It’s A Dead Man’s Party: The ultimate Halloween playlist
From AC/DC's "Highway To Hell" to Warren Zevon's "Werewolves Of London," these 40 tracks would make killer additions to your spooky shindig playlist
Music Features halloween
They called rock and roll the Devil’s music when it first hit the scene in the 1950s. Ever since, all popular music—whether it’s metal, hip-hop, or techno—has occasionally been seen through that spectrum, often because musicians have danced with the devil himself. Sometimes, it’s done as a lark, sometimes it’s deadly serious, but in either case the end result is the same: killer music for a Halloween playlist.
Halloween songs roughly fall into two camps, both equally appealing: they’re either songs that sound frightening, or they’re ridiculous romps. Blending the terrifying with the campy is part of the appeal of the season, of course. The novelties take the edge off the terror, while the truly frightening songs offer a reminder that evil can lurk in the heart of man. For your Halloween party playlist consideration, The A.V. Club has rounded up 40 songs that touch upon both of these emotions: choose whatever flavor you like for your own outrageous, spooky bash.
This article originally published on October 20, 2022.
104 Comments
Thank you for including “Careful With That Axe, Eugene.” But I’d also include at least two of these songs from Who bassist John Entwistle:
I don’t recall the other two, but Boris The Spider is awesome.
Since Youtube links aren’t working: Go ahead and search Bone Refinery by Youngblood Brass Band on the Youtubes, it’s one of my newer Halloween favs.
Are they not working, or has that function been deliberately disabled? Been a while now.
That’s a fine question right there, a fine question indeed.
Among many of these, I have Snakebite (Godsmack) and Lake of Fire (Nirvana) and Ring of Fire (the creepy Wall of Voodoo version) in my list.Dead Man’s party is a no-brainer for a Haloween list, and I also would include Nothing Bad Ever Happens To Me.
Consider adding:1. Shivaree, “Goodnight Moon”2. Squirrel Nut Zippers “Hell”3. Echo and the Bunnymen “Killing Moon”4. The Clash “Straight to Hell”5. Julee Cruise “Falling [Theme from Twin Peaks]”6. Spinal Tap “Stonehenge”7. Loreena McKennitt “Moon Cradle” and “Samhain Night”8. Hole “Northern Star”9. Sarah Vaughn’s rendition of “Witchcraft”10. Evanescence “Bring Me to Life”[11. (Donald Glover) “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah”]
Andre 3000 feat. Kelis – Dracula’s Wedding
Werewolf Bar Mitzvah
Spooky! Scary!
Boys becoming men
Men becoming wolves
For Squirrel Nut Zippers I would also like to nominate “The Ghost of Stephen Foster” It’s a rip-roaring good time.
So….those are:Jacksie by Over the RhineBury a Friend by Billie EilishThe Darlings of Lumberland by They might Be Giants (find the fan-made video with silent era horror movie footage)
Kate Bush – Hammer HorrorKate Bush – Coffee HomegroundKate Bush – Get Out of My House
Get Out Of My House is terrifying.Of course there’s Wuthering Heights.
Hammer Horror remains my favourite Kate Bush track.
Peter Gabriel – Intruder
Wow, you just went ahead and didn’t give credit to Leo Karpatze? I see how you work, AV Club.
I’m just going to leave this here.
…and no one’s going to see it.
this drives me ape you big gorilla.
Knock knock.Who’s there?Aaa!Aaa who?Werewolves of London
Here’s your star, Dad.
oh my god
Well someone’s hair is perfect!
Michael Jackson allegedly raped children. Multiple times on multiple kids. Woody Allen allegedly raped a child on one specific occassion. One is a pariah, the other is featured on AV Club lists. Maybe some consistency would be nice?
Don’t forget about The AV Club’s favorite child rapist, David Bowie. They mention that guy every chance they can. Just like how David Bowie groomed and fucked every child he could get his hands on.
Only one Alice Cooper Song?Let’s see…Most of Welcome to My NightmareTeenage FrankensteinFeed My FrankensteinSick Things
Go to HellBallad of Dwight FryeHe’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)Dead BabiesThe list goes on.
Or Iron MaidenKillersNumber of the Beast for starters.
No Purple People Eater? What has the world come to?
No “Curse of Millhaven”? That ain’t right.
No Nick Cave at all *shrug*-d
As much as I love Curse of Millhaven, I would pick Red Right Hand for a Halloween mix
“Red Right Hand” has a much spookier groove for sure. For me, “Curse of Millhaven” gets the nod for Stinky Bohoon and his friend with the pumpkin sized head.
