Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House was an LP album intended
for "older children, teenagers, and adults", released by Disneyland
Records (now known as Walt Disney Records). The album was mainly
composed of sound effects that had been collected by the sound effects
department of Walt Disney Studios. The album was released in several
different forms. The album was first released in 1964 in a white sleeve,
with a second release in 1973 with an orange sleeve. In both versions,
the first side contained 10 stories narrated by Laura Olsher, complete
with sound effects. The second side contained 10 sound effects meant for
others to create their own stories. Despite the title, most of the cuts
had nothing to do with haunted houses or witches or ghostly spirits.
Featured were such situations as an ocean liner hitting rocks, an
idiotic lumberjack, a man crossing an unsafe bridge, someone lighting a
stick of dynamite and a spaceship landing on Mars. Also, there are
tracks with several examples of cats, dogs and birds becoming enraged
for some reason, as well as a skit about Chinese water torture. In
addition, some of the screams were taken directly from the scene where
Miss Havisham catches fire in the 1946 David Lean film "Great
Expectations." On December 7, 1972, the album became a certified gold
record by the RIAA. On April 11, 1988, the 1979 follow-up edition of the
album was certified gold by the RIAA. Some of the stories on the album
are better known for being sampled in rap songs such as N.W.A's "Quiet
on Tha Set, " Ice Cube's "Look Who's Burnin'" and "Jackin' for Beats",
and Jedi Mind Tricks' "Chinese Water Torture." In 1997, Xero, precursor
to the rock band Linkin Park, sampled "The Very Long Fuse" on their demo
tape.
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