The Stories Behind Popular Halloween Songs

As the days grow shorter and the nights chillier, the Halloween decorations come out of the garage, grocery stores turn orange, and certain songs emerge from the ether for their glory days. Just as Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" signals the arrival of Santa Claus, a handful of tunes have become affiliated with spooky season. According to The New York Times, Spotify data indicates that Halloween music streaming increases about two weeks before October 31, spiking on the day itself or the Saturday before it — likely when Halloween parties are in full swing. But compared to Christmas music, which tends to be pretty cut-and-dry both thematically and musically, the concept of what constitutes a Halloween song is a little murkier.

Some Halloween songs merely mention monsters or killers in the lyrics, while others seem completely unrelated but are linked to movies or motifs that have become Halloween staples. A select few, like those found on horror movie soundtracks, utilize techniques that make the listener feel unsettled or downright creeped out. As The Current notes, many Halloween songs feature tritones, which are ratios of complex frequencies that create a feeling of unease once known as "the devil's interval." Others use ostinato, which is the stressful repetition of musical structures that give the "Jaws" and "Halloween" movie themes their terror-inducing vibes. But how exactly did listening to this bizarre hodgepodge of songs become an annual tradition? Here are the stories behind some of the most popular Halloween songs.

While many covers of this song now exist, including a witchy performance in "Hocus Pocus", the version by Screamin' Jay Hawkins' in 1956 came first. According to 500 Songs, Hawkins penned the lyrics in 1954 after his girlfriend left him, claiming he would put a spell on her to inspire her to return. But it wasn't released.

Two years later, Hawkins signed to a bigger record label and they wanted a new recording of the song. Producer Arnold Maxim knew Hawkins and his band put on passionate live shows, but they struggled to come to life in the studio. So, he ordered some beer and told them it was a party. Once they were good and loosened up, Maxim began to record — and the eccentric "I Put a Spell on You," full of chaotic, soulful yells, was the result.

After the song's success, Hawkins transitioned from a blues artist to the first shock rocker. He cultivated a voodoo-inspired image by wearing capes and a bone in his nose. Later, he incorporated a smoking skull on a stick, a rubber snake, and a coffin, which he would rise out of at the start of shows. Per The Current, he also used pyrotechnics and cast staged spells. Teens especially enjoyed his antics, as horror was on the rise. Future acts like Gwar, The Cramps, and Alice Cooper later emulated his theatrical style.

With its plodding rhythm, the growly voice of Nick Cave, and a title that suggests a killer on the loose, 1994's "Red Right Hand" is sinister indeed. As The New York Post notes, the song grew out of a jam session. Cave wasn't initially that enthused about it, but his band convinced him to write lyrics to fit the ominous groove. 

According to Far Out Magazine, Cave drew inspiration from John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost," the literary work credited with making Satan a seductive figure rather than a mere monster. The song even takes its title from a line in the poem. At the time, Cave was attending church in the morning and visiting his drug dealer in the afternoon, and the song expresses Milton's personal battle between heaven and hell. He filled a notebook as he created his prowling red-right-handed character who, according to Cave's bandmate Mick Harvey, was "seemingly part deity, part demon."

Once released, the song took on a life of its own. It first gained a spooky reputation when it occurred in a 1996 episode of "The X-Files" and became cemented in pop culture when it was featured in the first three "Scream" movies (via The New York Post). Two decades later, it saw a resurgence as the theme song to "Peaky Blinders." Ever the poet, Cave claims that the song — now his biggest hit — has "followed him around like a junkyard dog" (per Financial Times).

Listen to the first few seconds of this classical piece and visions of Victorian castles and distinguished vampires will immediately spring to mind. It's an oldie with a mysterious history. Per Britannica, Johann Sebastian Bach likely wrote the song before 1708. It's a two-part composition, opening with the intense up-and-down toccata and closing with the gentler repeated overlayed melodies of the fugue.

According to Classical 90.5 KMUC, Bach was working as a music director in Leipzig, Germany at the time and was going through an organ phase. Still, some scholars doubt that he wrote "Toccata and Fugue." The original song manuscript lists the young composer and organist Johannes Ringk as its author. Sadly, the truth may never be known. In fact, the song itself was all but lost to time until composer Felix Mendelssohn started exploring Bach's more obscure offerings in the 1800s. He resurrected "Toccata and Fugue" in 1833 and by 1870 it was considered a Bach staple.

In 1931, the song was used as an accompaniment for the silent film "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and became associated with all things suspenseful and dark. As Royal S. Brown notes in his book "Overtones and Undertones," horror actor Boris Karloff later plays the piece in 1934's "The Black Cat," further solidifying its spooky reputation. Furthermore, the song is performed in the key of D minor. According to Musical U, minor keys in general are associated with sadness and fear.

