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Horror Songs
(PS the punny mispellings are intentional)
Here’s an article I did a few years back for Halloween. The newspaper I pitched it to never used it (probably because it was not about wrestling or beatles impersonators), so I am going to share it with you today.) Feel free to send me suggestions for updates.
You need to find some spooky horror tunes for a Halloween party, and you don’t know witch ones to pick. It’s a grave situation and there’s a lot at stake. Here’s an article about horror songs which breaks them into categories according to what they’re about.
Trying to keep track of all the songs about vampires can be draining. The hiphop/neofunk Outkast wrote a fine, romantic song about the king of all vamps called “Dracula’s Wedding Day,” but it’s not very scary. Concrete Blonde did a rather sensual song about vampirism called “Bloodletting.” The narrator in Blue Oyster Cult’s “Tattoo Vampires” complains that vampire photos suck his skin. This is somewhat ironic since much of the modern post Bram Stoker vampire mythology claims vamps don’t cast reflections.
The Frankenstein monster has inspired some electrifying tunes. The New York Dolls and the Edgar Winter Group did songs titled “Frankenstein” but neither of them had too much to do with the Frankenstein story. The only song I could find which deals extensively with images or idea from the novel and movies is Blaster the Rocketman’s “the Frankenstein Monster Wants a Wife.”
Some get a rise out of the many zombie songs. The walking dead are the subject of the Cramps “The Surf’ in Dead” which was featured prominently in the “Return of the Living Dead” film. Rocky Erickson has a song called “I Walk with a Zombie” which was probably inspired by the classic Val Lewton film, “I Walked with A Zombie”. The Misfits’s “Day of the Dead” was certainly inspired by George Romero’s film with the same name. Zombies appear in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”), and zombie animals are the subject of the Ramones's “
Werewolves and other were creatures were the subject of some biting cuts. The Guess Who’s novelty hit, “Clap for the Wolfman” is a tribute to a DJ who sported a werewolf like look. “Teenage Werewolf’ was inspired by the Michael Landon film, “I Was a Teenage Werewolf”. But the best hit ever about werewolves is Warren Zevon’s sharply satirical “Werewolves of London.” In addition, David Bowie’s werecat song from the film “Cat People” was one of the last great things he did.
Witches show up in the Black Sabbath classic ‘”War Pigs,” As originally done by Black Sabbath it’s a metal tune, but Chicago band Freakwater did a hilarious female folk version of it, which was played on Jon Langford's WXRT weekly radio show, the Eclectic Company.
Often times the power of female sexuality is equated with witchcraft or mesmerism as in Frank Sinatra’s “Witchcraft.” or Santana’s “Black Magic Woman.” Klaus Nomi’s version of “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” is great fun, and folk dork, Donavan warned of the coming “Season of the Witch which later became the title of a George Romero film.
There are some spirited ghost songs. Robyn Hitchcock’s “My Wife and My Dead Wife” is about a most unusual love triangle in which one of the women is a specter, and Wilco’s last CD includes the wonderfully atmospheric track “A Ghost is Born.”
Some of the killer tracks about sociopaths include “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads, the punk classic “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” by the Adverts, and Warren Zevon’s frightening “Excitable Boy.” The Undertones song “There Goes Norman” is about
There have been many hot songs about the ultimate manifestation of evil, Satan and his domain, hell. It goes all the way back to Robert Johnson who wailed that there’s a “Hellhound on My Tail.” In the Rolling Stones’s classic “Sympathy for the Devil,” Satan is portrayed as a sophisticated gentleman who manipulates people into committing acts of evil during major historical events. But the Stones’s “Paint it Black” is much creepier
The Jazz Butcher did a humorous drinking song called “The Devil is My Friend” in which Satan goes too far and insults the narrator. There’s also the almost totally forgotten early ‘70s hit by former teen idol, Cliff Richard, “Devil Woman” in which he warns “She’s going to get you from behind” It is relatively certain that King Crimson’s signature tune “In the Court of the Crimson King” is about the prince of lies.
