We all know the tune, that infectious, spooky anthem that practically defines Halloween for many. But have you ever stopped to wonder, beyond the catchy chorus and the playful lyrics, what the 'Monster Mash' is really all about? It’s a question that tickled my curiosity, leading me down a path that surprisingly revealed more ambiguity than concrete answers.
At its heart, the song, penned by Bobby Pickett, paints a vivid picture: a mad scientist, likely a Frankenstein figure, witnesses his creation come to life and start a wild dance. Soon, the whole castle is joining in – vampires, the Wolfman, Dracula and his son, all grooving to this new craze. A band even pops up, featuring the delightfully named Crypt-Kicker Five. Dracula, initially annoyed that the 'Monster Mash' is overshadowing the Transylvania Twist, eventually gets into the spirit and joins the band. The whole affair is declared, with great enthusiasm, a 'graveyard smash.'
But here's where it gets interesting. The narrator, who we learn might be Boris (a nod to the actor who played Frankenstein's monster, and also Pickett's nickname), is simply recounting the origin of this dance. He describes the scene, the participants, and the general vibe, but he never actually describes the dance itself, nor does he definitively state that the song we're hearing is the exact 'Monster Mash' the monsters were doing.
This ambiguity led me to seek out someone who was there from the very beginning: Darlene Love, the legendary vocalist who lent her voice to the backing vocals on Pickett's original 1962 recording. Back then, she recalls, it was just another song, a bit of fun, certainly not something they expected to endure for decades.
Love shed some light on the dance itself. The 'Monster Mash' emerged shortly after Dee Dee Sharp's 'Mashed Potato Time,' a massive dance craze. "We did the Mash, and you just did it a little more funnier and weirder by doing the mash, just doing the mash like Dee Dee Sharp did it," she explained. "They did the mash like they were monsters. They just did the mash, like the Mashed Potato. Only, they did with their arms flinging, and making all kinds of crazy moves." So, it was a dance, a monster-themed twist on the Mashed Potato, characterized by wild, flailing movements.
But the bigger question remained: are we hearing the actual 'Monster Mash' from the song's narrative, or just the narrator's interpretation? Love leaned towards interpretation. "I think it's the interpretation of it," she told me. "I really do, because I think you can make this all about anything. I don't think Bobby figured this song would be a hit either. I think they're going there with the idea that this is a cute song, let's record it."
And the ultimate question: have we ever heard the real 'Monster Mash'? "No we haven’t," Love confirmed. "You make whatever you want of it when you hear it. But whatever you do, do some kind of mash."
So, it seems the 'Monster Mash' is indeed a song and a dance craze, a playful concept that has captured our imaginations. But the true, original 'Monster Mash' that inspired the song? That remains a delightful mystery, forever lost in the spooky, fun-filled night of the song's narrative, leaving us to create our own version with every listen.