Warren Zevon was a talented musician and songwriter with many other offerings, but his 1978 song about well-dressed beef lo-mein-eating werewolves is by far his most famous. According to American Songwriter, inspiration for the zany classic came when Phil Everly, of The Everly Brothers fame, mentioned watching the 1935 horror film "Werewolf of London." Zevon immediately rolled with the concept of a city-dwelling werewolf who, though cultured, nonetheless still devours people every full moon.

Guitarist LeRoy Marinell quickly came up with a riff and bandmate Waddy Wachtel wrote the first verse, in which a werewolf holds a Chinese menu in SoHo. Zevon then adapted the guitar to piano and the crew wrote the rest of the lyrics, which describe perfect-haired werewolves drinking piña coladas, attacking little old ladies, and, as Lon Chaney Jr., walking with the queen. Luckily, Zevon's then-wife Crystal managed to capture the moments of genius in writing.

Recording it in the studio was a challenge, as the band felt every attempt came off cutesier than they intended. After 50 takes — several, including the final version, featuring Mick Fleetwood and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac — they opted for a simple piano and guitar arrangement. While Zevon did not want it to be the album's first single and later disparaged his creation, the label pushed for its release. It became a smash hit.

Things weren't going smoothly during the filming of 1984's "Ghostbusters." According to Screen Rant, the script had to be rewritten multiple times, there were budget issues, and the project was behind schedule. Late in the game, the filmmakers were desperate for a theme song. As the legend goes, they even reached out to Lindsay Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac for a quick composition. Luckily, semi-retired session guitarist Ray Parker Jr. was in Los Angeles at the time and reluctantly agreed to help.

As Parker told "America's Top 10" in 1984, Columbia Pictures had reviewed and vetoed around 60 other potential songs before they called him in a panic. He was then given the impossible task of creating a theme song in only two days. Per Screen Rant, the guitar part came quickly but he struggled with the lyrics until he saw the Ghostbusters commercial that would be used in the film. Inspired by cheesy '80s television ads, he wrote the song as a jingle, leading to the iconic line "who ya gonna call?" Of course, Parker and Huey Lewis had a controversy, and Lewis and the News sued Parker for plagiarizing their song "I Want a New Drug" (per Entertainment Weekly). But that didn't stop "Ghostbusters" from dominating the charts and becoming one of the most beloved spooky hits of all time.

The story of The Ramones' catchy song "Pet Sematary" is steeped in lore. As Marky Ramone told it in his 2015 book, "Punk Rock Blitzkrieg," Stephen King handed Dee Dee Ramone a copy of "Pet Sematary," while serving the band dinner in his spooky basement. But, as King later noted in an interview with Rolling Stone, the dinner actually took place at a fancy restaurant and most of the band's members were incoherent. King told his publisher that while Marky's story was false, he supported it, stating: "When the truth and legend are in opposition, print the legend." What remains true is King's love for The Ramones. He even mentioned the band in his 1983 book "Pet Sematary," a horror novel about a supernatural graveyard that reanimates corpses in terrifying zombie form.

When it came time to add music to its 1989 film adaptation, The Ramones were an obvious choice. As director Mary Lambert told TIDAL, she asked her friend Dee Dee to write a song for the movie. According to producer Daniel Rey, Dee Dee read the book and penned the comically straightforward lyrics in around five hours that same day. Studio producer Jean Beauvoir added that it took two weeks to record the raw song with Joey Ramone's vocals and a few touches to give it commercial appeal. While the upbeat punk horror song wasn't an instant classic and even won a Razzie in 1990, it is now a must on all Halloween playlists.

Second to the organ, few things scream Halloween quite like the finger snaps and harpsichord intro of "The Addams Family" theme. According to Screen Rant, the catchy 1964 television ditty was written by Victor Mizzy, a songwriter who created popular music from the 1930s through the 1960s. Some of his songs were even performed by Doris Day, Billie Holiday, and Dean Martin.

In addition to writing the theme, Mizzy directed the opening credits of "The Addams Family," positioned the cast members, and made sure their finger snaps matched the track. As noted by NPR, he used a click track to ensure that the timing was just right. Mizzy wrote the song's lyrics to effectively summarize the premise of the show and its "all together ooky" characters. He also sang them himself — overdubbing his vocals three times to capture the right feel — and played the harpsichord.

Though he was a talented songwriter for many decades, "The Addams Family" theme became one of his best-known works and he luckily retained the publishing rights to the song. Mizzy once joked to a CBS interviewer (via Reuters): "Two finger snaps and you live in Bel-Air." The song has been featured in all subsequent Addams Family films, remains a staple at sporting events, and, of course, makes an annual appearance every Halloween.