Street Fighter has “Hadouken!”, AOL had “You’ve got mail”, and Spider-Man 2 has this. Some sounds are so well-known that it’s impossible to disassociate them from their respective media. And then there’s sound effects that are so iconic, people forgot where they came from.
“Castle Thunder” is a sound effect first recorded for Frankenstein in 1931. By now it’s been used in so many movies and TV series that many of your less film-savvy friends might not even realize when they hear it. But since you’re there to point out all the little details they don’t know (trust me, they love it), every time it crashes onscreen you’ll be there to smile in recognition like Ygor at a severed limb.
But wait. Before you jump up from the couch and knock the popcorn out of cousin Timmy’s hands in your excitement, there’s something you must know. Though “Castle Thunder” was recorded for Frankenstein, that film wasn’t released until November 21, 1931. Universal had other movies in production at the time Frank was filming, so why not throw the same sound effect in another movie that’s closer to release?
Yes, Frankenstein wasn’t the first movie to feature “Castle Thunder”. On August 1, 1931, Universal released East of Borneo, a jungle-themed melodrama film that features an erupting volcano in it’s climactic scene. For the sound of lava shooting out of the bowels of the earth, the effect recorded for Frankenstein was used. You can hear what sounds like an edited version of the sound effect at the 1:14:10 mark in the movie.
It’s unclear who recorded “Castle Thunder”. Sound engineers C. Roy Hunter and William Hedgcock worked in the sound department on Frankenstein, along with many other Universal films at the time. They may have been responsible for the sound effect, but the only way to truly know would be to break into the archives room at Universal Studios to do some digging. I’m not going through that again.
Thankfully, the sound effect itself isn’t buried in a dusty archives room and has become a “Wilhelm Scream” in its own right. Though “Castle Thunder” is an heirloom straight from the dark corridors of a classic horror film, it’s use afterwards has been in mostly non-horror movies. Did you know you’ve heard it in outer space? Check out the 3:05 mark of the space battle from A New Hope.
How about when you traveled back to your own time from 1955 and a clocktower got struck by lightning (0:55 mark)?
That time you ran into the Three Storms in an alley way (0:54).
Every time you investigate a wannabe-vampire’s hideout (1:31).
Or even when you’re relaxing in a theme park (2:15).
The cinematic list goes on. Other alumni schooled by “Castle Thunder” include:
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture
- Young Frankenstein
- Ghostbusters
- Citizen Kane
- Bambi
- Short Circuit
- The Monster Squad
The crashing sound effect isn’t used as prominently in many modern films—it doesn’t mesh too well with the improvements in sound quality, and some engineers accuse it of being a cliché.
Whether you agree with them or see “Castle Thunder” as an homage to the days of classic horror, this little sound has probably been in more movies than Sir Anthony Hopkins, and deserves its place in the reliquary of Hollywood. Now if you’ll excuse me…I need to go change my ringtone.