Help me put together a ghoulishly good Halloween mix cd!

September 16, 2007 9:30 PM

Help me put together a ghoulishly good Halloween mix cd!

Every year I make a Halloween mix to keep myself in the seasonal mood and pass around to friends. I'm looking for new blood this year. To give you an idea, here are some tracks I'm thinking of using so far:

Ramones - Pet Sematary
Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party
Misfits - Halloween
Los Straitjackets - Munsters Theme
Ministry - Everyday is Halloween
Southern Culture on the Skids - Werewolf
Theme from Halloween
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Whistlin' Past the Graveyard

So, Mefites, help me broaden my dark horizons. What are some of your favorite spooktacular songs?

posted by Roman Graves to Society & Culture (42 answers total)

Bela Lugosi is Dead, man.
posted by mr_roboto at 9:41 PM on September 16, 2007

"People Are Strange" by the Doors
posted by Capostrophe at 10:03 PM on September 16, 2007

tocatta & fugue (in D Minor)?
Massive Attack - Angel (although it's in every vampire movie ever)
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
posted by Large Marge at 10:13 PM on September 16, 2007

Dillinger Escape Plan w/ Mike Patton covering Aphex Twin's "Come To Daddy".

Oh, you mean stuff that you can actually listen to?

Buy a Groovy Ghoulies CD and be done with it. Or:

Werewolves of London, Warren Zevon
High School Psychopath, The Queers
That Slipknot song about killing and eating someone cuz u wuv them so much.
That Zappa song about the pumpkin on "Absolutely Free".
posted by BitterOldPunk at 10:21 PM on September 16, 2007

Some of my favorites:

Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield
Something In My House (there's a remix with vulgar samples from the Exorcist) - Dead Or Alive
Monsta Rap - Elvira
Screaming - (from the Psycho remake) Pet Shop Boys
The Addams Family Theme
posted by gummi at 10:34 PM on September 16, 2007

Response by poster: Buy a Groovy Ghoulies CD and be done with it.

Ha. You're alright.
posted by Roman Graves at 10:40 PM on September 16, 2007

I have to 2nd phatkitten. The Monster Mash only seems hackneyed to those who lack imagination.
posted by crinklebat at 10:58 PM on September 16, 2007

this question in 2005

Really, there's tons and tons of Halloween music -- I just checked my library, and I have 903 Halloween tracks, and I'm kind of picky. You would do better Googling than asking.

The following are sharity blogs that mostly do rips of old, out-of-print vinyl. The thinking is that this is ethical, although possibly not legal. I understand if this part of my comment is deleted.

sites/blogs active in Octobers past, may or may not return this October:
Ghost Town
Monster Mashup
Dr. Terror's Bloodcurdling House of Horrors

sites/blogs active year-round, switch to Halloween for October:
Mr. J. Evil Scientist's Dungeon of Odd Records
Secret Fun Blog
Cool Kooky Hip and Groovy

sites/blogs supposed to include Halloween content year-round:
*Scar Stuff
*Mostly Ghostly
Wonderful Wonderblog
*HalloweenForum music forum
Mostly Ghostly Music

projects (or at least not blogs):
*Oddio Overplay (annual albums over a few years)
Forbidden Crypts of Haunted Music (Mostly Ghostly guy's archive)
*Bride of Monster Mashup (also Evil Twin and Son)

Scar Stuff, Mostly Ghostly, & Oddio Overplay 2005 all have old great stuff you haven't heard before, and Oddio Overplay 2006 & Bride/Son/Twin of Monster Mashup have original work and mashups; all those are great if you really do want new blood. If, like some of your examples hint, you want a "Sympathy for the Devil"-esque mix -- music that people will know that's sort of vaguely spooky-ish -- the HalloweenForum people have a lot of those recommendations in various threads there.
posted by booksandlibretti at 11:08 PM on September 16, 2007

The entirety of Goblin's soundtrack to Suspiria. However, as including an entire album on your CD might potentially unbalance the mix, the track "Sighs" should suffice.
posted by hototogisu at 11:12 PM on September 16, 2007 [1 favorite]

Outkast - Dracula's Wedding
posted by painquale at 11:14 PM on September 16, 2007

Rob Zombie's album Hellbilly Deluxe is not only one of the best releases of the last decade, it's also very dark and Halloweenish, but in a fun, frequently tongue-in-cheek way. (Rob Zombie does that very well.) His more recent album Educated Horses is also pretty damn good.

