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Monster Mash (1962)


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Monster Mash is a song composed by Bobby “Boris” Pickett in the earl, which later became a classic halloween anthem around the globe. “Monster Mash” is narrated by a mad scientist, who’s half dead creation then rises from the surgery table to perform a swinging spooky dance, which is very closely associated with the choreography of the mashed potato.

“I was working in the lab, late one night, When my eyes beheld an eerie sight, For my monster from his slab, began to rise, And suddenly to my surprise, He did the Mash….” (Pickett)

By following the lyrics of this halloween masterpiece, one can only assume that the narrator of this song is mad alchemist Victor Frankenstein, who resurrects “the monster” after his scientific endeavor, and then begins to interact with various other spooky creatures in a playful dance (Dracula, Wolfman….).

The representation of Frankenstein in Monster Mash is far from the original, mostly due to the silly representation of the monster within the song. There is zero evidence of gore, or man-made science gone wrong within this song, if anything it seems as if the monster portrayed in the first lyric of Monster Mash is almost excited to be Frankenstein, rather than confused and angry as to why he has awakened from the dead.

Featured in Exhibit


Who Is the Monster and Who Is the Man?: The changing imagery of Frankenstein’s monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein


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Submitted by Wynne Gallahan on Wed, 12/15/2021 - 22:52

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