Ultimate Halloween Playlist

I started compiling my first Halloween Playlist over 8 years ago on Spotify when I became a public performer and wanted to have both Halloween songs I perform & Halloween filler music between sets. Halloween has always been one of my favorite seasons (yes, it's a season, not just a day!) and it takes an awesome playlist to really set the creepy vibes you want at any Halloween Party, but everyone has such varied interest in musical genres. Fortunately, when it comes to spooky songs, there's plenty across every genre!

Although I sing a lot of songs that are perfect for Halloween, I compiled a list that is perfect to play for any party which includes over 70 years of hits from the 1950's to 2021! Before the 1950's, people really got creeped out with spooky themed music, fearing the devil himself might reach out and start patty whacking away on their eardrums if they heard the wrong thing. There's a reason you won't find much Halloween music before the 20th century!

A little bit of history will put this in context for you. Although All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day have been around since the 7th Century, the origins of Halloween date back even further to the pagan Celts that celebrated the festival of Samhain predating Christianity. The celebration was for the beginning of the winter season and it was believed that souls that had passed previously would come back to visit their homes & families. Villages would ignire large bonfires and wear masks to ward off evil spirits so the idea of getting dressed up, the creep factor & the association with demons & the dead aligned with the holiday.

In the late 1800's Halloween started to become popularized in America & Western cultures as a way to get together with their community. A lot of traditions came from European immigrants to America. In the early decades of the 20th century, communities celebrated with parades & town-wide parties. It wasn't until the 1950's that community leaders, politicians & parents decided to give the holiday to the children (especially because of the huge baby boom of this era) & the tradition of trick-or-treating was revived from olden days. With the rebirth of a new way of celebrating this holiday came the opportunity to profit with costumes now being offered in stores, Halloween candy & snacks being offered by manufacturers and of course the sale of now costumes. At first most of this was marketed for children, but in the 21st century this has become a multi-billion dollar industry and now, a very popular holiday among children & adults alike with numerous parties, haunted houses and entire streets dedicated to the celebration. No party would be complete however without the perfect soundtrack thus the huge boom of marvelously malevolent music!

In 1950's America, rock-n-roll was also taking hold & conservative listeners shook their fingers & covered their ears proclaiming the devil was about to take hold if they listened to this new genre of secular music that got their hips gyrating and of course, lyricists couldn't help but write dark lyrics to pander or be playful with those fears. A lot of early songs of course mentioned the devil, the grave, the moon and voodoo. The themes even became more dark & sinister during the drug crazed 60's and into the 70's as heavy metal & punk bands took hold.

Ultimately, I think the most important thing about any Halloween song worth adding to a playlist is it needs to set a spooky tone, not only with content, lyrics & theme, but minor keys, sound effects and creepy chord changes accompanying dark rich voices. Some vocals are just perfect for this genre like Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Stevie Nicks & Lana Del Rey. They have very distinctive vocal styles.

Also, on this list, you'll find several songs that came from Blockbuster hit movies & creepy popular tv shows. They may have been used as popular theme songs and even if the songs themselves don't particular say anything scary, they can immediately invoke those haunting images from the silver screen of our youth or watching those movies our parents may have strictly forbid. Some of these songs are downright whimsical and even corny, but iconic to the holiday itself such as songs from The Nightmare Before Christmas, Addams Family & Munsters themes and silly classics such as The Monster Mash & The Witch Doctor.

The great thing about Halloween is that it's not really limited by genre, race, culture or religion. There's something for everyone this time of the year. There are songs to create the haunting ambiance you wish to create from hair-raising hip hop to creepy country; spine-chilling swing & blood-curdling blues; even petrifying pop & frightening folk! Just have fun! Revel in the macabre music! Enjoy my compilation!!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2vvTsSITahq1WoGSYiqWl2?si=75060ae476584e4a