Anything by the grindcore band Carcass is gloriously disgusting. I'm also partial to Dying Fetus, though they're a bit of a niche market.

Also:

"Don't Fear The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult
"Fourth of July" by U2 (yes, it's called "Fourth of July," but it's a very creepy instrumental track)
"Enter Sandman" by Metallica
"Chased Through The Woods By A Rapist" by Waking the Cadaver
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 12:59 AM on September 17, 2007

Here are some overplayed yet still fun ones:

Witchcraft (Sinatra)
Black Magic Woman (Santana)
Abracadabra
Witch Doctor (Ooo Eee Oooh Ah Ah)
Weird Science
Bad Moon Rising
I'm Your Boogie Man
Hell (Squirell Nut Zippers)
Ghostbusters theme
Thriller
That Old Black Magic (Sarah Vaughn, many others)
October Road--James Taylor
Purple People Eater
This is Halloween--from the Nightmare before Xmas Soundtrack
Witchy Woman
Devil Went Down to Georgia
Red Right Hand--Nick Cave
Werewolves of London
posted by Violet Hour at 2:14 AM on September 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Practically any Cramps song will do, but Surfin' Dead is my favorite. Also:

Spooky - Atlanta Rhythm Section
Halloween - Sonic Youth
Joan Crawford - Blue Öyster Cult
Children of the Grave - Black Sabbath
Every Day is Halloween - Ministry
Highway to Hell - ACDC
posted by psmealey at 4:00 AM on September 17, 2007

Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark (Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
Iced Earth - Dracula (Check out the rest of the Horror Show album! Werewolves and monsters thru and thru)
Helloween - Halloween (duh)
posted by Wolfdog at 4:13 AM on September 17, 2007

All You Zombies... by The Hooters
posted by keep it tight at 4:37 AM on September 17, 2007

And the soundtrack to Natural Born Killers has some good stuff....
posted by keep it tight at 4:44 AM on September 17, 2007

Alice Cooper, Welcome to My Nightmare. The whole CD.
posted by The Deej at 5:17 AM on September 17, 2007

You probably need There's No More Room in Hell on there.
posted by headspace at 5:30 AM on September 17, 2007

Just get both volumes of Coil's "Music To Play in the Dark", put on repeat and watch the uninitiated flip over 'that crazy ass sh*t that sounds like the devil is djing'.

Best soundtrack for porch decorations as well.
posted by sil3ntstatic at 5:45 AM on September 17, 2007

i did a halloween themed radio show two years ago that you can find here (excuse the self-link)
posted by noloveforned at 5:58 AM on September 17, 2007

Nick Cave's "Murder Ballads" has many songs that would fit the theme. I would especially recommend The Curse of Milhaven.
posted by otolith at 6:13 AM on September 17, 2007

Anything by The Cramps.
posted by electroboy at 6:21 AM on September 17, 2007

The Beatles, "Cry Baby Cry"
Blue Oyster Cult, "Joan Crawford" ("Joan Crawford has risen from the grave"'; complete with samples from Mommy Dearest)
posted by kirkaracha at 6:38 AM on September 17, 2007

45 Grave - Riboflavin
The Meteors - My Daddy is a Vampire
Fantomas - Spider Baby
posted by Ariadne at 6:51 AM on September 17, 2007

Whatever's still a valid link on Dr. Mysterian's, plus the other songs, if you can find them elsewhere.

