Ten songs to get the spooky party started
Are you preparing a song set for your Halloween party? Are you in charge for the music at your friend’s spooky soirée ? In both cases, the creepy songs you chose are never enough.
I came up with some of my favorite “horrific / ghostly” tracks to add to your Halloween playlist.
Alert: you won’t find Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Michael Jackson’s classic, Thriller, because I’m sure you’ve already included them in your compilation. I’m here to offer some more options that maybe you haven’t thought about. Here they are.
The Killers – Zombie Hands
Released as a Halloween surprise for their fans in October 2012, this short jingle from The Killers is the ultimate creepy, vintage intro to your playlist.
Backstreet Boys – Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)
You need some 90s vibes at your party: it’s been 20 years since the Backstreet Boys released this song and it still sounds amazing.
Ray Parker Jr. – Ghostbusters
The question “Who ya gonna call?” has had one answer since 1984, thanks to Ivan Reitman’s film and this amazing song, made famous by Ray Parker Jr.
The Smiths – How Soon Is Now?
In 1984 The Smiths recorded How Soon Is Now? and it’s not exactly a creepy song. By the end of the 1990s the track became even more famous, thanks to Love Spit Love’s version: the single was used as the opening theme for the TV series Charmed and the connection between the song and the witchcraft-themed show has been immediate since then.
Michael Jackson – Ghosts
Ghosts may be a late-90s hit, but it’s one of my all time favorite from Michael Jackson: this delightfully spooky song is included in the 1997 remix album Blood on the Dancefloor: HIStory in the Mix. The music video is a cut-down of the 1996 short film of the same title directed by Stan Winston and written by Michael Jackson and Stephen King.
Lady Gaga – Teeth
Are you looking for a verse to sing to your friend in the Dracula costume? Lady Gaga has got you covered: “Show me your teeth” sounds appropriate.
Marilyn Manson – Tainted Love
In 2001 Marilyn Manson updated Soft Cell’s hit Tainted Love and turned the song into an electro rock gem.
Justin Timberlake – True Blood
“Black is the color of the night / When it’s time for feeding and her body wakes / There’s just something ‘bout the demon that she brings out of me / When we raise hell I can’t stay away”: it definitely qualifies as a vampire inspired song. Plus: it’s so catchy.
AC/DC – Hells Bells
It’s good to hear them every time of the year, but you’ve got one more reason to make Hells Bells ring on October 31.
Florence + The Machine – Seven Devils
Taken from Florence + The Machine’s second album Ceremonials, Seven Devils sounds spectral, disturbing and majestic at the same time. If a haunted house could ever have a soundtrack, that would be this song.