Pretty much the entirety of “Murder Ballads” could have made the list
I’m bit of a Halloween music dork; here’s some faves:Wicked Annabella -the Kinks Mad Witch – David Gardner (a delirious driving beat)Halloween from the following: Dream Syndicate, Sonic Youth and Misfits (the whole New Wave Halloween (from Rhino) album is greatGraveyard Rock – Tarantula GhoulMidnight Stroll – the RevelsHalloween Spooks – LambertIt’s Halloween – The ShagsRockin’ in the Graveyard – Jackie MorningstarI Drink Blood – Rocket from the TombMummy’s Bracelet – Lee Ross
I would go to that party, C-Hamm.
Specials? Good call!On the other hand: is there a more overrated collective of moderately talented individuals in history than the Rolling Stones? I doubt it. I know this controversial to some and sacrilege to others but… ahhh come at me if you disagree. I just cannot abide them. “Moves Like Jagger” = like a demented chimpanzee.
It’s a beautiful example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. None of the members are considered virtuosos (with the probable exception of Charlie Watts, who mostly showed off his skills with jazz ensembles) but they can blow the roof off the place. Doesn’t hurt that Keith writes killer hooks. He doesn’t have to be Steve Vai.
Spooky from Classics IV is missing. I sure hope someone got fired for that blunder.-d
No Carpenter Brute? That’s scary.
This is always a fun one:
I enjoy the music of David Bowie.
Now, who wants to bet how many minutes?
Two days later and no one still knows what the fuck you were talking about. (Not that we ever do.)
pretty sure he’s talking about the trader vic’s in london, since it’s, you know, the name of the song
Some from my Halloween playlist not mentioned:Leo Karpatze’s original Monster Mash.Replace “Time Warp” with “Science Fiction/Double Feature.”TV On The Radio – “Wolf Like Me”Justice – “Phantom”Siouxsie And The Banshees – “Halloween”Stevie Wonder – “Superstition”Ween – “Voodoo Lady”Alice Cooper – “Welcome To My Nightmare”Santana – “Black Magic Woman”MC Hammer – “Addams Groove”Johann Sebastian Bach – “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor”“Weird Al” Yankovic – “Nature Trail to Hell”John Carpenter – “Vortex”
I can’t tell if there’s an actual order to these, but Season of the Witch would have to be my #1. In addition to the title and lyrics, the entire song has an autumn vibe to it. Also…techno??
What’s he building in there?
What the hell is he building in there?
He has subscriptions to those magazines
He never waves when he goes by
He’s hiding something from the rest of us
He’s all to himself
I think I know why
He took down the tire swing from the Peppertree
He has no children of his own, you see
He has no dog
And he has no friends
And his lawn is dying
And what about all those packages he sends?What’s he building in there?
With that hook light on the stairs What’s he building in there?
I’ll tell you one thing
He’s not building a playhouse for the children
What’s he building in there?Now what’s that sound from under the door?
He’s pounding nails into a hardwood floor
And I swear to god I heard someone moaning low
And I keep seeing the blue light of a
T.V. show
He has a router and a table saw
And you won’t believe what Mr. Stitches saw
There’s poison underneath the sink of course
But there’s also enough formaldehyde to choke a horseWhat’s he building in there?
What the hell is he building in there?
I heard he has an ex-wife
In some place called Mayors Income, Tennessee
And he used to have a consulting business in Indonesia
But what is he building in there?
What the hell is building in there?He has no friends
But he gets a lot of mail
I’ll bet he spent a little time in jail
I heard he was up on the roof last night
Signaling with a flashlight
And what’s that tune he’s always whistling
What’s he building in there?
What’s he building in there?We have a right to know…
Gah, how did I manage to not include any Waits on my list?
Always upvoting Waits.
Try Concrete Blonde- Bloodletting
Nothing by either The Cure or The Pixies?
Pretty much everything by The Cure.
Counterpoint – *this* is the ultimate Spooky Season playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5a8qabVzLeHyQW0iSrZJRw?si=0b1d939e28ee403b
Gotta add “Lobo-hombre en Paris” by La Union… Such a classic Spanish New Wave track
Oh good Kinja won’t display embedded links now.I’d also recommend-“Howl” by Florence & The Machine (which quotes the “even a man who is pure of heart” poem from The Wolf Man)“Joan Crawford” by Blue Öyster Cult (honestly a lot of their songs really)“Fear of the Dark” by Iron MaidenAnd of course, “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah”
re: ““Joan Crawford” by Blue Öyster Cult (honestly a lot of their songs really)”
Yep, I was thinking “Godzilla”…
Fear of the Dark is great , but Number of the Beast is a stone cold classic.Also , as much for the rising dread and “green mile” style electric chair horror , but the Johnny Cash cover of Nick Cave’s The Mercy Seat totally works on this list.Posting YT links here but kinja’s probably going to break them
Yeah those apparently don’t work anymore! Fun times!
