My top 10 Halloween Songs, Rich Paschall

Halloween music is becoming popular in the same way as Christmas music. You don’t think so? Listen up. It’s all around and has been playing all week. Sirius XM radio has a temporary station (Scream Radio) dedicated to Halloween music, almost like they do for Christmas music. We know you will need some scary sounds for Halloween night. It’s just a little something to traumatize the little ones.

With the emphasis on the ghoulish this week, it seems only right that I give you again my top ten favorite Halloween songs. When I thought of this list I soon had 20 titles, so I took out my hatchet and started trimming it down. Some of the titles sounded good, but the music was a disappointment. For example, I hunted down the theme song to the old television series, Thriller, but the music was more of a 50’s jazz sound and not scary at all.

A few were fun songs and while they were popular, they didn’t make the cut. Ghostbusters immediately came to mind. It is a slick melody, but not necessarily fitting of a fright night. Little Shop of Horrors was a fun play and the title tune is catchy, but also not scary or fun in a traditional Halloween way. Rocky Horror Picture Show gave us Time Warp. That may make a lot of lists, but not mine. Sweeny Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, has some gruesome moments, but which song would make the grade here?  A Little Priest?

Counting down from number 10, I offer the first 5 (last five?) on the list as musical themes to frighten the little trick-or-treaters. Perhaps you would like to have these playing through a speaker on your front porch to encourage little ones to make the frightful climb to your front door. Who knows what might be lurking just inside?

10. Halloween movie theme
9. Jaws movie theme
8. A Nightmare on Elm Street movie theme
7. Exorcist movie theme
6. Psycho movie theme

These five should provide plenty of creepy music for you. If that doesn’t do it, add in one of my all-time favorite television themes.

5. The Twilight Zone theme song

We can lighten the theme up for a moment “with a spooky little girl like you.”

4. Spooky, Classics IV

The classic theme song from The Addams Family goes on my list.  It is not “mysterious and spooky,” but it is a lot of fun.  Go ahead, sing along.  You know you want to.

3. The Addams Family theme song

If it is Halloween, then we need some Werewolves.  This famous pop song was recorded in 1978 and the studio recording featured Mick Fleetwood and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac on drums and bass.

2. Werewolves of London, Warren Zevon

There is no doubt what will be number one.  It is an all-time classic that everyone knows.  Despite the fact that radio stations overplay it every year at this time, its appeal never wears out.  It was released in 1962 with Bobby Pickett performing the song with his Boris Karloff imitation.  The week before Halloween it went to number 1 on the charts.  Fittingly, it has been dragged out every year since.

1. Monster Mash, Bobby Pickett

Monster Mash, Bobby Pickett, and Leonard L. Capizzi, Garpax (US); Decca (UK) labels, 1962

Categories: Holidays, Music, Rich Paschall

Tags: Halloween, Monster Mash, Music, songs, Spooky, theme from jaws, theme songs, werewolves