(DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC FOR FREE FROM HALLOWEENCAROLS.COM)
1. Have you heard of the Ghost of John? Long, white bones and the rest all gone! Oooooooh!
Wouldn’t it be chilly with no skin on?
2. John belongs in a quaint nightmare. Wobbly jaw and a hollow glare! Oooooooh!
Wouldn’t things look murky through sockets bare?
3. John is gone from feet to skull. Pointy elbows and clavicle! Oooooooh!
Organ Grinder: Kristen Lawrence practices on the William J. Gillespie concert organ before performing with the Pacific Symphony for its 2008 Halloween Spooktacular.
scholarly level. [Halloween] is not a schizophrenic holiday, but it’s got two faces. I think it’s because we’re so scared of death. These ancient Celts were reacting to such a frightening time of year – it’s so dark, the sun’s going away, is someone going to die in the winter in the cold and not have enough food? ... I think it’s developed as a time to laugh at death’s face and tell ourselves that we are above death. Because if you can laugh at something, psy- chologically you’re saying, ‘I’m not afraid of you.’” Though Lawrence is hoping to have the next an-
thology of carols – which she says will include songs about zombies, werewolves, ghouls and banshees – ready for Halloween 2011, she admits progress has been slow going. “I know a lot of people in the modern music world would laugh at me, but I still score by hand,”
she says. “I’m kind of old-fashioned in a lot of ways and it just feels right to score with the pencil and manuscript paper.” In the meantime, the Halloween enthusiast is look-
ing to tap into the Twilight craze with the aforemen- tioned Vampire Empire release while relentlessly promoting the fruits of her labour, particularly since it is the season. “If you look up my ‘Ghost of John’ song on Youtube,
almost every comment is from someone going, ‘I sang this in fourth grade, I love this song!’” says Lawrence of the track that can be downloaded for free on her site
halloweencarols.com. “If people have a childhood connection to something, they want to spread it. I knew that people love Halloween and if I could offer something perennial, that was my foresight that this would never end.”
Wouldn’t it be harsh to hug John’s fossil?
4. John’s not sad; he has had his day. Smile that’s fixed in a rigid way! Oooooooh!
Wouldn’t frowning be hard when lips decay?
5. John once said, “I’ve lost my head!” Empty thoughts top his spine instead. Oooooooh!
Isn’t it the truth now that he is dead?
6.Where’s the thumping of John’s red heart? Rib and muscle have grown apart! Oooooooh!
Empty echoes linger like ghostly art.
7. There’s no blood running through John’s veins. No moist sinews and no fresh brains! Oooooooh!
Who, with eager eyeballs, toward rotting deigns?
8. “Look behind you,” says John, the knave. Rattling bones never can behave! Oooooooh!
“I don’t rue the days I haunt morgue or grave.” Verse 1, Traditional
Verses 2 - 5, copyright 2008 Kristen Lawrence Verses 6 - 8, copyright 2010 Kristen Lawrence
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