Anything by 45 Grave. The obvious choice, of course, is “Party Time” from the Return of the Living Dead soundtrack, but for a more fun and light vibe I would go with “Riboflavin.”
Some of my Halloween faves:Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – “Red Right Hand”The Murder City Devils – “Midnight Service at the Mütter Museum”Evangelicals – “Bellawood” (unless it’s a music video list, then go with “Midnight Vignette”)Gary Numan – “Down in the Park”Lou Reed – “This Magic Moment” (from the Lost Highway soundtrack. Actually, you know what, let’s just include the entire Lost Highway soundtrack.)The Misfits – “Hybrid Moments”Pink Floyd – “Scream Thy Last Scream”The Pixies – “The Happening” Pretty much anything off of the surprisingly excellent compilation album Songs in the Key of X: Music From and Inspired by the X-Files. (In fact, 2 of the above songs, “Red Right Hand” as well as a cover of “Down in the Park” by the Foo Fighters appear on this album.)
Oooh The Happening, good call. I haven’t got my Pixies on in a while, that was always my favourite from that album.Red Right Hand is an obvious one. Up Jumped the Devil is a good choice too, if you’re going with Nick Cave.
For me, “Grim Grinning Ghosts” should be on any and all Halloween playlists.
Heartbreak Hotel by John Cale
Has no one mentioned The Misfits? Also, “Graveyard” and “Creep in the Cellar” by the Butthole Surfers
Good list – but I’d sub out Donovan’s Season of the Witch for his Hurdy-Gurdy Man. The latter isn’t really scary, till you watch David Fincher’s Zodiac, which transforms it into the scariest song in the world.Oh, and The Pogues’ Wild Cats of Kilkenny is always on my Halloween playlist.
Even without Zodiac using it , Hurdy always sounded kind of off and creepy.Also Brooklyn 99 makes me associate it with library perverts (yeah YT links are broken so google it)
…and this is why 99 percent of Halloween playlists are a) exactly the same and b) suck. The key is to compile music that sounds scary, not music about scary things. You want (or at least I want) to create atmosphere, not to have a mish-mashed bunch of pop and corny novelty songs with wildly varying tones and BPMs.For me, Boards of Canada, Budos Band, Dr. John’s Gris-Gris album and others like them are the place to look — they feature very moody, spooky atmospheric music that create a great creepy vibe, even if they’re not specifically about monsters, ghosts, etc. Sure, you can mix in a few theme-appropriate songs (“Ghost Town” and “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” are always winners, and there are some crazy weird ‘50s rockabilly numbers that are a nice touch) but seriously, does anyone need to hear “Highway to Hell” one more goddamn time in 2022?And for my money, the Butthole Surfer’s “22 Going On 23″ is the scariest song of all time. If you want to really freak people out, this will do it.
I saw the Monster Mash, but not the original Monster Fuck. This list is bull.
Huey Lewis is even namedropped in the Ghostbusters piece but not the similarity to New Drug? At this point in the song’s lifespan, I’d go with remixes especially the Bustin’ cover by Neil Cicierega.
Well, both songs ripped off “Soul Finger” by the Bar-Kays… They should have sued both Huey Lewis and Ray Parker Jr.
Mashups are usually pretty awful, but Cicierega’s “Bustin” is amazing. “Let’s take the best 4 seconds of this song and somehow stretch it out into its own thing.”
Talk About Run – Clint Eastwood & General SaintThere’s A Ghost In My House – R Dean TaylorScreaming Skull – The FleshtonesNatural Born Killers – Ice Cube & Dr Dre
Ooh meant to add – Date With a Vampyre – The Screaming Tribesmen
Some glaring omissions:Misfits – Halloween (how the hell does one miss the most obvious choice!?)Type O Negative – All Hallows EveBasially most of either of these bands catalogue work, but see also,Stillborn – You Are My Favorite Nightmare
Also, The Decemberists song Leslie Anne Levine
Aqua – Halloween
I’d put “My Body’s a Zombie for You”, and more so The Cure’s “Subway Song”, over at least 2/3 of these.
Literally anything by the Cramps.
