It’s Halloween week, so let’s do a quick Top Ten of my favourite Halloween songs! Let me know if you know of other good songs to play around Halloween, as I’m looking to expand my playlist, but these are the top ones that I have on my list at the moment.
Honourable Mentions
Stranger Things Theme Tune – I absolutely love this theme tune. It is so, so good. It doesn’t quite make my list for Halloween though. It’s quite short and perhaps isn’t quite spooky enough. I will certainly play it around Halloween but it doesn’t quite make my Top Ten.
Sympathy For The Devil – The Rolling Stones – There is something quite spooky and ethereal about the ‘Woo Woos’ in the backing vocals, and they are singing about the devil, but as the song is quite mainstream and is played all year round, it also doesn’t quite make my Halloween list.
Camouflage – Stan Ridgeway – Not a song you might associate with Halloween, but it is pretty spooky when you listen to the lyrics as it’s about a ghost soldier.
Hotel California – The Eagles – I’m clutching at straws with this one really. Definitely wasn’t going to make my Halloween list but it does have a slightly haunting sound and is also about a hotel you can never leave, so always reminds me slightly of The Shining.
Zombie – The Cranberries – Well it’s called Zombie so I thought I would add it.
The Munsters Theme Tune – This one genuinely nearly made my list. It was no.11.
10 – The Addams Family Theme Tune
To be honest I was more of a Munsters guy, in terms of the TV shows, but I totally concede that The Addams Family has the best theme tune. It’s so well known that my kids even learn the days of the week using a version of the Addams Family song.
9 – Purple People Eater – George Thorogood
I think I actually first heard this song in the film Contact. The original was by Sheb Wooley and the version in Contact is by Jimmy Buffett, but I prefer this version by the rock legend George Thorogood.
8 – Ghost Town – The Specials
I don’t really know too much about The Specials or about this song but it’s definitely one of my go to songs at Halloween. It’s obviously about a Ghost Town of some sorts but it does have a bit of a spooky vibe to the music too.
7 – The Phantom of the Opera – Andrew Lloyd Webber
I’m pretty sure this got released as a single around 1987 and I think we owned it as a vinyl single. I didn’t really know too much about the stage play but I always enjoyed the title track and as it’s kind of monster related it seems appropriate for Halloween.
6 – I Put A Spell On You – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
There are loads of different cover versions of Nina Simone’s classic song, and this is certainly one of the most interesting ones. I really do want to learn a bit more about Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. The chap looks like an interesting personality to say the least. Great Halloween song too.
5 – Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell
I love this track. It comes across as quite playful in parts but is also a really great music track. And I still can’t believe it’s got Michael Jackson on backing vocals.
4 – Monster Mash – Bobby Pickett
I’ve always loved this song. A classic monster tune. Great fun in the lyrics but still stands up as having a spooky sound to it too.
3 – Halloween theme – John Carpenter
John Williams is undoubtedly the king of movie scores, with several iconic motifs to his name. But John Carpenter, as well as being a writer/director, produced some stunning scores himself. This Halloween one is an absolute classic and is perfect for creating the tense atmosphere for the movie.
2 – Ghostbusters – Ray Parker Jr
It may not be a totally spooky sounding music track (although the intro does have a great spooky vibe), but Ghostbusters surely has to be high up on any Halloween playlist.
1 – Thriller – Michael Jackson
And I think you would be hard pressed to find any Halloween playlist that doesn’t have Thriller as no.1. An incredible music track with the typical Quincy Jones/Michael Jackson quality. But also a very spooky track what with all the wolf howls, creaking doors and the absolutely incredible Vincent Price monologue and cackle right at the end. And a ground-breaking music video/short film to boot. Perfect Halloween tune.