31 Killer Halloween Rock Songs

If you're looking for the "Monster Mash" you may look elsewhere. Halloween is handily the most rock n' roll friendly holiday, as the music that initially frightened parents and authority figures can always take particular inspiration from the vibes that are generally put forth on Halloween, anyway. We've compiled 31 appropriate (or inappropriate) tunes for the holiday, focusing either specifically on horror movies, the supernatural, or that just have a spooky hook somewhere in there.

So, here's how we've done this. We've got one player at the top of the page that will just play you everything. If you want individual tunes and/or particularly care about our opinions, this is structured like a traditional list after that...although we've tried to arrange this like a double LP (four sides) of music. 

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And then on to the "traditional" way of doing things...

"Theme from The Blob" Burt Bacharach

For the record, this tune is credited to imaginary vocal group "The Five Blobs" which kinda speaks for itself. I've included the actual film's opening credits for this, so you can get sucked into that acoustic guitar bit over the Paramount logo before the hypnotic spiral comes in to make you sufficiently stoned to get the most out of the rest of this list. I defy you not to sing this to yourself for the rest of the day as the tune "creeps and leaps and glides and slides" its way into your brain. In fact, here's a TEN HOUR LOOP of it for the more adventurous among you. Happy Halloween. - Mike

"The Witch" The Sonics

This may be blasphemy, but if not for this one song, The Sonics would probably be considered a fairly tame, forgettable early-’60s garage band. So thank god for this primitive, staccato wonderment which predated all those witch songs that would come along a decade later with it’s cautionary tale of the new girl in town, the one with the long black hair and long black car who may or may not be a witch. Or at least something that rhymes with “witch.” - Jim

"He’s a Vampire" Archie King

Archie King was a man years ahead of his time. Okay, so it’s just another R&B holiday novelty song, and not particularly great on either count. But a decade before the Sonics, he’d already provided, if not a counterpoint, at least a companion song to “The Witch.” And 20 years before Bauhaus he used all the same damn imagery those mopey Brits would turn into their biggest hit. Yet does he ever get any credit? - Jim

"Night of the Living Dead" The Misfits

This list could literally be just a list of Misfits' songs, so this was a hard choice. In the early days, these boys from New Jersey wrote almost exclusively about the horror business but this catchy gem sticks out as one of the best of their catalog. - Vinny

"George Romero" Sprites

You probably have never heard of this indie rock tribute to the King of the Zombies, and that’s okay. Just knowing that it exists out there in the world is reason enough to celebrate. Name-checking horror greats like Romero cohort Tom Savini and Dario Argento, this track is a delightful sing-songy celebration of the horror movies that makes the season so unforgettably spooky. And the "attention all shoppers..."Dawn of the Dead sample that kicks off the tune is absolutely inspired. - Chris

"Pretty Visitors" The Arctic Monkeys

The Arctic Monkey’s finally reached US superstardom with last year’s slinky, sexy album AM, but the bands back catalog features much more snarly, hard-rocking fare. No song gets much more viciously plodding then the ferocious “Pretty Visitors,” from the band’s dark, psychedelic third record, Humbug. “Pretty Visitors,” has a sinister Hammond organ and lead singer Alex Turner almost rapping scathing lyrics and talking about the titular visitors waving their arms, projecting “the shadow of a snake pit on the wall.” - Nick

"Green Slime" Richard Delvy

Richard Delvy was a founding member of legendary surf bands The Challengers and the Bel Airs. The Green Slime was a 1970 Japanese/American co-production about a space station overrun with one-eyed Sid and Marty Krofft knockoffs. The highlight of the former’s short-lived solo career involved recording the theme song for the latter. Apart from being The Greatest Movie Theme Song of All Time, it’s also a formidable piece of post-surf psychedelia. Better still, it’s a formidable piece of post-surf psychedelia about...GRE-EN SLIIIIIIIME! - Jim

"Devil Town" Bright Eyes

Prolific singer-songwriter Connor Oberst doesn’t usually conjure the image of terror, but on his Bright Eyes demo, “Devil Town,” a cover of a Daniel Johnston track, he sings about a town comprised completely of blood-sucking vampires so melancholically that you don’t even feel scared, just sorry for the guy. - Nick

"Wolf" Iced Earth

Iced Earth's Horror Show is a tribute to all the great horror villains of the 20th century. This heavy metal homage to The Wolf Manopens the album which also features tributes to The Omen, Dracula, and The Phantom of the Opera. - Vinny

"Sweet Transvestite" Tim Curry

Regardless of your thoughts on The Rocky Horror Picture Show and its attendant subculture, I am certain of one thing: if you don't like "Sweet Transvestite" you don't like rock n' roll. That guitar kicks in at 52 seconds into this clip, and what follows is one of the most perfectly arranged, muscular tunes of its kind, capped off by Tim Curry's raised eyebrow "zero fucks given" vocal. - Mike

"Spider Baby Theme" Lon Chaney Jr.

