If you read these blog posts for the druggy rockin’ weirdness I’m usually posting you might not know that I’m a film and art critic in real life. I love getting spooky on Insomnia in October, but the other night I found a great opportunity to fold in some of my critical writing as well.

If you didn’t know, horror actor supreme, Vincent Price, was also an O.G. art collector. Price was so serious about art that he curated a collection of affordable art prints, reproductions, and even originals for Sears, Roebuck to sell to its catalog customers. Here’s an amazing video of Price explaining the Vincent Price Collection of Fine Art to Sears employees…

This presentation is for the employees of Sears as they are being introduced to a new product to sell, that is, the art collection selected by actor Vincent Price. It is not focused on the customers of Sears, only the sales personnel at the various stores. It is not meant to be entertaining, only informational. Vincent Price and his wife since 1951 had been very active in introducing art to the students at East Los Angeles College. One of the galleries at the college is named after Mr. Price.

Here’s some more from Artist’s Network…

It was a surprise to us to learn that on October 6th, 1962, Sears unveiled an offering of original works of art for sale at its store in Denver, Colorado. Sears had commissioned famous actor and art collector, Vincent Price, to assemble a collection of art and gallery paintings that would be merchandised through its stores, making fine art more accessible to all Sears’ customers. They gave Price carte blanche to travel the world to put the collection together. After that first opening in Denver, the program was broadened with exhibits of art in ten additional Sears stores and after the first 1,500 pieces of art has been sold, it was expanded nationwide to all Sears stores. The program ended in 1971, but more than 50,000 original artworks had been sold during its time.

The Vincent Price Collection, as it was called, included gallery paintings and other works by Rembrandt, Chagall, Picasso, Whistler and many contemporary artists of the day. It included a watercolor by Andrew Wyeth and a painting by Salvador Dali commissioned by Price.

Here’s the video…

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“Welcome to the world of witchcraft, to the world of magic. Magic — the very world is magic.”

So begins this great collection of stories and lectures on witchcraft and the occult by suave cinema spook Vincent Price. The actor’s LP recording Witchcraft-Magic: An Adventure in Demonology was released in 1969 and its track list is to die for:

1. Prologue – The Tale of Master Seth
2. Hitler and Witchcraft – Witchcraft in History
3. Women as Witches – Witch Burning
4. Witch Tortures
5. Witch Tortures (continued) – The World of Spirits and Demons
6. Preparation for Magic – Instruments of Magic
7. How to Invoke Spirits, Demons, Unseen Forces – The Magic Bloodstone
8. The Witches’ Cauldron – How to Communicate with the Spirits
9. How to Communicate with the Spirits (continued) – Gerald Yorke and Necromancy
10. How to Make a Pact with the Devil – How to Become a Witch
11. Curses, Spells, Charms
12. Curses, Spells, Charms (continued) – Potions
13. The Hand of Glory – The Witches’ Sabbat
14. Witchcraft Today – Epilogue

Here’s the word from the Record Fiend…

Even though it isn’t a Halloween record per se, this two-LP set – billed as “The Secrets of Witchcraft & Magic Revealed by Vincent Price, Distinguished Actor & Demonologist” – is probably creepier than anything else that was marketed as a horror album. If you have nosy, ignorant neighbors, you might want to keep the volume down when playing this lest they think you’re preparing for a Satanic sacrifice or some other supernatural activity. Obviously, the producer of this project, Roger Karshner, could not have selected a more suitable narrator than Vincent Price, whose oratory skills and knowledge of the occult made him a perfect choice. In addition to his articulate Transatlantic-accented commentary, this album employs Douglas Leedy’s primitive synthesizer work to create sounds such as bubbling cauldrons, howling winds, and other atmospheric effects. (There are sections wherein he creates sounds very similar to David Gilmour’s electric guitar “seagull” effects featured in Pink Floyd’s “Echoes.”) In between certain passages there are chanting witches (a la Macbeth) with treated vocals, and throughout this audio adventure, the listener can hear Price’s voice move from speaker to speaker, giving it a slight psychedelic flavor. This was recorded in the late 1960s, after all. According to one source, Price read the entire 122-page text on which this album is based in a single five-hour recording session. The best sections were apparently culled from these tapes to create what you are about to hear.

Stay Awake!

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