I particularly recommend Harry Belafonte's "Zombie Jamboree" and Lon Chaney Jr's "Theme from Spider Baby".
posted by Katemonkey at 7:18 AM on September 17, 2007

What? No Thriller?
posted by Neiltupper at 7:38 AM on September 17, 2007

MX-80 Sound "Theme from Halloween" (punk cover of it.. also a number of tracks off Out of Control have a Halloween feel to my mind.. if you can find this! I guess it's out of print though..)

Seconding the recommend for just about any Coil, it's well creepy. they did the original music for Hellraiser but it was taken off because the filmmakers/producers found it too scary! so maybe search the unreleased Hellraiser theme, and Horse Rotorvator and "The Sleeper" I'd say. If you can find Goblin as well, their horror film soundtrack music, very suitable, such as theme from Suspiria

Suicide "Frankie Teardrop"
posted by citron at 7:47 AM on September 17, 2007

Pumpkin - Tricky (w/ Alison Goldfrapp)
posted by imitura at 8:43 AM on September 17, 2007

On the classical side, check out tracks from Fright Night, which has pretty much every relevant classical track imaginable.
posted by softlord at 9:10 AM on September 17, 2007

it's halloween by the shaggs.
posted by snofoam at 10:05 AM on September 17, 2007

The Freaks Come Out At Night or Haunted House of Rock, both by Whodini

Out Come The Freaks (pt. 1 or 2) by Was (Not Was)

Anything off of Black Mass or Electric Lucifer by Bruce Haack

Hamburger Lady by Psychik TV

Days of Swine and Roses by My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult (really, anything off of their first couple albums)

Bloody Night, Bloody Knife by The Independents

Countess Bathory by Venom

Pretty much anything by Helloween

I'll try to think of some more when I get home.
posted by klangklangston at 10:17 AM on September 17, 2007

Skip "Werewolves of London" and try "Excitable Boy" instead.
"Nebraska" Bruce Springsteen
"Revolution 9" The Beatles
posted by Lord Kinbote at 10:33 AM on September 17, 2007

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Carcass
Christian Death - Burnt Offerings
Supersuckers - Hell City, Hell
posted by psmealey at 10:41 AM on September 17, 2007

Halloween isn't Halloween without The Cramps.
posted by Dr.Pill at 10:48 AM on September 17, 2007

YUSS! I have been pondering a halloween mix cd for some time. My list is the following, but was based mainly on song titles rather than especially spooky lyrics/music (though some of them would probably fall into that category too) so it may not fit the bill for you.

The Smashing Pumpkins - We Only Come Out At Night
The Mountain Goats - the House That Dripped Blood
Kristin Hersh - Your Ghost
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Up Jumped the Devil
Catpower - Werewolf
The Breeders - Hag
PJ Harvey - Meet Ze Monsta
Noir Désir - A Ton Etoile (sounds like a haunted ballroom, if that´s the feel you´re going for)
Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi´s Dead

...for what it´s worth.
posted by eponymouse at 11:43 AM on September 17, 2007

"Do They Know It's Hallowe'en". Here is the video.
posted by ND¢ at 2:14 PM on September 17, 2007

I'm gonna plug my old band, the Brimstones, and give you access to a ton of our old tracks. Many are creepy surf in the Los Straightjackets/Munsters vein. Abandon All Hope Ye Who Surf Here is particularly minor.
posted by Brainy at 3:48 PM on September 18, 2007

Ah. This is the thread. I put this in another thread but in hindsight it fits better here. Everything2 is where I started trying to answer this question a couple years ago. Still trying to answer it for myself.

I used to have what I'd call The Dimes which were Halloween songs that'd rate a ten outta one to ten. Cute no? No. Anyway. My taste changes so often, by the time I'm done with it, it's out of date. At the moment, here's my distilled dimes list of the moment, but I'll probably change my mind fifteen seconds after I hit the submit button.

