🎃 A Spook-tacular Playlist to Boogie to at Halloween! 👻
Get ready to raise your spirits, because this Halloween season, we’re introducing our hallowed Halloween playlist, full of fang-tastic spooky tunes! Whether you’re hosting a monster mash or just need a soundtrack to your haunted house of horrors, we’ve got the playlist that’ll make any ghoul gyrate.
From bone-rattling beats to ghostly grooves, these songs are sure to send chills down your spine—and maybe even raise the dead (or at least your energy). So, grab your broomsticks and leave those cobwebs, because it’s time to get your claws into the most frightfully fun Halloween music!
A few years ago, we compiled a Christmas playlist, which we’ve continued to add to as the years go by. We enjoy playing our playlist in the office every year in the build-up to the seasonal festivities. Whilst preparing some updates to that list we decided it would be a great idea to put together a Halloween themed playlist to listen to as the night grow darker, and we prepare for trick or treating! (What do you mean we’re too old?!)
The play list is above ⬆️
We would like to point out that the videos were uploaded to YouTube by 3rd parties, so we have no control over the content or any advertising that appears on the videos etc (and we don’t get a penny from any of the adverts either). We try to go with official videos, but sometimes that’s not possible. We’ll update the list every year, mainly to make sure the videos are still there, but also to add some new songs and mix the order up a little. Oh, and the odd song might have some “potty language” in. We’ll try to point this out where possible, but the odd one might slip past our ears.
⬇️ Here’s a detailed track breakdown to sink your fangs in to!
We start with a timeless party-starter – Backstreet Boys‘ Everybody (Backstreet’s Back). Whilst the lyrics aren’t spooky in any way, the video absolutely is.
What kind of Halloween part are you having if you don’t do the Monster Mash? This classic by Bobby Pickett will never get old.
Michael Jackson‘s Thriller. MJ was a cornerstone of the music charts as I was growing up, and through the 80s he earnt his title as the king of pop. I almost put Lenny Henry “taking the Michael” with his parody of Thriller, partly because it was pretty good, but also because the video was shorter!
The Purple People Eater, a novelty song in the late 1950s by Sheb Wooley. Okay, I can actually tie this one to Christmas as well, via the form of a tentative link. When you’re a kid, one of the highlights of the festive season was going along to see Father Christmas, telling him what you would like for Christmas that year. Waaaaay back in the early 1980s, when I went to the big fella, I got so nervous that when he asked my name I blurted out my hoped-for gift choice instead! And that item? The Purple People Eater board game! I never received the game.
Rockwell‘s Somebody’s Watching Me always reminds me of the early hit compilation tapes of the 1980s, probably because it was one of the songs I was most pleased to find on the 2-cassette compilation, Now That’s What I Call Music 4. I played the 2nd cassette first it in my new Walkman on Christmas day 1984 so I could listen to this song. Also on this tape was Ray Parker Jr‘s Ghostbusters theme song. This paranormal classic just has to make the list.
Sandwiched in between these we have the brilliant Harry Belafonte with Day-O (Banana Boat Song). In itself, this hardly qualifies as a Halloween or spooky song in any way, shape or form, however, if you’ve watched Beetlejuice you’ll know why it’s on here!
Next up is a live version of David Bowie‘s Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), which was on his 1980 album of the same name. The album also included Ashes to Ashes, and Fashion.
It was a pleasing surprise whilst researching for this article to find Grim Grinning Ghosts recorded by Canadian musicians, Barenaked Ladies. This is the theme song for the Haunted Mansion and its attractions at Disney theme parks. You’ll will need to turn up the volume for this one as it’s a quiet recording.
This has to be followed with another Disney video; The Skeleton Dance, one of Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies.
This next one was a new one for us. For their 2023 song, Dracula’s Wedding, Outkast (of Hey Ya! fame) team up with Kelis.
Probably our favourite song on this list, His Kingly Cave, by Frank Black (aka Black Francis of Pixies) and the Catholics, has such an eerie vibe and on-theme lyrics (for example, They laughed at their mistake
as their skin began to crawl and I scream, I scream for all) , we hope you’ll understand why it’s in here (and we’re pretty sure you’ll enjoy it too).
I know Black Francis was heavily inspired by The Ramones, which is why Pet Sematary (yes, that is how they spelt it) follows. I think we have Stephen King to blame for this spelling of cemetery as it’s likely The Ramones were paying homage to King, who intentionally used this phonetic spelling.
Danish duo The Ravonettes‘ Attack of the Ghost Riders is less, despite the title, less spooky than the rest of the list, but we like it, so it stays. This tune is swiftly followed by American band, The Cramps, with rockabilly-style tune, I was a Teenage Werewolf.
Indie Rock lo-fi pioneers, Sonic Youth, bring us some calm in the middle of cauldron of cacophony, with the mellow, sleepy track, Halloween.
Next up is Blue Oyster Cult, with Don’t Fear The Reaper. Another mellow track, which steadily grows in sound and harmony, until around 2.43 the amps are ramped and the mythical devil’s musical axe is wielded.
Bauhaus‘ debut single, Bela Lugosi’s Dead, set in motion the gothic rock music movement. It takes a while to get going, and at 9 minutes and 36 seconds, it is pretty darn long too (there are shorter versions), the slowly creeping undulating atmospherics of this song (named after legendary the horror movie actor) make it a perfect addition to our playlist.
Another track named simply, Halloween, comes from Seattle grunge band, Mudhoney. Not for the faint-hearted, Mudhoney’s fuzzy guitars and rasping vocals crash acerbic, barbed lyrics against your ears. Oh, and there’s some “potty language” in this one.
It’s no coincidence that we follow up with another track carrying a parental lyric warning. Punk Ska band, The Mighty Bosstones invite us to join the Devil’s Night Out.
Staying true to form, Radiohead‘s Burn The Witch, is an odd, haunting, creeping, but brilliant. We love the Trumpton style stop-motion video, which turns from the innocence of Camberwick Green in to The Wicker Man.
If we skimmed over their track-listing catalogue, there are probably quite a few of Iron Maiden‘s songs that could appear on our Halloween playlist, but The Number of the Beast is probably the everyone knows.
A song called Dracula (by Gorillaz) pretty much nominates itself for inclusion.
Well this is an oddity. My Solution is a novelty track recorded by The Beach Boys during the early sessions for their 1971 album, Surf’s Up. It was never released (though probably made it’s was on to a “sessions” album), but it sounded familiar (Brian Wilson reworked the melody for one of his solo songs 27yrs later).
Finding this next track, You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween, was a bit of a bonus, as it has all the hallmarks of a typical Muse song, but layered with a spooky affection.
As we’ve already got songs on here that aren’t strictly Halloween tracks, we have these next two too. Their titles ticks a box anyway and some of the lyrics touch on death/afterlife too. So, enjoy Evanescence‘s Bring Me To Life followed Chvrches with Graves.
Okay, back to something rocky. With rasping vocals, Reef bite hard with Wolfman.
Weird Al Yankovic could also have been included for his Thriller parody, but we found another one which, in typical Weird Al fashion, is just good fun! The track is called Nature Trail To Hell.
I asked my high school mates for suggestions and they managed to come up wit one I’d over-looked: MC Hammer‘s Addams Groove. To be fair to me, as a song it’s not the most memorable, but it’s catchy enough and The Addams Family is up there with creepy stuff.
We started with pure, unadulterated pop, so we’ll finish with it too. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a bit Rhianna anyway. A track called Disturbia seems a good note to end on.
We hope you enjoyed our Halloween playlist. We’ll endeavour to add to it every year – If you have any suggestions please let us know.
🎃 Where to next?
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