Sunday, October 30, 2016

A Canadian Halloween Thriller Of 80's Songs


                                
My fun Halloween posting for 2016:💀👺👹👾👿

In the mid 1980's when I first went to Canada, it was right smack into a cold September in Winnipeg. Worse, I had my land-lady who insisted I paid her rent exactly at the end of each month, in cash.

When I forgot in the second month,  she waited for me at the foot of the staircase and warned me she would switch off my heater if I didn't settle. 

Stalked in the forest, too close to hide
I'll be upon you by the moonlight side (1)

She kept her word and I was left shivering for two cold nights in the attic where I lived until I paid up. But quick justice brought everything to normal when I was advised to report her to the local Rentalsman office in Manitoba. 
"Such a WITCH." my Canadian friend told me. Which brings me to this theme posting, because after settling down to my daily routine, the great evening came on 31st October 1984. I had my first bloody scare and grim tale of encounters with witches, goblins, creepy clowns and the living dead (pix to prove below). 

If there's something strange
In your neighbourhood
Who you're gonna call? 
Ghost busters (2)

I forgot the date as it was Halloween night and my young native Canadian neighbours surrounded me with, "Tricks or treat!" Growlings and haunting screams followed. 
I was on my way to a night class for Prof. Perry Nodelman's Children's Literature on a Wednesday evening. Luckily my same Canadian friend prepared me with packets of sweets, chocolates and goodies in my backpack.

Cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no one's gonna save you 
From the beast about to strike (3) 

There were smiles all round as I shouted, "Treats!" The growls and screams stopped as I dished out the sweets. Goodness my first ever experience of Halloween. And it was a cold, cold night, if you notice the pictures. But it was a fun night. I managed to find my way to class after clearance from the ghouls. 

But on the way back to the house, after hearing of the goodies I gave out earlier, another bunch of Halloween haunters came after me. This time there was even a Michael Jackson Thriller guy.  Their whispered password?
"It's Andy with the sun-glasses! Get him!"

Burning the ground I break from the crowd
I'm on the hunt down I'm after you... (1)

We ran all the way to the nearest McDonald's where I had to buy hamburgers, fries and Coke for the group. I had no more sweets but it wasn't against tradition to buy these boys a meal.  Believe me. It was my only experience with Halloween horrors in my life, even up till today. But I really wouldn't mind another one.

You should try drinking ice-cold Coke on a bitterly chilly night in Winnipeg. Brr.
Yes. No wonder year-end months are Septem-berr, Octo-berr, Novem-berr and Decem-berr.

Halloween 2016, here I come again. 
                            Ray Parker Jr. Ghost Busters from VEVO

If you want a Halloween treat write to me on the Comment page and I shall provide you with some sweets and chocolates. That's a promise!

(My elder son introduced Hungry Like The Wolf by Duran Duran when I was still in Singapore. Songs like these were heard everywhere in Canada in the mid-eighties. Never forgot them.)


Other 80's songs that could fit in this category are:
Scary Monsters - David Bowie (1980)
Ghost Town - The Specials (1981)
Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics (1983)
Creatures of the Night - KISS (1985)
Images: Google and a Private Collection.
You Tube Videos: VEVO.

Lyrics:  
(1) Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran (1982).
(2) Ghost Busters - Ray Parker Jr (1984).
(3) Thriller - Michael Jackson (1982).    


10 comments:

EGO said...

How nice. Sweet memories of Canada. Halloween is western nonsense.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Like the 7th Moon Festival?

EGO said...

Not at all. No ghosts and monsters.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

It's symbolism EGO. If you believe in the Good Spirit, you need to balance it by acknowledging that there are bad spirits too.

EGO said...

Human beings are good or bad, not spirits unless you imagine them; they are figures in the theatre of the mind.

MICHAEL BANGAR (RHYTHMIST SILVER STRINGS said...

HALLOWEEN. An American tradition, custom or festival what ever you might call it. It's caught on in Singapore. Here it's any excuse to celebrate anything, giving so much publicity and status to devils, ghosts and ghouls, etc.

Serious moment - words of my dad: don't worry about the dead. They are gone. They cannot harm you. Worry about the living devils, ghosts, ghouls. A lot of them are among us.

Always keep away from those who hurt you. Very true!

EGO said...

In neuroscience all this belongs to a non-material world. We are constrained by language so we talk about spirits but they are in the mind. Between good and bad are thin partitions.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Yes I follow the argument but at the same time you have also put your little Bible neatly aside. If God is the Holy Spirit how would you call him now in your our definition within constraints of the language?

Short of getting into an friendly argument with EGO I have left the episode as a cliff-hanger.

Thank you all for reading so far.

And thanks to Michael Bangar too for his contribution.

Let's get back to songs, which is this blog's priority.

C.T. (JOURNALIST) said...

Ha ha. I don't celebrate Halloween per se. But last year my wife took the kids out on "reverse' Halloween n gave sweets to the neighbours kids instead of asking for sweets.

chakap chakap said...

GHOST BUSTERS was nominated at the 57th Academy Awards for Best Original Song, but lost to Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You".

1984-1985:
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Number 6
Canadian RPM Top Singles Number 1
Canadian The Record Number 1

This song and many others were screaming the airwaves throughout Canada.