Spooky, Saccharrin Songs

Imagine the following:

You’re at a party on Halloween and you listen to the same songs every year for Halloween. You can only do the Monster Mash so many times before it gets old. Even scrolling on TikTok and listening to Oh! Klahoma by Jack Stauber is getting a little but too curated for your taste. You feel like it's not nearly as fun and scary to experience this Halloween as it used to be.

You're in the right place for some sweet treats.

I separated this playlist into some different categories: Mood Makers, Witchy Wonders, and Boney Bops in hopes that they can make this playlist liven up. My Mood Makers will hopefully add some fright to the playlist and cause a little bit of unease with every listen. Witchy Wonders will leave you under a spell and enchanted at the different tunes. Boney Bops will hopefully get your graveyard grooves going, or at least leave you wondering why you didn't know these songs sooner.

Mood Makers include the following list:

• I Think I’m Paranoid by Garbage
• Dancing Devil by Small Leaks Sink Ships
• We Know Where You Sleep by The Paper Chase
• Creep by Radiohead
• Polly by Amanda Palmer
• Spiderhead by Cage the Elephant
• Goblins by Nekrogoblikon
• Spooky, Scary Skeletons by Andrew Gold

Witchy Wonders have some tunes like:

• Fatalist Palmistry by WHY?
• Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac
• Gods & Monsters by Lana Del Rey
• Love Me Dead by Ludo
• The Cult of Dionysus by the Orion Experience
• Gold Dust Woman by the Spill Canvas
• Burn the Witch by Queens of the Stoneage
• Take Me Down by the Pretty Reckless
• Burn the Witch by Radiohead
• Black Magic Woman by Fleetwood Mac

Some Boney Bops that get me moving are:

As someone who loves music more than most other things, I have some notable highlights for this playlist that could make me scream.

• Dancing Devil by Small Leaks Sink Ships- This song gets stuck in my head every day for at least an hour until I read my tarot cards or do something witchy. Dancing Devil tells a story of Adam and Eve the Garden of Eden being tempted by the Devil. The vocal slither into your ears and make you nearly uneasy with tension. It’s a great song if you’re looking for something that changes dynamically with the tempo and you want to conjure the Christian devil.

• We Know Where You Sleep by The Paper Chase- This song comes from a pretty tense and anxiety inducing concept album that depicts a man losing his mind from delusions. This song makes the listener confused if they’re struggling with delusions or if they’re being abducted by aliens.

• Polly by Amanda Palmer- I am a huge fan of Nirvana, so I know the actual message and horror story behind this song and many songs that Kurt Cobain wrote. This cover actually made my hair stand on end and made me pretty uneasy. I considered what the titular Polly might have felt if she were listening to the violence of man immortalized in song.

• Fatalist Palmistry by WHY?- This song is the perfect witchy song for this playlist. It croons about a strange woman who’s mystic ways confuse the person who can’t decide if they want to court the woman or if they’re confused by her witchy ways.

• Love Me Dead by Ludo- Love Me Dead tells a story about someone in a relationship where they feel like they might be better off dead at times. This song has some malevolent metaphors that make this the perfect song for this playlist.
• Gold Dust Woman by the Spill Canvas- is a cover of a Fleetwood Mac tune. It always causes me to feel in tune with some of the witchy sides of a person. Nearly every Fleetwood Mac song has some invisible thread tying it back to witchcraft, but this one in particular is a great song. I actually like this cover more than the original.
• Take Me Down by the Pretty Reckless- tells a tale as old as witchcraft in America. It’s a song about conjuring the Devil himself and asking him to buy your soul for talent in the music industry. It is a new spin on songs like The Devil Went Down to Georgia for the modern age.
• Glory Box by Portishead I was watching American Horror Story: Apocalypse and thought I heard a familiar tune. I included the original with the haunting vocals from Portishead’s lead singer, rather than using the actual song used in AHS by the Oriens.
• Anton LeVey by Hobo Johnson. I have an obsession with Hobo Johnson and how far he has come since I first found his music right before he blew up. Hobo Johnson’s newer album The Revenge of Hobo Johnson sent chills up my spine when I heard this song when it dropped. It’s so good that there are two versions of it, much like his other song, Peach Scone. Hobo Johnson not only invokes the name of Anton LeVey for this title, but delivers some wordplay that only he can deliver.
• The Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunnymen- I love this song and its ties to Donnie Darko. Donnie Darko’s soundtrack is not only an excellent example of the perfect soundtrack, but the perfect example of songs foreshadowing later clues. This song will hopefully invoke some memories of wormholes and creepy dead men asking “Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?”
• Science Fiction/Double Feature by Richard O’Brien- Rocky Horror Picture Show shaped generations with it’s incredible cult classic hits. When I made this playlist I couldn’t decide on how to bring in a great influence, so I chose an underrated song from the show.
• Blood by My Chemical Romance- I couldn’t end this soundtrack any other way. It was too perfect. I had considered using the “Hidden Track” but decided to provide the final song by the band that gave me spooky vibes year round.