Elvira Presents Haunted Hits
If you made a list of people who could create the perfect Halloween soundtrack album, chances are pretty good that the Mistress of the Dark would rank mighty high on it. This collection--which not only bears her name but also closes on her performance of "Full Moon"--brings together a passel of Elvira-sanctioned holiday favorites, tinged with spooky subtext and powerful as a sugar high. Early rock classics like "Haunted House" by Jumpin' Gene Simmons (not the Kiss fella but a bluesman who's even older) and Screamin' Jay Hawkins's "I Put a Spell on You" comprise the bulk of the set, but folks like Alice Cooper (whose "Welcome to My Nightmare" is included) also pop up like skeletons from the closet.--David Sprague