Actors from horror films inspired Alice Cooper’s “The Ballad of Dwight Frye” and Bauhaus’s classic “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” which helped launch the whole Goth movement.
Finally “Monster Mash:” mentions almost all of the Universal Studios monsters including Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster and the Wolfman. The song has been overplayed, but Bobby Picket does a mean Boris Karloff impersonation.
My all time favorite Halloween compilation is “Just Can’t Get Enough: Halloween New Wave” which includes half a dozen songs about Halloween. The best of them is “Halloween” by the
Now without further ado, here’s the top 50 spookiest, creepiest, Halloween songs along with the CDs they appear on.
The Ballad of Dwight Frye-Alice Cooper (Alice Cooper Complete)
Bela Lugosi's Dead-Bauhaus (
Black Magic Woman-Santana (Black Magic Woman and Other Songs)
Bloodletting-Concrete Blonde (Bloodletting)
Boris the Spider-The Who (A Quick One/Happy Jack)
Cat People (Putting Out Fire)-Dave Bowie (The Best of David Bowie)
Creature from the Black Lagoon-Dave Edmunds (Anthology)
Day of the Dead-The Misfits (American Psycho)
Dead Man in My
The Devil is My Friend-The Jazz Butcher (Bloody Nonsense)
Devil Woman-Cliff Richards (Cliff Richard Collection)
Dirty Frank-Pearl Jam (Lost Dogs)
Don’t Fear the Reaper-Blue Oyster Cult (Agents of Fortune)
Dracula's Wedding Day-Outkast (Speaker/Box)
Excitable Boy-Warren Zevon (Excitable Boy)
Eyes Without a face-Billy Idol (Greatest Hits)
Frankenstein's Monster Wants a Wife-Blaster the Rocketman (The Monster Who Ate Jesus)
Gloomy Monday-Lunch,
Halloween-Ministry (Just Can’t Stop It: New Wave Halloween)
Hammer Horror-Kate Bush (Lionheart)
Happy House-Siouxie and the Banshees (Once Upon A Time: The Singles)
Haunted House-Alien Sex Fiend (The Singles 1983-85)
Hellhound on My Tail-Robert Johnson (King of the Delta Blues)
Homicidal Girl-Batmobile (Welcome to the Planet Cheese)
Human Fly-The Cramps (Bad Music for Bad People)
I Put a Spell on You-Screamin Jay Hawkins (Greatest Hits)
I Walk with a Zombie-Roky Erickson and the Aliens (I Have Always Been Here Before)
Jack the Ripper-Motorhead (March or Die)
The Killing Moon-Echo and the Bunnymen (Donnie Darko soundtrack)
Little Ghost-White Stripes (Get Behind Me Satan)
Monster Mash-Boris Pickett (almost every single Halloween collection)
Mr. Jekyll Doesn't Hide-Ozzy Osbourne (unknown)
The Mummer's Dance-McKennitt, Lorenna (The Book of Secrets)
Mystic Eyes-Morrison, Van/Them (Them Featuring Van Morrison)
My Wife and My Dead Wife-Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians (Fegmania)
Paint it Black-Rolling Stones (Aftermath)
Psycho Killer-Talking Heads (Talking Heads’77)
Richard Speck-Wesley Willis (Greatest Hits)
Spellbound-Siouxie and the Banshees (Once Upon A Time: The Singles)
Skull Full of Maggots-Cannibal Corpse (Eaten Back to Life)
Spider Baby-White Zombie (La Sexorctiso: Devil Music Vol. 1)
The Surf’in Dead-The Cramps (Return of the Living Dead Soundtrack)
There Goes
Thriller, Michael, Jackson (Thriller)
Vampire-Peter Tosh (No Nuclear War)
Wicked Arabella-The Kinks (The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society)
Werewolves of London-Warren Zevon (Excitable Boy)
Wolf pack-Barrett, Syd (Barrett)
