‘Tis the season! Where we are awash in:
- Spooky decorations
- Bad horror movies
- Pumpkin-spiced… everything
And of course, in this era of streaming, an abundance of Halloween playlists.
I started mine about 8 years ago. It features many of the songs you would expect to hear at this time of year.
(With one notable omission, because I find it annoying).
I also like to include some gems that may get overlooked. I will make a case for some of them here. At the end you will find my complete playlist, and if you feel something was unjustly left out, by all means, haunt me in the comment section.
“Boris the Spider”
The Who (1966)
Written and sung by bassist John Entwistle, who didn’t often do either. With its camp horror vocals and creepy crawlies, it’s the perfect Halloween song, but most folks, particularly younger ones, likely are not familiar with it.
“Frankenstein”
Edgar Winter Group
(1973)
Being that it’s an instrumental, some may wonder what it has to do with Halloween if they are unaware of the title. With its menacing guitars and freaky analog synth sounds, it proves it belongs on the list without ever uttering a word.
“The Ghost in You”
The Psychedelic Furs
(1984)
Admittedly, there is nothing scary or supernatural happening here, sonically or lyrically. But it vaguely references the word ghost and it’s just a great song, so it’s in. I’ve only encountered it on one other playlist, by our man Bix.
“Experiment in Terror”
Henry Mancini
(1962)
Mancini compositions do not normally evoke fear. But this one does, so much so that it was used for a horror movie show in Chicago in the 70s called Creature Features. (Thank you to Chuck Small for pointing that out in a past comment section.) I have thus far not seen it on one Halloween playlist, but I can’t help but think it has to have slithered its way onto at least a few.
“Night on Disco Mountain”
David Shire
(1977)
This disco-infused version of Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain is a fine instrumental off of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The original work effectively painted a picture of being alone on a cold, barren, wind-swept mountain in the black of night, and it was indeed frightening to me as a kid. Giving it a dance beat makes it even more intense and driving. It was always a deep cut, so I doubt it gets much attention these days, but in a perfect world, you would hear it more often this time of year.
“The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)”
Fun Boy Three
(1982)
A percussive dirge (yes, I know that sounds contradictory) that paints a very scary picture of the social and political climate at the time and is sadly still relatable today. Where it connects to Halloween is in the macabre, ghastly musical arrangement that emits hollow despair and doom, but also sounds like it belongs on the soundtrack of a creepy Tim Burton film.
“Godzilla”
Blue Öyster Cult
(1977)
Another song by this band routinely shows up on Halloween playlists: You know, the one with the cowbell. I’ve certainly included that one, but “Godzilla” should also get consideration. If a big, clunky rocker about one of the most famous scary monsters doesn’t fit here, then what does?
“Devil With the Green Eyes”
Matthew Sweet
(1993)
This wasn’t a single and is not one of Matthew Sweet’s more well-known tracks, but I heard it played on a local rock station and always loved it. The unsettling nature of the song both musically and thematically fits well with the dark tones of Halloween. If you haven’t heard this one, I implore you to check it out.
“Black Cat”
Janet Jackson
(1989)
Janet strayed from familiar ground with this hair-metal thumper, but she completely pulled it off, all the way to the top of the charts. It’s not one that seems to be currently heard in the wild too often, and it doesn’t seem to have been associated with Halloween, despite the title. No, it’s not about an actual black cat, but I don’t care. It totally rips.
“Somebody’s Knockin’”
Terri Gibbs
(1980)
A handsome stranger randomly shows up at a woman’s door. She somehow immediately recognizes him as the Devil, though his blue eyes and blue jeans are not what she would have expected from the Dark Lord himself.
Unusual subject for an easy-going commercial country/pop crossover hit, but that definitely helped it stand out at the time. Being that it has undeservedly faded into near obscurity, and it doesn’t have the word “devil” in the title, I would be very surprised to see it on many other playlists, but it definitely belongs.
“Devil Woman”
Cliff Richard
(1976)
This has all of the Halloween trappings you could want in a campy 70s hit that wasn’t written specifically for the day: A bewitching temptress, magic potions, a crystal ball, and a mysterious cat with evil eyes (I think we may currently have one of those in our house.) While it does get heard up to a point, it should be more recognizable this time of year than it is.
“The Blob”
The Five Blobs
(1958)
Co-written by Burt Bacharach as the theme song for the B-horror movie of the same name, this song has apparently been featured on countless Halloween compilations. I somehow had never heard it until just a few days ago, and now suddenly it’s essential to my very existence.
Careful. It might happen to you, too...
“The Headless Horseman”
Kay Starr
(1949)
A jazzy little number: It goes into a surprising amount of detail as to the various kinds of heads the title baddie will chop off in order to replace his. I adore it.
Here is the full playlist:
(Easter egg alert for long time commenters of The Number Ones.)
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I didn’t know all of these (“Witchy Woman” by The Hollies??), but I knew many. I am happy to say that “Boris the Spider” has always been a family favorite.
