Top 10 Halloween songs

*Originally published on 10/3/08



1. This is Halloween by Danny Elfman

This is from the soundtrack to The Nightmare Before Christmas. Various ghosts and ghouls sing about the delight they take in scaring people. It's a good introduction to the film and a great song to play at Halloween parties. The ending chant is rather creepy but overall it is one of the more upbeat songs on the list.

2. Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr.

While not about Halloween directly, this is still fitting as it does revolve around spirits. I used to have a cassette tape with a bunch of Halloween songs and scary noises on it when I was a little kid, this song was on there so I still associate the two. Aside from that, it's just an awesome song from an awesome movie.

3. Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett

This too was on the aforesaid tape. It's a silly song, but still enjoyable and relevant to the themes of the holiday. Like This is Halloween it's a perfect fit for a Halloween party.

4. Halloween theme by John Carpenter

A pretty self explanatory one, while not as creepy as the song below, it works quite well. With the film sharing the name of the holiday, one would be remiss not to list it.

5. Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield (the theme to The Exorcist)

This song is just downright creepy. Play this in a dark haunted house and even the most stoic would get chills sent down their spines. Part of this is due to its use in the film, it is still unnerving music no matter how you slice it.

6. Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult

A great song, difficult to play on Rock band, and kinda creepy when used correctly (as evidenced by Supernatural). This is one of the only rock songs to make the list, but deservedly so.

7. Thriller by Michael Jackson

Made famous by its mini movie music video and dance sequence, this song is a perfect fit for the Halloween. It opens with creepy sound effects (a creaky door opening and footsteps) and a howling wolf. It even has voice over work from the late, great Vincent Price. Michael gets a lot of flak from the media now, but let's not forget that he brought us this little gem. This is indeed a thriller, thriller night.

8. Ave Maria

Those who do know this song will recognize it from the scene in Donnie Darko where Donnie speaks to Frank in the movie theater while his girlfriend is asleep. It's really quite spooky and one of the reasons that the scene is my favorite in the film.

9. Haunted by Evanescence

I know it would seem obvious to state this, but the song is quite, for lack of a better word, haunting. It doesn't have to do with the holiday specifically but with chants and Amy Lee's voice work it would still fit within the parameters of a good Halloween song.

10. Halloween by The Dave Matthews Band

It doesn't really have anything to do with the holiday, but as it's title is Halloween I thought it should go on here. It's not as creepy as the other songs on this list, however it is a radical left turn for the normally mellow laid back band. By comparison, it is a bit off putting.