It’s one of the top five Greatest Movie Theme Songs of All Time. The credits sequence of Jack Hill’s low-budget 1967 cannibal comedy are accompanied by star Lon Chaney Jr. himself growling and cackling his way through a musical Halloween poem that calls up all the usual suspects, vampires, mummies, spiders, ghouls, werewolves, and Frankensteins, and invites them all to a “cannibal orgy.” While the song is intentionally goofy and sets the perfect tone for the film to come, it’s also (unintentionally) a stand-alone Halloween novelty song that could give Bobby “Boris” Pickett a run for his money. - Jim

"Horror Movies" Bollock Brothers

Point to ponder: Is this jam from awesome-yet-forgotten UK pop outlet Bollock Brothers the horror equivalent of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire?" While you try your damnedest to wrap your head around the ramifications of that possibility, let it be known that this is the only song in existence that references Vincent Price and later makes a cheesy double entendre. For more pop wonderment from the group, check out their ridiculous cover of Serge Gainsbourg's immortal "Harley David (Son of a Bitch)." - Chris

"Evil Eye" Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand roared back to life last year with new album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, with all their stomp, sass, and grooves still punching with full-force. “Evil Eye,” a campy, organ laced, dance-punk standout from the record is the band’s “Take Me Out,” by the way of Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me,” with singer Alex Kapranos delivering paranoid freak-outs, desperately trying to be the coolest cat on your Halloween playlist, and mostly succeeding. - Nick

"Bela Lugosi’s Dead" Bauhaus

Bauhaus were just so damnably if unintentionally silly in their deadly serious Goth kings pose, and their big Goth disco hit so over the top in its hamfisted obviousness, how could it not make everyone’s Halloween song top 10 (or worm it’s way onto The Hunger soundtrack for that matter)? It was a song ready-made and pre-packaged for the teen vampire renaissance that would come along 25 years after it was released. Gotta admit, for all it’s cartoon imagery, it’s still pretty catchy. - Jim

"Children of the Grave" Black Sabbath

With Sabbath where the hell do you even begin? With the possible (and only possible) exception of “War Pigs,” they were just one long, loud, rolling Halloween party. Might as well slap every album up here and leave it at that. Instead, we just chose “Children of the Grave” as it seemed particularly appropriate, and we like that one. - Jim

"Halloween" Siouxsie and the Banshees

The Magnetic Fields'"No One Will Ever Love You" is the band's attempt to sum up the listening experience of Fleetwood Mac's Rumoursalbum in one three minute and thirteen second pop song. If someone tried a similiar experiment to condense the entire goth scene into a song, the resulting melody would almost certainly sound like Siouxsie and the Banshees'"Halloween."

This one has everything. Evocative imagery? Uh huh. "The carefree days are distant now, I wear my emotions like a shroud" croons Siouxsie Sioux like a precious snowflake left to melt away to nothingness in the sunlight. Provocative/pretentious imagery? Check! (I want to get the lyric "I wander through your sadness" tattooed across my forehead). Put this one on at your Halloween party this year and dance. Dance like it's already too late. Dance like there's no tomorrow. Dance like you are already dead. - Chris

"Night of the Sadist" Larry and the Blue Notes

Re-recorded as "Night of the Phantom" and released wide, Texas' Larry and the Blue Notes created a chilling and controversial tale of a serial killer coming for his teenage victims. The original “Sadist” became somewhat of a legend amongst Garage rock aficionados and was eventually released. - Vinny

"Everyday is Halloween" Ministry

Ministry is one of the most respected industrial acts ever. But before they achieved acclaim from the 120 Minutesset, the group released some music that could conceivably be mistaken for acts like Celebrate the Nun (at best) or Anything Box (at worst). It is silly and stupid and is absolutely wonderful.

Case in point, "Everyday Is Halloween." Opening with the words "well I live with lizards" and just getting more absurd from there, this dance floor favorite lets listeners get in touch with their inner Jack Skellington by envisioning a world where each moment is full of witches and darkness and other Hot Topic-approved nonsense that melts away once you realize that life is actually about paying rent, maintaining your crappy relationship and making a slow trek towards oblivion. Fact: Every day is not Halloween. - Chris

"What’s Behind the Mask?" The Cramps

If you’re born into this world looking like zombie Elvis, what choice do you have but to perform psychobilly inspired by B horror films? Still, of all those great, great Cramps songs to choose from, “What’s Behind the Mask?,” a question a lot of people will be asking at drunken Halloween parties the world over, seemed the most appropriate. And Lux Interior’s closing line (“Sorry I ever asked”) is probably the same response all those people will be feeling when they find out. - Jim

"The Living Dead" Phantom Planet

Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse was an Xbox game, using the Halo Engine, which allowed players to play as a zombie hell-bent on devouring some of those delicious brains. The game featured a killer soundtrack of modern alternative bands covering ‘50s and ‘60s pop songs, but Phantom Planet supplied an original track, “The Living Dead,” that starts slow and menacing, with singer Alex Greenwald setting the post-apocalyptic scene before the band bursts out into jangly-guitar driven verses and a big shout-sing chorus. - Nick

