Beyond all the geeky and creepy things I love, my first love will always be music, which is why when author Jim Magus reached out last month asking if I would be interested in a copy of his new book “Monster Jukebox: A History of Spooky Music” for review I jumped at the chance.
The over 400-page book chronicles the broad category of “horror music” dating back as far as the year 1200 all the way up to 2019 and spans over a dozen genres ranging from classical and calypso to folk, rock and everything in between.
Each chapter breaks the book into a timeline with early chapters spanning centuries or decades of music, with some of the later chapters entirely dedicated to a specific years thanks to the sheer volume of music Magus has unearthed as part of his research.
If you’re looking for a book that does a deep dive into horror music, its cultural significance or its place in pop culture that’s not really the kind of history this book provides, though there are times where Magus does give deeper context around how spooky music fits into a period’s popular culture. Though these types of anecdotes are saved for the most notable shifts in music and culture and are not really the core emphasis of the book.
The book instead reads like a menu of horror music with each chapter listing the relevant songs from that particular era and providing some context around the songs’ origins, release, composer, and any other bits of trivia Magus felt were relevant to the song and its release.
Magus’ knowledge on the subject of “horror music” really shines in the early and mid-1900s where some of the meatier chapters live. The sheer breadth of music collected here and information shared is enough to keep a music collector or listener busy for quite some time.
I was admittedly disappointed to see the limited representation of metal, punk, rap and similar more modern genres, however, Magus does acknowledge this blind spot in the book’s introduction, citing personal taste and overall knowledge of the genres as part of the reason for their absence, which I can respect.
If you’re just a casual Halloween reader or Halloween and horror music fan I don’t know that you’ll appreciate this book as much as its intended audience, but if you are a die-hard music lover, Halloween music collector, or just a lover of spooky music I would say this title is definitely worth the $40 plus shipping to pick up.
There are easily over a thousand songs highlighted in this book and even the most avid Halloween music lover will find new tracks to seek out. Some good, some bad, but worth seeking out nonetheless. In fact, I think some of the fun of this book is seeing if you can uncover some of these hidden gems yourself. I personally found that YouTube and library sites wound up being a treasure trove for some of this stuff, especially the stuff out of the early 1900s. This book is sure to help you find something to add to your next spooky playlist or grow your spooky vinyl or CD collection substantially with songs from numerous genres, decades, and artists.
“Monster Jukebox: A History of Spooky Music” is available now on Lulu.com for $40 plus shipping.
