Comments on: "I don't know, Scoob, I don't think we should explore that quicklime-filled elevator shaft."

Question: "I don't know, Scoob, I don't think we should explore that quicklime-filled elevator shaft."

user92371 — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 18:50:47 -0800

A question about a spooky musical composition.

There is an oft-used musical sequence that (usually) accompanies someone walking on tip-toe or cautiously advancing through a theoretically haunted household, or is used to "sweeten" an animation during which the main characters take long pauses in action to deepen the suspense/meet budgetary constraints. You will find more about this, and a sample "mp3" file, here.

I'm not sure that it actually has a name, but I figure it's been used enough that some name may have been slapped on it by now for easy identification.

By: sourwookie

sourwookie — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 19:01:12 -0800

1, b3, 5, 8, b6-----------,54b321

It's an ascending minor arpeggio followed by a quick (minor) diatonic walk from the 5th to the root.

A name? I dunno.

By: lalalana

lalalana — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 20:52:22 -0800

To me, the lyrics are, "We are here you scare you-ho-ho-ho!" which seems to be part of this kids' poem, The Pumpkin Seed. Probably has other origins beyond this...

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 20:55:50 -0800

Oh, wow. I was wondering this the other day. I was a cartoon thief for Mardi Gras (racoon mask, striped shirt, etc.) and was humming this while sneaking past people. No answer here, but eagerly awaiting one.

By: user92371

user92371 — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 21:13:22 -0800

I did some googlin' with Lalalana's lyric and found this excellent page which has an mp3 as well! "Haunted House Blues," Bessie Smith, 1923! Who knew. Lotta good stuff on that website there.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 00:28:03 -0800

There's also a discussion about this exact musical phrase -- what they dub the "minor motive," on Dr. Mysterian's blog here. Nobody, it seems, knows the exact source of it.

By: user92371

user92371 — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 10:57:52 -0800

But at least they've pushed it farther back to a 1915 vaudeville sketch found here at the Library of Congress website. Thanks for finding that!