With Halloween almost here, and people likely putting their finishing touches on spooky playlists, there are many places to find those perfect Halloween songs. Maybe they creep back into your memory every year from your childhood, or you have them on repeat all year round. Perhaps your favorite artist just released a new scary tune and you cannot get enough of it. Wherever it comes from, these songs enter our lives and become a part of our celebrations every year. Whether it is a Halloween classic, or the newest addition to your collection, they are everywhere.
There are two songs that seem to come up every year without fail. They are so essential; it would be concerning if they were missing from anybody’s playlists. The first of these is Ray Parker Jr.’s 1984 monster hit, “Ghostbusters.” Originally recorded as a theme song for the Bill Murray film of the same name, it has integrated itself into the lives of people of all ages. A fun fact about this song is that Parker was inspired to write it after watching a commercial for a local business.
The second of these songs goes back even further to 1962. It features a narration of a mad scientist who witnesses the monster he created come to life and start dancing. Of course, it is “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett. The dance that has grown from what was actually inspired by a popular dance craze of the 60s called “mashed potato.”
Not every yearly spooky dance comes from a decade that feels so distant. Current college-aged people may remember seeing the music video for China Anne McClain’s “Calling All the Monsters” appear during commercial breaks on Disney Channel. Now, it seems to reappear on Twitter timelines around this time of year. It was released in 2011 as part of the soundtrack to McClain’s TV show, “A.N.T. Farm.” It was featured in a Halloween episode of the show, and it seems to have remained prominent since then.
Not all songs are specifically made to be Halloween songs, they sort of just creep their way onto the list. Such is true for songs like Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do,” where she dresses up as a zombie in a graveyard for the video, or even Ariana Grande’s “Focus,” which was released right around Halloween and even includes some Halloween-themed promo from Grande on Twitter.
One cannot talk about Halloween without bringing up the biggest anthem of them all. Complete with an iconic music video that features a popular dance that is recreated yearly, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is rightfully never forgotten when it comes to Halloween playlists. The video refers to horror films such as “An American Werewolf in London,” and features Jackson dancing with zombies in his iconic red jacket.
Whether searching for hidden gems that aren’t often referred to as scary, or wanting to curate the perfect playlist filled with notable classics, there are songs from various times and genres that will get the job done.