Alice Cooper - Feed My Frankenstein
Barenaked Ladies - Grim Grinning Ghosts
Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead
Bernard Herrmann - theme from Psycho
Blue Öyster Cult - Don't Fear The Reaper
Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers - Monster Mash
Cat Power - Werewolf
Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting
Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Put A Spell On You
Dave Matthews - Gravedigger
David Seville - Witch Doctor
Down - Stone The Crow
Dusty Springfield - Spooky
Eagles - Witchy Woman
Eden Automatic - Vampire Discotheque
Ginger MacKenzie - Sliver Of A Moon
Kill Lizzie - I Hear Chains
Kristy Kruger - Pride
Leon Redbone - The Witch Queen of New Orleans
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (Exorcist)
Ministry - Everyday Is Halloween
Neil Norman - Twilight Zone theme
Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark At The Moon
Peter Gabriel - Digging In The Dirt
Ray Parker Jr - Ghostbusters
Reverend Horton Heat - The Devil's Chasin Me
Rick Yost - Monster Inside
Rockapella - Zombie Jamboree
Rocky Horror Picture Show - Time Warp
Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Jeepers Creepers
Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
Tim Curry - Anything Can Happen
The Touch - The Vampire Song
Vic Mizzy - The Addams Family Theme
Warren Zevon - Werewolves Of London


Meatloaf, Scooby Doo, Alice In Chains, Ken Nordine, Cream, David Bowie and The Cranberries almost made it to this list but I changed my mind at the last minute and am already kicking myself. The Who's Boris The Spider, Loreena McKennitt, Tom Waits, Tom Lehrer oh there's just too many. If you got little kids, anything by "Drew's Famous" is nice. Personally I like "Which Witch is Which?" by them, but I don't have any kids, so...
posted by ZachsMind at 7:54 PM on September 28, 2007

Does anyone have any ideas how to make sense of Halloween music? There must be a better way to organize Halloween music because last night I tried again to go through my personal collection and it's patently absurd to lump the theme from the Addams Family into the same category as Warren Zevon.

Oftentimes I come across a song that's CALLED Halloween, or is otherwise intentionally suited, and the people who made the song obviously intended for it to be a carol if not an anthem for the holiday, but more often than not it just misses the mark by a mile. For completeness sake, does one have to include even the ones that subjectively suck? One man's trash is another's treasure, after all.

Other songs were not intended to be Halloweeny, but just as a sunset can take a landscape and make it look totally different. This time of year seems to make some songs eerily glow as they otherwise would not, but Cream's Strange Brew just doesn't work well with Psycho Killer by the Talking Heads. The Doors' People Are Strange does sound strange played before or after Purple People Eater.

Try Zombie Stomp and Zombie Jamboree back to back. You might get a nosebleed.

This topic is a longstanding hobby of mine but I can't find any way to organize this music in a manner that suits me, or makes any kind of sense.
posted by ZachsMind at 4:47 PM on September 29, 2007

"Leon Redbone - The Witch Queen of New Orleans"

Well that's embarrassing. That keeps happening and I keep fixing it in my lists and it keeps changing back. I can't explain it. That's just the BAND called Redbone. Leon Redbone's a completely other guy. I think my music collection is haunted.
posted by ZachsMind at 3:47 PM on September 30, 2007

Response by poster: Well, I mostly break it into two categories. Songs about the holiday (which are often kind of silly or at least tongue-in-cheek), and songs with a generally creepy air.

The key for me, I think, is that I'm very strict about the generally creepy kind. Some people will throw in any song with a reference to ghosts or graves or whatever, as if it's spooky based on that and the time of year alone. No sir.

To use your music as an example, I wouldn't put "Psycho Killer" on a Halloween mix. The subject matter alone doesn't make it creepy to me. I would include "I Put a Spell on You", or "Dead Man's Party". The music and tone of those two just resonates with Halloween and eeriness for me.
posted by Roman Graves at 3:16 AM on October 2, 2007

The Holy Modal Rounders - "Werewolf"
posted by ryanshepard at 10:46 AM on November 14, 2007