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SONG: "The Dead Man's Bell" by Static Wax
Published 14 hours ago
Description
Based on the story, "The Strange Burial of Alexander Jordan" from the #RetroRadio episode, "The Burial of Alexander Jordan: The Coffin Bell That Rang Six Nights After the Funeral." Find more music from Static Wax at https://weirddarkness.com/music.
Old Alexander Jordan, terrified of being buried alive during one of his cataleptic fits, rigs a bell from his crypt to his nephew's bedroom — so that if he wakes inside the coffin, he can ring for help. But his nephew Ramsey has been waiting a long time to inherit the Jordan place, and a bell that rings in the dead of night can be silenced more than one way.
ABOUT THE SONG: "The Dead Man's Bell" is a smoky funeral blues in the 1944 tradition — minor key, mournful muted trumpet, weeping clarinet, walking upright bass, brushed drums, and a tolling brass bell threaded through the arrangement like a second heartbeat. The narrator lays the tale out from a detached, knowing distance, the way a bartender or an undertaker might tell it across a quiet room after the lights go down. It's a song about a man who built his own escape hatch from the grave, the wicked nephew who silenced it, and the ironic fate that sealed them both inside a stone vault no living soul could open.
ABOUT THE EPISODE" The song is drawn from Creeps by Night — "The Strange Burial of Alexander Jordan," originally broadcast July 13, 1944, on the Blue Network and hosted by the anonymous "Dr. X." This episode starred celebrated English character actor Edmund Gwenn — who would later win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Miracle on 34th Street — in the role of Ramsey, with Everett Sloan as Alexander Jordan, Abby Lewis as Martha, and Gregory Morton as Dr. Rutledge. The story turns on one of the oldest human fears — premature burial — and the elaborate precautions a wealthy old man takes to make sure it never happens to him. Whether those precautions save him, doom him, or do something stranger still, you'll have to listen to find out. The full original episode airs on Weird Darkness Retro Radio.
ABOUT STATIC WAX: Static Wax is a music project from Weird Darkness, where every track is an original song written and produced in the musical style of the era that produced the vintage radio episode it draws from. A 1944 horror drama gets a 1944-styled funeral blues. A 1955 tale gets doo-wop or rockabilly. A 1968 episode gets garage rock. The songs aren't covers, parodies, or pastiches — they're original compositions designed to feel like records that could have been pressed the same year as the broadcast they honor.
ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS RECORDS: Static Wax is one of several music projects produced under Weird Darkness Records, the music arm of Marlar House Productions and the Weird Darkness brand. Sister projects include Dark Weirdness (modern dark music in a punk-pop-rock style), Crossroads Haint (Southern gothic and Americana ghost songs), and Incorruption (Christian rock). All Weird Darkness Records releases are available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and every other major streaming platform — search "Weird Darkness Records" or any band name to find the full catalog.
Old Alexander Jordan, terrified of being buried alive during one of his cataleptic fits, rigs a bell from his crypt to his nephew's bedroom — so that if he wakes inside the coffin, he can ring for help. But his nephew Ramsey has been waiting a long time to inherit the Jordan place, and a bell that rings in the dead of night can be silenced more than one way.
ABOUT THE SONG: "The Dead Man's Bell" is a smoky funeral blues in the 1944 tradition — minor key, mournful muted trumpet, weeping clarinet, walking upright bass, brushed drums, and a tolling brass bell threaded through the arrangement like a second heartbeat. The narrator lays the tale out from a detached, knowing distance, the way a bartender or an undertaker might tell it across a quiet room after the lights go down. It's a song about a man who built his own escape hatch from the grave, the wicked nephew who silenced it, and the ironic fate that sealed them both inside a stone vault no living soul could open.
ABOUT THE EPISODE" The song is drawn from Creeps by Night — "The Strange Burial of Alexander Jordan," originally broadcast July 13, 1944, on the Blue Network and hosted by the anonymous "Dr. X." This episode starred celebrated English character actor Edmund Gwenn — who would later win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Miracle on 34th Street — in the role of Ramsey, with Everett Sloan as Alexander Jordan, Abby Lewis as Martha, and Gregory Morton as Dr. Rutledge. The story turns on one of the oldest human fears — premature burial — and the elaborate precautions a wealthy old man takes to make sure it never happens to him. Whether those precautions save him, doom him, or do something stranger still, you'll have to listen to find out. The full original episode airs on Weird Darkness Retro Radio.
ABOUT STATIC WAX: Static Wax is a music project from Weird Darkness, where every track is an original song written and produced in the musical style of the era that produced the vintage radio episode it draws from. A 1944 horror drama gets a 1944-styled funeral blues. A 1955 tale gets doo-wop or rockabilly. A 1968 episode gets garage rock. The songs aren't covers, parodies, or pastiches — they're original compositions designed to feel like records that could have been pressed the same year as the broadcast they honor.
ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS RECORDS: Static Wax is one of several music projects produced under Weird Darkness Records, the music arm of Marlar House Productions and the Weird Darkness brand. Sister projects include Dark Weirdness (modern dark music in a punk-pop-rock style), Crossroads Haint (Southern gothic and Americana ghost songs), and Incorruption (Christian rock). All Weird Darkness Records releases are available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and every other major streaming platform — search "Weird Darkness Records" or any band name to find the full catalog.