There are certain songs almost everyone recommends for a Halloween playlist. This Classic Halloween Hits Playlist features 13 of the most recognizable songs for the spooky season. I certainly have to listen to them at least once during October to truly feel like Halloween has arrived.
Unlike my other playlists, this one is not meant to have you discover new music. This Classic Halloween Hits playlist is here to recognize the iconic songs of the season. While there are certainly more that often get added to Halloween party playlists (Like “Psycho Killer” by The Talking Heads), these are the ones my friends and I thought best represented the iconic Halloween songs we grew up with. The most recent song on this list is from 1996. As newer songs get played enough over the years to become traditions, I am sure this list will need a refresh in a decade or so!
Let’s start this list with a song that reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart on six separate years. Upon its release in 1962 it reached #1. Then it returned in 1970, but only to #91. It came back from the dead again in 1973 to reach #10 on the charts. Finally, upon its re-release it hit the charts in 2021, 2022, and 2023 reaching up to #30 – not bad for a song originally released in 1962.
Bobby “Boris” Pickett co-wrote this song with Leonard Capizzi to spoof the dance crazes of the time (like the “Twist” and the “Mashed Potato). With his impersonations of Bella Lugosi and Boris Karloff, Pickett won over audiences and it instantly became a craze of its own.
Considered the longest-running release in film history, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) is a cult classic. From its sexy costumes to its catchy songs, audiences around the world love to sing, dance, and dress up along with the eccentric cast of characters. Time Warp is one of the film’s most iconic songs and a favorite at Halloween parties as it has its own dance. It’s just a jump to the left, and then a step to the right. Put your hands on your hips, and pull your knees in tight. But it’s the pelvic thrust that really drives you insane.
When the producers of Ghostbusters (1984) came to Ray Parker Jr. to write a theme song with short notice, he struggled to think of a way to use the film’s title in the song’s lyrics. Then, a late-night television ad for a local service reminded him of the TV ad spoof from the film. This inspired him to write “Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!”. In an interview for Professor of Rock, he described it as follows,
“[Ghostbusters] sounds stupid when you just sing it. I mean, there’s no way you can say this word… Well, I realized I had to say “Who ya gonna call?” If I do that, it allows me to never say the word Ghostbusters. Then I’m gonna have the crowd answer “Ghostbusters.” It’s who you call. Because it’s a crowd, they’re not really in the record. They’re not musical. So that takes away the word Ghostbusters. That gets it out of the song. So we can have a song. And I could sing ‘Who ya gonna call?'”
Thus an iconic Halloween classic was born – all because of a local pest control company ad.
From legendary composer Danny Elfman’s Band, Oingo Boingo, Dead Man’s Party is a perfect Halloween party song. It’s catchy chorus and rocking beat are fun to dance to.
Fun fact: the lyrics, “I hear the chauffeur comin’ to my door, Says there’s room for maybe just one more” are a reference to an old scary story. The inspiration is “The Bus-Conductor,” a short story from 1906 by E. F. Benson about a hearse driver. The story has been adapted many times (including a Twilight Zone Episode – “Twenty Two”, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’s tale “Room for One More”).
Released in November 1972, this song reached #1 on the Billboard Top 100 charts two months after its release. It has been consistently named one of the greatest songs of all time on lists by Rolling Stone, CBS News, and others, and it won two Grammys at the 16th Grammy Awards.
The song itself denounces superstitions:
“When you believe in things
That you don’t understand
Then you suffer
Superstition ain’t the way, yeah”
Yet, the vivid imagery of broken mirrors, falling ladders, and bad luck make this a popular choice for spooky gatherings.
Halloween and scary stories go hand-in-hand. The Devil Went Down to Georgia is a variant on the classic deal with the Devil tale. In this song, a young man named Johnny bets that he can play the fiddle better than the Devil. After a rocking competition, Johnny is declared the winner and “the best there’s ever been”.
