My previous post about where my love of Halloween started got me thinking. There is music that I tend to listen to only around Halloween and not any other time of the year. I think we all probably have a playlist like that. For me, that playlist usually starts around the first of October and gets played a little. As it gets closer to the actual day, my frequency of listening increases. It used to be that I would also listen to  Sirius XM’s channel for Halloween, unfortunately they have changed when it airs and what all the play, so it’s not as fun. Today I thought I would share some of my favorite songs I listen to around Halloween.

Number 10, Nightmare on my street by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Okay, so this is a bit more of a pop song that happens to have a horror movie title in it. But this early Wil Smith rap song gave a pretty good synopsis of how the movie actually played out and the video was just funny,

Number 9, The Blob by the Five Blobs. This song originally came out in 1958 and was about, you guessed it, the movie the Blob. A catchy little beat that basically describe the Blob’s movements, which oddly enough sound a lot like a Slinky. Coincidence? Who knows.

Number 8, I Put A Spell On You by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Yeah, yeah I hear you. This isn’t the best version of this song but it was the earliest. This video shows that he was a great showman for the ear that he came out of. Over the top and audacious barely seems to cover it. But it hangs on my list at number 8 for that reason, alone.

Number 7, the Monster Mash by Bobby “Boris” Pickett. Bobby was nicknamed Boris and in this spoof song he plays Boris Karloff and Bella Lugosi movie characters. It is no wonder he had that nickname. The song itself was a spoon on the Twist and the Mashed Potato songs, of the time. It would have never made the popularity it had if it wasnt for Gary Paxton who produced it on his own label GarPax Records. It went to number one two weeks before Halloween in 1962 and re-entered the charts two more times after that. I’m so glad it did, because it is a favorite. It also went on to spawn similar songs and even a Christmas version of it.

Number 6, Halloween by the Misfits. What Halloween playlist would be complete if it didn’t include the band that wore skeletons as their ensemble. After all, they are held as the first band of the horror punk genre. That list also includes the Cramps.They were known for releasing many horror themed songs. Personally, this one will always be mi favorite. This video is not their own production, but definitely aptly portrays the feeling of the song. 

Number 5, Halloween by Aqua. This one may be a little out there. Most of you all will remember Aqua for doing Barbie Girl, but how many of you now that they released a second album? That was were this little treasure came from. This song really spoofed movies like Scream and so many others. It’s a fun little romp in horror movie-dom. I have seen plenty of drag queens do this song as well, some were really good.

Number 4, Pet Semetary by the Ramones. So many punk bands seemed to do songs about horror movies. The horror punk genre was an amazing sub genre and one I still love revisiting. This song was made for the 1989 Stephen King movie with the same name. It also appeared on their album Brain Drain. It was made, thanks to Stephen King who is a HUGE Ramones fan. The whole song was written in about an hour after King invited them to his Maine home. Dee Dee Ramone wrote the song after spending an hour alone with the book.

Number 3, The Crypt Jam by the Crypt Keeper and ChuckII Booker The 80s brought us the TV series Tales from the Crypt and due to its popularity, this song. It includes outtakes from the show, dancers, zombies, and campy horror good times. 

Number 2, the TIme Warp from Rocky Horror Picture Show. I admit that this is one of two gimme songs. It is one that most people know because of the movie and many more know because bars used to play the hell out of it this time of year. After all, its just a jump to the left and a step to the right. 

Number 1, Thriller by Michael Jackson. This song and video made a huge impact on y childhood. I remember when it was released my mother had taken us to a department store in Virginia called Heck’s. In their electronics department they had, what was considered a big television, showing the premiere of this video. I was transfixed. I think I fell in love with Jackson’s music about the same time. It is the quintessential Halloween song. You simply cannot dispute that fact, after all it also included the vocal talents of Vincent Price. End of story. Okay this version is the full release and about thirteen minutes and included the intro from Michael saying that it doesn’t endorse the occult. Sit back and enjoy this mini movie.

These are ten of my favorite songs that always end up on any Halloween playlist i make. I simply cannot have one that doesn’t include them. I hope some of them brought back memories for you and maybe a couple that you had never heard of. What songs do you always listen to during Halloween? Let me know in the comments section.