[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-487079-105":59,"doc-detail-487079-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","monster-mash-a-fast-silly-joke-song-became-a-lasting-halloween-tradition-read-online-free","Monster Mash - A fast, silly song became a lasting Halloween tradition - read online free","","“Monster Mash” is described as a Halloween dance hit written quickly, not painstakingly—created in about an hour by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and based on his humorous Boris Karloff-style voice and the “Mashed Potato” dance. The passage explains how the playful monster theme helped the record reach number one in 1962, then return to charts despite early expectations of a post-holiday flop, becoming a yearly Halloween staple supported by spending, radio, and party music.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":15,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/monster-mash-a-fast-silly-joke-song-became-a-lasting-halloween-tradition-read-online-free/487079/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/monster-mash-a-fast-silly-joke-song-became-a-lasting-halloween-tradition-read-online-free/487079.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"dawugda","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-27","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":24},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"How did “Monster Mash” get written, according to the passage?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It was tossed together in about an hour by Bobby “Boris” Pickett, using a goofy voice impression and simple sound effects made on a shoestring budget.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why did the song climb to number one in October 1962?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Its novelty and comedy made it appealing, and it hit the top on the Billboard chart just before Halloween when listeners were ready for a monster-themed dance.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What does the passage say helps explain why the record stayed popular after Halloween?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Record companies expected it to fade, but the song kept returning to the charts because jokes timed to the season can outlive serious hits, and Halloween music helps set the party mood.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},487079,1791419664,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":14,"category_name":15,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":24,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":39,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},3985747870947,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","You'd probably guess the most stubborn Halloween hit ever recorded was written by a real musician who spent years perfecting it, right? Wrong. \"Monster Mash\" was tossed together in about an hour by a struggling actor doing a goofy voice, and it has haunted October radio for more than sixty years. The song is a bouncy dance tune where a mad scientist's laboratory experiment suddenly springs to life and invents a brand-new dance craze. Instead of terrorizing the village, the monster just wants to party, and soon every ghoul in the neighborhood is joining in. It sounds less like a horror movie and more like a costume party set to music.  \nThat silly party in a laboratory came from a very real man named Bobby \"Boris\" Pickett. Back in 1962, Pickett was a young actor in Los Angeles who liked to imitate the deep, dramatic voice of horror star Boris Karloff during his band's shows. Audiences loved the impression so much that Pickett and a friend wrote a whole song around it, using the popular \"Mashed Potato\" dance as their inspiration. To make the spooky sound effects, they rattled chains and poured water for a bubbling-cauldron gurgle, all on a shoestring budget. The finished record was pure novelty, meaning it was made to be funny rather than serious.  \nBeing funny turned out to be exactly what listeners wanted. In October of 1962, the goofy little record climbed all the way to number one on the Billboard chart, landing at the top just before Halloween. Record companies had figured that a comedy song about monsters would flop after the holiday, so almost nobody expected it to last. Instead, it came roaring back onto the charts in the years that followed, proving that a well-timed joke can outlive serious hits. Can you imagine writing something in an afternoon that people still play decades later? Pickett could.  \nRefusing to fade away is where this tune truly earned its reputation. Every autumn, as pumpkins appear on porches, radio stations dust it off and spin it again, right alongside other seasonal favorites. Some families sing \"This Is Halloween\" from a stop-motion movie, while others belt out \"Ghostbusters\" or the theme from an old vampire cartoon. These songs share a clever trick: they take something meant to be scary and make it fun enough for a school dance. That flip from frightening to festive is the whole point of Halloween music.  \nThat flip is exactly why a sixty-year-old joke still matters. Halloween has  \ngrown into one of the biggest spending holidays in the United States, with a National Retail Federation survey reporting that Americans plan to spend billions of dollars on it each year. Music helps set the mood at parties, parades, and haunted houses, turning nervous giggles into dancing. \"Monster Mash\" proved that the scariest characters can be the friendliest hosts, and that a monster on the dance floor is far more fun than one under your bed. Not bad for a tune written faster than it takes to watch a cartoon.  \nThe Monster Mash  \nName:  \n\n| Solve each problem.\u003Cbr>Use the article to answer the question.\u003Cbr>1) Which statement best captures the central idea of the passage?\u003Cbr>A. Horror movies inspired most of the popular dance crazes of the 1960s.\u003Cbr>B. Record companies carefully planned the biggest holiday hit of all time.\u003Cbr>C. A trained musician spent years crafting the perfect Halloween anthem for radio.\u003Cbr>D. A quickly written joke song became a lasting Halloween tradition by making monsters fun. |  |  |  |  | Answers\u003Cbr>1.  \u003Cbr>2.  \u003Cbr>3.   |  |  |  |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| 2) Which source does the passage name for the claim about Halloween spending?\u003Cbr>A. A National Retail Federation survey\u003Cbr>B. The Billboard music chart records\u003Cbr>C. A stop-motion movie studio study\u003Cbr>D. A Los Angeles radio station report |  |  |  |  | 4.  \u003Cbr>5.  \u003Cbr>6.  \u003Cbr>7.   |  |  |  |  |  |\n| 3) Why did Pickett and his friend build a whole song around his voice?\u003Cbr>A. A record com","cbCaipTNUWebn8A4","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipTNUWebn8A4","pdf",100724,"English","# The song’s surprising origin\n## Pickett’s voice and the “Mashed Potato” influence\n# Why it succeeded and lasted\n## Chart success around Halloween\n## The appeal of making monsters fun\n# Halloween spending and music’s role\n## Creating party mood through familiar hits","[{\"question\":\"How did “Monster Mash” get written, according to the passage?\",\"answer\":\"It was tossed together in about an hour by Bobby “Boris” Pickett, using a goofy voice impression and simple sound effects made on a shoestring budget.\"},{\"question\":\"Why did the song climb to number one in October 1962?\",\"answer\":\"Its novelty and comedy made it appealing, and it hit the top on the Billboard chart just before Halloween when listeners were ready for a monster-themed dance.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the passage say helps explain why the record stayed popular after Halloween?\",\"answer\":\"Record companies expected it to fade, but the song kept returning to the charts because jokes timed to the season can outlive serious hits, and Halloween music helps set the party mood.\"}]","Monster Mash - A fast, silly song became a lasting Halloween tradition - read online free | PDF",1790807776,12]