In interviews, Charlie Daniels said that the song was inspired by the poem “The Mountain Whipporwill” by Stephen Vincent Benet. While the poem is about a fiddle contest, the Devil himself does not make an appearance. But, there are plenty of lines that seem to directly influence this Halloween classic, including “Hell’s broke loose in Georgia”.
With its raw and a little unhinged vocal performance, I Put a Spell on You by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins is a haunting blues piece. According to Hawkins, the song was originally supposed to be a refined love song, but the producer job Hawkins and his band drunk before recording, producing this iconic track.
Called a “cannibalistic” style, the original song was banned from most radio programming of the time and a truncated version with less grunts and moans was released (though most stations of the time still didn’t play it). Now, however, it is a beloved Halloween song covered by many artists – most notably Bette Midler in the film Hocus Pocus (1993).
This 1983 paranoia-rock song became a smash hit and continues to be a Halloween mix favorite decades later. It’s references to classic horror media make it a great fit for the spooky season (“Why do I always feel like I’m in The Twilight Zone?”, “Maybe showers remind me of Psycho too much”).
After hearing a corny joke from a friend (“What has one eye, one horn, flies and eats people? A one-eyed, one-horned, flying people eater.”), Sheb Wooley wrote this Halloween classic. It is filled with just as much corny fun as the joke that inspired it.
The song’s high-pitched alien voice and toy saxophone sound were made by recording the singer and saxophone at a slower speed and then speeding it up in post to create the higher pitch. The song has references to other popular songs of the time, including “Short Shorts”, “Tutti Frutti”, and “Tequilla”.
Inspired by the title of the 1935 film Werewolf of London (but not the plot), Warren Zevon and band members LeRoy P. Marinell and Waddy Wachtel wrote Werewolves of London in about 15 as a fun activity. While none of them took the song seriously at first, it ended up becoming a hit and one of the Zevon’s most well-known works. What is it with so many of these songs being written as jokes or parodies?
Regardless of how it was made, the song itself is a fun nod to one of the most classic monsters. It’s a perfect choice for a howling good time.
Originally released in 1996, this song has seen renewed popularity in recent years as an internet meme. I was first introduced to the song via a Disney VHS, Disney’s Sing-Along Songs: Happy Haunting: Party at Disneyland!, that paired the song with images from the Silly Symphony short The Skeleton Dance. Using a xylophone to represent rattling, musical skeleton bones, this song has a distinctive silly sound, wonderful for children of all ages. While it has been covered and remixed by many musical artists – including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, LVCRFT, and The Living Tombsone – this original is a classic that deserves a place on any family-friendly Halloween party mix.
“Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn’t you like to see something strange?”
Jack the Pumpkin King rules over Halloween Town, and this opening anthem from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) rules over Halloween playlists everywhere. The song introduces a miriad of spooky characters from the monsters under the bed & staircase, to creepy clowns, cackling witches, and that villainous Oogie Boogie. Recently The Nightmare Before Christmas has been popping up everywhere during the Halloween season (despite it being a Christmas movie, or at least Thanksgiving fare). This song is inescapable at family-friendly Halloween events across the nation, so it is worthy of being added to this quintessential spooky season playlist.
What Classic Halloween Hits playlist could be complete without the legendary Thriller? Vincent Price’s haunting narration sets the perfect Halloween night mood and the iconic Thriller Dance is performed by flash mobs aplenty during the spooky season.
There are certain songs almost everyone recommends for a Halloween playlist. This Classic Halloween Hits Playlist features 13 of the most recognizable songs for the spooky season. I certainly have
“Haunted Hearts” is a piece I wrote for my writing group back in 2023. I wanted to write a little slice-of-life story with vivid Halloween season imagery. I am always
Founded in 2001 by film producers Rachel Belofsky and Ross martin, Screamfest Horror Film Festival is the largest and longest-running horror festival in the United States. Screamfest Horror Film Festival
Welcome to my home of all things horror & Halloween! The Horror of Being Emily showcases resources, creative projects, small businesses, and more related to my weird and wonderful Halloween & horror obsession.