And I’m adding a few of these to my big band/swing radio show next week to give it a bit of Halloween flair! (Namely…Kay Starr’s “Headless Horseman”, Louis Armstrong’s “Spooks”, Screaming Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You”, and “The Blob”.)
Awesome, Link. Where can we listen to this radio show? Is it online?
I added one more song that you might want to consider if you don’t already have it. “The Ghost of Smokey Joe” by Cab Calloway.
Nice!
Yes, I’ve considered writing a little piece about the show, but it feels almost overly self-promoting. But V-dog has the deets correct.
One of our secondary but still very important missions around here is to help our friends and support their projects.
Link, please send me the… Link… and other information so that we can properly promote your radio program!
Link’s show can be heard at http://www.wobofm.com on Tuesdays from 6-10pm EDT. I’ve listened in a few times and it’s always fun.
Thanks, v-dog! I must check this out. Link, you should def write an article about it.
Yes. We’d love to hear the behind the scenes radio stuff.
‘The spiderman is having me for dinner tonight’.
In advance of their first new album in 16 years. Here’s some whispering gothic horror from The Cure with the misrepresentatively titled Lullaby. Definitely not one to sing the kids to sleep with.
The video ramps up the creepiness – winner of best video at the 1990 Brit Awards.
https://youtu.be/ijxk-fgcg7c?feature=shared
I could fall asleep to this!
To dream of being consumed by a giant spider while the cobweb covered band watch on.
Not any worse than the dream I had last night, which involved raw parts of a turtle being consumed by a priest. Don’t ask.
Yes. We’d love to hear the turtle being consumed by a priest behind the scenes stuff.
It was part of the interview process to become pastor at a church. An entirely new staff was being hired as well. Each person applying was required to sing a different song by the artist Pink. I wrote down the dream after I woke up so I wouldn’t forget it.
None of this was based in reality whatsoever! No idea where it came from and don’t want to know.
Don’t know if you’ve ever read Armistead Maupin’s “Tales of the City” series, but the collection “More Tales of the City” includes a storyline about transsubstantiation that would chill most horror fans.
I have not. Do you recommend?
Yes, definitely. Or, if you can find it, the miniseries which I think was originally on HBO (the first one was on public television).
This evokes a dream I once had about cannibal Quakers. I made a desperate dash for the door to avoid being eaten and made it outside alive, only to realize that I was doomed because I had left my car keys on the pew when I ran. This was the only part of the dream that rang true. That is exactly what I would do.
Terrifying.
Should we include “Timothy” by The Buoys or “DOA” by Bloodrock, or are they too icky?
Did someone say, “self promote?”
https://tnocs.com/four-legitimate-top-40-hits-that-had-no-business-being-top-40-hits/
You sick man, Bill. Have this instead.
https://www.reddit.com/r/weirdspotifyplaylists/comments/1ecvrxe/songs_with_absolutely_messed_up_meanings_need/
Yeah, probably not. I did consider DOA.
Please tell me that the Pumpkin Spice toilet paper is an mt joke. If not, that would indeed be a horror.
Thanks for the playlist, rb!
Here’s mine, if you’re interested. I haven’t updated for a while, save for one song by Slant 6. Feel free to crib any goodies, and I will do the same!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/77GIqvAofQHjqCPxaTx7A1?si=0be571e3142a4a1f
Why, I would never.
And now if you’ll excuse me, Miss Whiskers is calling…
The possibilities are endless, which considering the source, may be a tad frightening.
By the way, I would buy this product.
I went through your whole list, which is close to 3x as long as mine. You have some inspired choices on here, including some all time favorite songs of mine that I hadn’t thought of. I may indeed grab some things. We had 19 songs in common, including one mentioned in my article that I didn’t think anyone else would have, so that was cool to see.
I saw Janet Jackson early in the Rhythm Nation tour when she was still turning into a panther on stage at the end of “Black Cat”. I was not surprised when I heard a week or so later that the panther’s role was being revised.
Anyway, another Halloween song (not a cover!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTdEivAX7gI
This is fun.
I had trouble with scrolling through the list, but by any chance were The Cramps or The Misfits there? I know a lot of their stuff isn’t family friendly but you can find good options, like “Nightmare on Elm Street” by the Misfits.
https://youtu.be/6JHqBRHxWRs?si=XBHbCPpjMBlRkNDX
If you’re willing to thrash some, you could consider “Misery Loves Company” by Anthrax, which basically tells the story of the Stephen King novel (and later movie) Misery.
https://youtu.be/lkcRd6M_tHg?si=HO1Pxy7LHP65gv6R
A couple of Cramps songs were included. I kicked the tires on a different Misfits song but passed. Nightmare on Elm Street is better. I might add it.
Anthrax is an interesting suggestion. Probably stylistically a bit too heavy for this list, but a good find.
Did you see I, Tonya? Great use of “Devil Woman”. The film is very sympathetic towards Tonya Harding. But the filmmaker has some fun with her public persona.