“Dracula’s Daughter” The Woggles

A fairly self-explanatory title masks a surefire party starter and some thoroughly primal rock n' roll. Sure, it shares a name with a kinda lifeless 1936 Universal flick, but if this tune doesn’t get the blood flowing, someone needs to check your pulse. Also, if The Woggles ever come to your town, do not miss them.  - Mike

"If You Have Ghosts" Roky Erickson and The Aliens 

Though a touch more psychedelic than horrific, the legendary Erickson has often dabbled in songs about the unseen. Here, his haunted mind is let loose, perhaps literally. - Vinny

"Like a Ghost" Ignatius Jones

As has been established elsewhere already, ours is not a perfect world. Yet another example of this phenomenon is how Ignatius Jones'"Like a Ghost" lives in obscurity while fellow 1980s oddball songs like "Whip It" and "I Ran" have their own endorsement deals. This song, which I'm fairly sure is where the idea for The Sixth Sense came from, concerns a protagonist who is wondering why everybody treats him like he's a ghost. (Answer: 'cause he's dead). Still, what a jam. - Chris

"Partytime" (Zombie Version) .45 Grave

The anthem of Return of the Living Dead and its many followers plays in minds on loop for most of October. In case you were wondering, there is a non-zombie verison, and its quite terrifying in its own right. - Vinny

"Careful With That Axe, Eugene" Pink Floyd                                                                        

Before there was a Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Pink Floyd plumbed the dark side of British psychedelics with this atmospheric almost instrumental. A voice soars along with the guitars as the song reaches its climax. The simple rhythmic bass and echoed drum fills bring as much tension as Joan Crawford did when she played an axe-murderer. But it’s that one line of lyric. Breathtaking in its simplicity. Maybe the best lyrics written by Pink Floyd and they are great lyricists. The whispered “careful with that axe, Eugene” is followed by screams and an explosion of chords.

I was driving with my daughters listening to this and one said, “I don’t know who’s screaming, Eugene or the guy who told him to be careful,” but either way. Nothing and everything is left to the imagination. A very cinematic song. - Tony

"Maxwell’s Silver Hammer" The Beatles

The Beatles were some spooky motherfuckers when they were in the mood. They approached chords and rhythms menacingly when the music called for it. “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” is proto-goth rock. When you first hear “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” it seems like a children’s song for old fashioned British kids in short pants. Then the lyrics hit you. This Max guy, he’s a serial killer, right? You can almost hear McCartney look around and take a breath before he gets into each verse’s most violent lines - “and as the words are leaving his lips” etc. – like he’s telling scary stories in front of a fire. Also, the whole Rose and Valerie in court yelling Maxwell must go free, that’s a little too prescient of Squeaky Fromme at the Charlie Manson trial to be ignored. - Tony

“Where the Wolf Bane Blooms” The Nomads 

This one has all the hallmarks of the genre, from the loud-ass drums to the swirling organ in the background. The guitar solo that starts howling at 1:02 is an appropriately lupine touch. But it’s the lyrics here that really stand out, all about “the pale light of the moon” and “ancient voices” capped off with a reworking of The Wolf Man’s famous poem about lycanthropy to suit the tune, “you may be pure of heart, and pure of soul, but you’ll become a wolf when the moon is full.”  - Mike

"Nightmare" 213

Never let anyone tell you its just a dream. 213 existed only to bring us this song, thank you 213. - Vinny

"Little Demon" Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Screamin’ Jay has a way of making it onto Halloween-themed compilation albums, usually with tired old standards like “I Put a Spell on You” or “Feast of the Mau-Mau,” but this wild-eyed early rock’n’roll screamer puts them both to shame. What nakes this story of a demon trapped on earth trying to find his way home so perfect is that in the song’s chorus (if you could call it that) Screamin’ Jay, swear to god, is literally channeling a demon’s voice. It’s hilarious and scary as hell all at the same time. - Jim

"Magic" Mick Smiley

Don't get confused by the first two minutes of this song, which sounds like any other overproduced '80s ballad. The fun starts at 2:19 when you realize this actually transitions into that haunting Peter Murphy-sounding tune from Ghostbusters...the one from the scene where all the supernatural shit has just hit the fan. There's something sinister about how this song simply transitions into something else entirely, and while it's a little off-putting out of context, just remind yourself it comes from this scene, and everything will be alright. - Mike

"We Are the Dead" David Bowie

What could be more horrifying than anti-sex goons coming up the stairs while you’re in your best fuck me pumps? This is the probably the only song ever written about federal performus interruptus. The menacing guitar lines go down before they ascend. Bowie’s imagery is frightening, sexy and touching. His delivery is controlled mania, fearful and rebellious and so vulnerable. -  Tony

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