Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?

That question is never answered in the Halloween story song “Monster Mash,” released in 1962 and memorably performed by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers. But perhaps the story will be told in the upcoming animated feature film based on the song, which will be produced by Miramax and Universal Pictures.

Pickett wrote “Monster Mash” with Lenny Capizzi, and it more than just another novelty song; it remains as popular now as it was back in the 1960s, generating millions of streams during Spooky Season, which translates into about $1 million dollars in royalties annually.

“Monster Mash” was first released in August 1962 and spent two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart that October. Since then, it has reentered the charts numerous times around the Halloween season, most recently hitting #37 in 2021.

If you don’t know the song, it’s about a mad scientist who sees his creature rise from the slab in the laboratory to performs a new dance move, attracting party monsters like Dracula, the Wolf Man and other assorted ghouls, zombies and vampires to a party that’s a bonafide graveyard smash. Billboard Magazine recently crowned “Monster Mash” as the “Biggest Halloween Song of All Time.”

Miramax CEO Jonathan Glickman has optioned the rights to “Monster Mash” into an animated musical, but no plot or casting details are known at this time. Music video director Matt Stawski will helm the movie and Will Widger is scripting using the song’s lyrics as a guide.

“For more than 60 years, nothing has said Halloween quite like the ‘Monster Mash,’” said Glickman in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be entrusted by the Pickett and Capizzi families and to be partnering with Reservoir Media to bring this iconic song to life as an animated musical for all audiences. It’s a project that celebrates the fun and spirit of the original — and should become a perennial ‘graveyard smash’ for years to come.”

In 1995, Prism Pictures produced a live-action movie musical that was based on both the “Monster Mash” song and the stage musical I’m Sorry the Bridge is Out; You’ll Have to Spend the Night, also written by Bobby Pickett along with Sheldon Allman. Pickett starred as Dr. Frankenstein in the film.