ONE OF MY FAVOURITE VAMPIRES FROM MY YOUTH IS COUNT MORBIDA. Now, you've probably never heard of him. Unless, of course, you were a kid back in the 70's (like me) and bought DYNAMITE magazine at school from those Scholastic Book catalogues. In the back pages of Dynamite every month was a two page comic/puzzle page featuring Count Morbida and his "lizard-like lady" Horribella. Between threats to gobble we kids up, Morbida would have puzzles and word games which, if we didn't answer them correctly, we'd never get out of his clutches alive! Of course, we always managed to solve the puzzles and escape -- much to the Count's chagrin.

Probably the best aspect was the day in 1975 when Dynamite chose to insert an Eva-tone soundsheet (flexible record) bound into the magazine with a 6+ minute recording called "COUNT MORBIDA'S CHAMBER OF HORRORS". Remember those soundsheets -- when you'd have to place a couple coins on the thing so it would play on the record player??? Anywho, naturally I've had the record all these years and listen to it every Halloween --ESPECIALLY since now I even have it on my ipod! Heh heh heh. Sick, ain't I? That way I can listen to Morbida's (not too lightweight) threats (the vampire meant business) and also hear the Count and Horribella duet on the lovely "Green Slime" (sung to the tune of "Greensleeves"): "Green slime is my delight/it oozes over my grave at night..." God, I love that record. I think I'll go listen to it now!