[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-487082-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":85,"doc-detail-487082-en":135},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":78,"head_meta":80,"extra_data":82,"updated_unix":84},105,"en","monster-mash-halloween-novelty-song-reading-questions","Monster Mash - Halloween Novelty Song Reading Questions","","Reading passage explains how “Monster Mash” became a decades-long Halloween favorite. It describes the song’s comedic setup, Bobby Pickett’s croaky horror-movie-style voice, and how a crowd’s reaction helped shape the finished recording. The passage covers chart success in October 1962, radio bans, later returns to the charts in the 1970s, and why families keep it as a seasonal tradition, linking Halloween music to a playful, non-scary mood.",{"@graph":14,"@context":77},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/","Exam",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/monster-mash-halloween-novelty-song-reading-questions/487082/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/monster-mash-halloween-novelty-song-reading-questions/487082.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"dawugda","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69,73],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What detail best shows how long “Monster Mash” has stayed popular?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The passage states that it returns to the charts every October for more than sixty years (choice B).","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the phrase “a costume for your ears” affect the reader’s understanding?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It explains that a good Halloween song lets listeners enjoy a chill without real fear (choice C).",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Why did Bobby Pickett keep building the song’s spooky-but-silly sound?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The crowd loved his horror-voice impression, and that enthusiasm led him to create the whole song around the spooky voice (choice C).",{"name":74,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":75},"What source does the passage cite for how much Americans spend on Halloween?",{"text":76,"@type":64},"It cites National Retail Federation surveys (choice B).","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":79,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":81,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":83,"site_id":7},487082,1790946000,{"code":4,"msg":86,"data":87},"success",[88,92,96,99,104,109,114,119,124,127,131],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},70,"exam",{"id":100,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":120,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":122,"slug":123},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":122,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":122,"slug":126},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":128,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":128,"slug":130},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":100,"slug":134},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":86,"data":136},{"doc_id":83,"user_id":137,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":138,"doc_module":4,"category_id":33,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":139,"file_id":140,"file_url":141,"file_type":142,"file_size":143,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":128,"language":144,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":145,"faqs":146,"seo_title":147,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":148,"read_time":149,"preview_page_count":4},3985747870947,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","Here is a song that has been climbing back onto the charts every October for over sixty years, which is longer than most of your grandparents have been alive. It is called\"Monster Mash,\" and it is basically a comedy sketch set to music. A monster wakes up ina laboratory, invents a new dance craze, and soon a whole crowd of creatures is grooving along at a midnight party. The singer performs the whole thing in a low, croaky voice that sounds a lot like an old horror-movie actor. There is nothing scary about it at all; it is a joke that happens to have a beat you can dance to.  \nThat famous croaky voice belonged to a struggling actor named Bobby Pickett, who  \nrecorded the song in 1962. Pickett had spent his childhood in his father's movie theater in Massachusetts, memorizing the voices of horror stars like Boris Karloff. One night, while performing with his band, he did his Karloff impression during a song, and the crowd loved it. He and a bandmate, Lenny Capizzi, wrote \"Monster Mash\" in about an hour, spinning the whole story around that spooky-but-silly voice. Because of his impression, Pickett gave himself a monster-sized nickname: Bobby \"Boris\" Pickett.  \nThat homemade recording did something almost no one expected from a joke song. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1962, just in time for Halloween. Radio stations across the country played it constantly, partly because it fit the season and partly because it was simply funny. At first, though, some British radio stations actually banned it, deciding it was too morbid for the airwaves. They eventually changed their minds, and the song became a hit there too, years after it was popular in America.  \nBeing banned did not stop it; if anything, it turned the song into a legend. What makes \"Monster Mash\" unusual is that it keeps coming back, charting again and again in 1970 and 1973 as new listeners discovered it. Most number-one songs fade after a few months, but this one found a permanent home on the calendar. Every autumn, stores, parties, and school dances pull it out like a box of decorations from the attic. A song built as a one-time gag became something people expect to hear, the way you expect pumpkins on porches.  \nPumpkins are not the only thing you will find alongside it, because Halloween  \nnow has a whole playlist of its own. Families sing along to spooky-fun tunes like \"This Is Halloween\" from astop-motion film, or the theme from \"Ghostbusters,\" or Michael Jackson's \"Thriller. \" These songs share the same trick that made Pickett's hit work: they take something creepy and make it playful instead of frightening. According to National Retail Federation surveys, Americans spend billions of dollars on Halloween each year, and music is part of how they set the mood. A good Halloween song is like a costume for your ears, letting you enjoy a chill without any real fear.  \nThat idea of enjoying a friendly scare is exactly why this old novelty song refuses to retire. Bobby Pickett kept performing it for the rest of his life, and he even released holiday-themed versions over the years. He once joked that the song was the graveyard smash that kept on giving, since it earned him a steady paycheck every single October. Think about that: a tune written in about an hour, mostly as a laugh, has now  \noutlived its own creator and shows no sign of stopping. Not bad for a monster who just wanted to throw a dance party.  \nThe Monster Mash  \nName:  \n\n| Solve each problem.\u003Cbr>Use the article to answer the question.\u003Cbr>1) Which detail best shows how long \"Monster Mash\" has stayed popular?\u003Cbr>A. It stayed at number one for more than sixty weeks in a row.\u003Cbr>B. It has returned to the charts every October for more than sixty years.\u003Cbr>C. It was played on more than sixty radio stations in one night.\u003Cbr>D. It has been recorded by more than sixty different artists. |  |  |  |  | Answers\u003Cbr>1.  \u003Cbr>2.  \u003Cbr>3.   |  |  |  |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | -","cbCailNpRCQMg8k5","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCailNpRCQMg8k5","pdf",102861,"English","# Reading Passage\n## Comedic origin and performance style\n## Popularity and chart history\n## Halloween music as a playful scare\n## Discussion questions (multiple choice)","[{\"question\":\"What detail best shows how long “Monster Mash” has stayed popular?\",\"answer\":\"The passage states that it returns to the charts every October for more than sixty years (choice B).\"},{\"question\":\"How does the phrase “a costume for your ears” affect the reader’s understanding?\",\"answer\":\"It explains that a good Halloween song lets listeners enjoy a chill without real fear (choice C).\"},{\"question\":\"Why did Bobby Pickett keep building the song’s spooky-but-silly sound?\",\"answer\":\"The crowd loved his horror-voice impression, and that enthusiasm led him to create the whole song around the spooky voice (choice C).\"},{\"question\":\"What source does the passage cite for how much Americans spend on Halloween?\",\"answer\":\"It cites National Retail Federation surveys (choice B).\"}]","Monster Mash - Halloween Novelty Song Reading Questions | PDF",1790807782,25]