This seems all too obvious, still, the list seems lacking without Type O Negative’s breakout track Black No. 1
Luna’s cover of “Season of the Witch” is the very rare cover that is much better than the original.
No Misfits?
Nothing from Type O Negative???
Not the best song, but “Do They Know It’s Hallowe’en?” is a fun track, if only for the insane amount of contributing artists.
I would have added the entirety of The Misfits’ catalog and “The Body Lover” by Jarboe.
No “Halloween” by Helloween? Come on now, you aren’t even trying.
Echo and the Bunnymen, “Nocturnal Me”. Still the best needle-drop moment on Stranger Things. Yeah, including “Running Up That Hill”, I’m going there.
Some more: Liars the whole They Were Wrong So We Drowned albumThe Raveonettes “Attack of the Ghost Riders”The Hives “Diabolic Scheme”Franz Ferdinand “Evil Eye”Peter Bjorn and John “May Seem Macabre”The Dead 60’s “Ghostface Killer”The Horrors “Jack the Ripper” But really a lot of their debut album Strange HousePolecats “Gravedigger Rock”Kaiser Chiefs “Zombie Prom”
Excitable Boy by Warren Zevon
Shankill Butchers by The Decemberists
Possum Kingdom by The Toadies
GIFTSHOP’s “Spooky Halloween Christmas” is the jam!
No “Number of the Beast” or anything from Rob Zombie?
Social Distortion – Bad Luck
Whodini – Freaks Come Out at NightJohnny Otis – Castin’ My SpellChordettes – Mr. SandmanDr. Samuel Hoffman – Possession, This Room Is My Castle Of Quiet
Five Jones Boys – Mr. Ghost Goes to TownBill Buchanan – Night Before HalloweenHot Blood – Soul DraculaEartha Kitt – I Want to Be EvilMerv Griffin – House of HorrorsCharlie Daniels – The Legend of Wooley SwampTony’s Monstrosities – Igor’s PartyPretty much anything by Coffin Daggers, Crispy Bess, Frankie Stein and His Ghouls should work
For your consideration… “Love Song for a Vampire” by Annie Lennox!
Why does every Halloween playlist have Hall & Oates’ “Man Eater”? What about that song screams Halloween?
Only 42 slides to click through?
Um:Wolf Like Me – TV on the RadioRight On, Frankenstein – Death From Above 1979
Wow a great list and was great to see Twilight Zone there – the music sets the theme more than the lyrics, there are several I would disagree with and you missed some beauties. Concrete Blonde – Bloodletting is one that stands out like a mile. But you also missed the biggest opportunity you could have had for your list just based on your own title.
“Dead Man’s Party” by Oingo Boingo gets played at every Halloween party I have been to. It’s an 80’s aussie pop rock mixed with jazz classic – the extended version which is also the album version (rather than the original single version which I think may be the official video on youtube) just rocks with the whole theme of disjointed jazz popping lyrics and a never ending back of the mind visual aspect of a glowing halloween pumpkin on set. Just read the lyrics before listening to the song and you know immediately there is only one true day of the year this song really really rocks (it is a great song btw), and you can’t wait to hear those lyrics sung. I’d then challenge you to not at least consider it as your number 1 slide if you were to redo this list. BTW they also penned the reasonably famous 80’s song Weird Science which could in a way appear on here (thinking frankenstein theme).
I know you’re just catching a broad set of suggestions, but “A Nightmare on My Street” is pretty bad, even as a novelty single. If you want a rap song about a famous horror villain, you could always go with clipping’s “Say My Name”:
Goblin- Profundo rosso
Night Boat is some deep cut Duran Duran, that first album is criminally underrated.
Parliament – Dr. FunkensteinBootsy – CountraculaBlue Oyster Cult – GodzillaFunkadelic – Miss Lucifer’s LoveRob Zombie – BoogeymanRob Zombie – Living Dead GirlIron Maiden – Number of the BeastEdgar Winter Group – Frankenstein
So I might be biased here but this list is suffering from a severe lack of Type O Negative, Halloween was basically thier whole deal. Danzig has a few songs that could have made this list as well.
Pink Goo by TobaccoGreen Slime by Richard DelvyHerrmann’s “Prelude” for PsychoMancini’s “Mystery Movie Theme”Claudio Simonetti’s DemonSurfin’ Dead by The CrampsAnd Monster Mash? I think you meant Monster Fuck (Part 7: Hauntukkah) by Leo Karpatze.
Ahem:
Look, your Halloween playlist only needs to be one song, and it’s this obscure little gem: