With Halloween just a few days away, please join me in some music to fit the mood. This next song is a classic and Halloween staple.

John Zacherle spent a lifetime combining silliness, horror, and the macabre. He had a long career as a television horror host. In his New York Times obituary, writer William Grimes points out while John Zacherle “was not the first horror host… [he] was the most famous, inspiring a host of imitators at local stations around the country.”

In 1958, four years before Bobby Pickett’s “Monster Mash”, John Zacherly released “Dinner with Drac”. When a man dedicated to all things spooky and camp wrote a song, it was no surprise that it became an instant hit. The song begins with the catchy opening limerick:

“A dinner was served for three

At Dracula’s house by the sea

The Hors d’oeuvres were fine

But I choked on my wine

When I learned that the main course was me!”

Now Playing: Dinner with Drac – John Zacherle

The song is equal parts charming, silly, campy, and macabre. For these reasons Dinner with Drac has become a permanent place in my Halloween playlist.

There is an additional version of the song with alternate lyrics if you want to take a listen:

Get lost December, October is the most wonderful time of the year for seasonal songs. Halloween is just a few days away and I am starting to get in the spirit with my favourite tunes.

Now Playing: Do They Know It’s Hallowe’en? – NAHPI

In 2005, two Canadian songwriters created a star-studded satirical seasonal song for charity. The project was the brainchild of musician Nick Diamonds, of the defunct band The Unicorns, and writer/musician Adam Gollner. All proceeds from the project were donated to UNICEF.

Nick Diamonds said part of the motivation behind the project was “the patronizing lyrics of Do they Know It’s Christmas? The intention of the song is good, but it’s also a little but it’s also a little Western-centric and insulting. We just wanted to poke fun at that, but still have something positive come out of it.” (Deziel, Shanda, 2005, Maclean’s Vol. 118, Issue 40)

The group was dubbed the North American Halloween Prevention Initiative (NAHPI) and the pair pulled together an all-star list of talent:

• Arcade Fire’s Régine Chassagne and Win Butler
• Beck
• Buck 65
• Chaos Chaos’ Asya and Chloe
• David Cross
• Devendra Banhart
• Dntel
• Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
• Feist
• Gino Wahington
• Islands’ J’aime Tambeur
• Karen O
• Les Savy Fav’s Syd Butler
• Liane Balaban
• Malcolm McLaren
• Nardwuar the Human Serviette
• Peaches
• Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett
• Roky Erikson
• Sloan’s Chris Murphy
• Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore
• Sparks’ Russell Mael
• Sum 41’s Steve Jocz
• Tanya Tagaq
• That Dog’s Anna Waronker
• The Magnetic Fields’ Stephinn Merritt
• Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug

While pennies and UNICEF trick-or-treat boxes aren’t around anymore, listening to a song created to support the charity remains one of my yearly traditions.