephemera 18: the Halloween edition

tidbits, fragments, and ephemera is a usually weekly but not always, sometimes substantial but not making any promises glimpse at some information and news related to Generation X in the Deep South.


“The Monster Mash” by Bobby Pickett

Though this classic song was recorded in 1962, it was re-used in 1973 by Looney Tunes, and that’s probably why most of us knew it as a staple of Halloween during a GenX childhood. There was no way to get through October without hearing “The Monster Mash” at least once, and everyone knew the words . . . well, everyone knew the chorus at least.

Outskirts of Morton, Mississippi, Halloween 1971

This photography collection is held by the Museum of Modern Art but not currently online. The one image that accompanies most online mentions of it features three siblings – two dressed, one not – in a casual, almost annoyed poise. I’m sure that, if someone were willing to pay, he or she could see more of these images.

Halloween in Pisgah, Alabama, 1983

New Orleans’ House of Shock, founded in 1992

Said by some to be the scariest Halloween house of all time, this attraction was created in 1992 by Phil Anselmo of the thrash band Pantera. After more than twenty years of shocking and scaring customers, the House of Shock closed in 2014.


level:deepsouth is an online anthology about growing up Generation X in the Deep South during the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s. The anthology is open to submissions of creative nonfiction (essays, memoirs, and reviews) and images (photos and flyers), as well as to contributions for the lists.

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