The Scarecrow is a creature as old as agriculture whose existence is built on fear. What a perfect fiend for Halloween! To honor of these pumpkin-headed kings I hearby offer this harvest of 13 songs to keep the corn swaying at your Halloween party.
Call it Synthwave, Darksynth, Darkwave or Retrowave, but you know it when you hear it – that sinister pulsing buzz that powered a generation of horror and science fiction.
Here are 13 tracks throbbing with electronic menace to set the mood for your Halloween party.
Halloween Theme – John Carpenter
The master who defined the genre.
Stranger Things Theme – Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
Anyone who’s ever seen a spooky scary skeleton rattle its bones or turn a friend into a xylophone knows that they are a jazzy bunch. After 10 years I’m thrilled to get some Jazz into the mix, but it’s not all dooting horns and startling shrilly screams – you’ll find many genres in this bone-nanza.
Here are 13 spine-tingling tracks to get your guests shaking their hip bones.
The Skeleton in the Closet – Louis Armstrong
Who better to strike up the band than Satchmo?
Rattlin’ Bones – The Preservation Hall Jazz Band
I heard these guys play while packed like a crawdad in a po’boy between the sweltering ramshackle walls of Preservation Hall in New Orleans.
Spooky, Scary Skeletons – Andrew Gold
The foundation stone of the Triple S tradition.
Skeleton Fight – Mack Allen Smith
Things escalate quickly in this odd-ball 60’s jam.
Graveyard Boogie – King Flamingo
You take your chances when you bring a date to the cemetery.
Nobody Likes You (When You’re Dead) – Zombina & The Skeletones
Don’t cremate, appreciate.
I’ve Got A Bone – Dan Bull
Apparently this is a Minecraft thing, I’m probably the last one to hear it, but I’m glad I did. I love the manic energy, brilliant word play, hilarious performance, driving synth and pitch-perfect theremin.
Do the Skeleton Scat! – The Wiggles
Do the Wiggles always kick this much ass? I think I’m a Wiggles fan now.
Cumbia de los Muertos – Ozomotli
If I get a chance to show some love for LA’s hometown heroes ‘Ozomotli’ I’m taking it.
Dead Man’s Bones – Dead Man’s Bones
Did you know that Ryan Gosling had a band? Did you know they’re spooky as hell?
Graveyard’s Full – The Growlers
This band’s sound is called ‘Beach Goth’. I don’t know if that’s an oxymoron, but I like it.
‘Taint No Sin – Lee Morse
This song may seem corny, but it gives me ‘Hellraiser’ flashbacks.
Skeleton Sam – LVCRFT
And finally, a little more saxo-bone and scare-emin to close this year’s list.
Click here to get my book ‘We Bleed Orange & Black: 31 Fun-sized Tales for Halloween’, including my Top Ten Tips for Becoming a Spooky Scary Skeleton.
My annual Halloween playlists have featured a lot of Hip Hop, so this year I dug six feet deeper to find 13 new tracks. The Horrorcore genre is filled with amazing songs from artists like Insane Poetry and Immortal Technique, but those are too scary to dance to. This mix will set the Halloween mood and keep people moving.
Amityville (The House on the Hill) by Lovebug Starski
This old school Monster Mash is the perfect way to start a party
The Crypt Jam by John Kassir
I’m not sure it gets more Halloween, or 90’s, than this one
Maniac Cop Rap by Barnes and Brian “B.Dub” Woods
Movie credit raps are THE BEST
Addams Groove by MC Hammer
Take foolish pride, put it aside, and groove to MC Hammer
Monster Squad Rap by Michael Sembello
5 minutes of Halloween flavor
Murder Ink by Dr. Dre
If you are going to rap about a murder spree, do it to John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween’
Chuckie by Geto Boyz
Don’t like it? Blame it on Chucky
Nine Dead Bodies by Esham
I’m going with a live version because it suits this wild, raucous song
Halloween on Military Street by Insane Clown Posse
This forgotten freshness takes you on a Trick or Treating journey
Alive (Nightmare) by Kid Cudi
I believe there is sufficient evidence to officially declare this a werewolf song
Sasquatch by Ice Cube
Time to get the party ramped back up with some Squatchin’
Bollywood Undead by Kung Fu Vampire
If you love bhangra, kung fu and vampires this is the track for you
1-800-Suicide by Gravediggaz
Any Gravediggaz song would work, but this one ends with Vincent Price’s laughter
There are gifs that perfectly sum up an emotion or experience, and there are gifs that defy reality and beg for explanation.
These will be the basis of W.P.G., The Writing Prompt Gif Game.
I want people to send each other the world’s best and worst gifs as writing prompts. The gif can appear at any point in the story. End the story and tag another person with a new gif, invite them to build on the story, whatever you like.
This is all just an excuse for me to collect my favorite gifs for posterity and pretend I’m being productive, but that’s not important.
I’ll go first, with a musical tale I call…
LOSE YOURSELF
B-Rabbit stood on the stage, trembling, mouth dry, about to lose the most important rap battle of his life before it even began. He stared into the lights to blur the vision of his swaggering rival and jeering crowd, to burn away everything except for the beat. His fingers were clenched around the cheap mic, knuckles turning white as he tried to hold onto the words that were vanishing, unborn, from the tip of his tongue.
He dug deep inside and dredged up all of his anger, fear, passion and pain. It threatened to choke him or tumble from his mouth as sobs and shrieks, but he forced it, through sheer will, to come out as truth.
“Look If you had One shot Or one opportunity To seize everything you ever wanted In one moment Would you capture it Or just let it slip?
Yo His palms are sweaty,
knees weak, arms are heavy There’s vomit on his sweater already,
…crab spaghetti!”
The End
And there you have it, the first of doubtless millions of WPGs.
It has been a long time since I’ve demanded my MTV, but every now and again I’ll catch a glimpse of a music video with some great Sci-Fi and Horror elements.
Allow me to play VJ for a moment and introduce a few videos.
1. 1983 by Neon Trees
I am always on the lookout for vampires. Something about this video, with its Zoltar machine wish opening and Lost Boys style carousel setting made my Vamp-sense tingle. I did not expect a brief cameo (at 3:18) from a fully grown Edgar Frog!
If you do not know who Edgar Frog is, please leave.
2. Thought Contagion by Muse
This suite of videos off the band’s album Simulation Theory is a shot gun blast of awesome sauce straight from the 1980s. There are vampires, werewolves, robots, Tron style VR chases, time traveling phone booths, and Terry Crews taking out Critters with a proton pack. It’s madness.
3. Odd Look by Kavinsky
This one is a bit older but I think some people missed it. Kavinsky is the magic, Ferrari driving zombie altar ego of a french electropop musician. The concept album OUTRUN is like the movie The Wraith. Did you see that one? That’s how cool the album is.
4. Bonfire by Childish Gambino
Before Donald Glover made Atlanta or This is America he was making interesting, experimental videos like these next two. Bonfire is a self-contained horror story set at a summer camp with a great twist.
5. Telegraph Ave by Childish Gambino
This one is full of chill vibes and gorgeous visuals leading to a shocking turn (at 3:40).
6. Deep Down Low by Valentino Khan
Want to see something really tentacular? Check out the video for this house music track that looks like something Junji Ito might experience tripping on ketamine in Innsmouth.
For more music curated for genre fans, try my Music Page.
Author Jeff C. Carter 