I could very well imagine how people very genuinely scared by this 85 years ago, especially those moments where the animated skeletons quickly approach the camera and thus directly communicate with the viewer. People are afraid of things they don't understand and those who saw this Silly Symphony cartoon right after its release in 1929 have probably only come across very few pieces of animation or horror at this point, if any at all. The setting is of course a cemetery and it's the perfect scenario. Right at the beginning the early owl comes off as truly creepy, but gets her blood run cold shortly afterward too.
After some canine howling and cat-fighting to emphasize the atmosphere, the skeleton dance show finally begins. And the quartet are delivering quite the show any human at a nearby dance-club could learn a lesson from. Unrestrained dancing, jumping and music-making ensues and the poor cats and owls end up being abused as musical instruments right until the cock announces the break of dawn and the party guests quickly return to their graves.
After some canine howling and cat-fighting to emphasize the atmosphere, the skeleton dance show finally begins. And the quartet are delivering quite the show any human at a nearby dance-club could learn a lesson from. Unrestrained dancing, jumping and music-making ensues and the poor cats and owls end up being abused as musical instruments right until the cock announces the break of dawn and the party guests quickly return to their graves.