It’s Time for a Rock & Roll Halloween

I am not sure what it is about Halloween, but I love this holiday. Maybe, it has to do with the fun I had as a kid going out in the neighborhood for trick or treat. Or, is it all the fun we had as teenagers performing mischievous acts through the neighborhood with acts that kids not longer do in Central Indiana: “soaping” car and house windows (writing or drawing messages on windows with a bar of soap), toilet papering neighbors’ trees or “corning” houses and moving cars with shucked corn from ears of corn liberated from nearby cornfields. I really do not know when these juvenile delinquent acts fell out of favor with teens, but they were a fun part of Halloween in the Seventies. Then, in High School and College (especially college!), Halloween parties were the stuff of legendary stories. Although I have MANY Halloween-related stories, most of them will be saved for oral discussions in order to protect the not-so-innocent. Yet, I am willing to tell on myself.

Still, let’s save those boring stories for a later date and time. Instead, let’s turn back the clock to the four Halloweens that I celebrated in college. My freshman year was decent, with costume parties being held all over campus. But, it was the last three that are forever burned into my cerebral cortex as some of the most fun parties ever. In 1982, my fraternity held a Rush party around the Halloween date, and the party had a MASH theme, named after that extremely popular TV show that was slowly moving into its last year or so. While many exciting things happened, perhaps the most significant was the fight that broke out when a couple of non-Ball State jerks attempted to crash our invite-only party. One of the guys got so pissed at us that he punched a couple of guys who were both attempting to diffuse the situation. Needless to say, the campus police were called and the party was shutdown with a bad taste in many of the guys still remaining in the house. It was as if a dark cloud moved into the fraternity and hovered over those guys. Both became shells of the guys they were before this incident. Of course, I missed everything because I was busy making sure a couple of extremely intoxicated newly activated brothers decided to tie one on this night including my “little brother” and fellow microbiology major Hubs. All was fine until one of the guys decided about halfway back to the dorms that he needed to relieve himself of some pent-up liquid waste products. Unfortunately, this moment took place on the front lawn of the largest church building hear the Ball State campus. Fortunately for these knuckleheads was the fact that they were all able to perform their act behind a very large bush while I had the privilege of being the look-out for these guys with full urinary bladders.

Once they completed their acts, I got them each back to their rooms so they could each sleep off that party. When I returned to my dorm room, I was greeted by a room full of people, all of whom were dressed up for the holiday, sitting around drinking and talking. It goes without saying that I grabbed a brew from the refrigerator and jumped into the conversation. This laidback moment broke up in the wee hours of that Saturday morning, while many of the ladies crashed in our room mainly so they did not get in trouble for being in the male dormitory after midnight. A couple simply had no business walking through campus in their condition since they could be potential wounded prey for some sicko molester lurking in the shadows of our campus.

In 1983, I dressed in my now infamous Boy George outfit. Of course, the theater friends of my then-girlfriend helped me create one of my finest Halloween outfits ever. I was such a doppelgänger for the lead singer of Culture Club that my frat brothers tried to get me to enter a campus-wide “King” contest for one of the bigger sorority events held annually at the time. Unfortunately, I disappointed everyone when I entered the contest as myself.  Maybe I would have won the contest as Boy George; however, we will never know since I was voted the first runner-up (or second place, also know as first loser) as myself.

My last Halloween as a college student was a complete Monster Mash at my now-wife’s house with whom she shared with five other young ladies. That night was the biggest and craziest party I have ever attended, as the girls hosted over 200 costumed college students in their rented house. It was so big that the cops stopped by two times to send people home, yet twice the party reconvened. After the third stop, the campus cops stopped the party and sent everyone “home.” It was one wild party with many inhibitions thrown to the wind.

It was back then when I began to tinker with my “party tape” mixes in which not only heated up the dancing but also included many seasonal songs. And, that is why I am obsessed with creating holiday party mixtapes for friends. That is why I have a list of 200 song titles that can be used for any Halloween party. Some of them are better for dance parties, while others are great for those parties attended by older people since the songs are more mellow yet eerie.

Let’s take a look at my 200 favorite songs for Halloween. And, now, by favorite Halloween songs, in alphabetical order.

1. AC/DC – “Highway to Hell”
2. AC/DC – “Night Prowler”
3. Adam Lambert – “Ghost Town”
4. Alice Cooper – “Feed My Frankenstein”
5. Alice Cooper – “I Love the Dead
6. Alice Cooper – “Welcome to My Nightmare”
7. Andrew Gold – “Spooky Scary Skeletons”
8. Annie Lennox – “Love Song for a Vampire”
9. Atlanta Rhythm Section – “Spooky”
10. Bauhaus – “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”
11. Beck – “Scarecrow”
12. Beyoncé – “Haunted”
13. Billie Eilish – “bury a friend”
14. Billy Idol – “Eyes Without a Face”
15. Billy Joel – “The Stranger”
16. Black Sabbath – “Black Sabbath”
17. Bloc Party – “Hunting for Witches”
18. Blondie – “Rapture”
19. Blondie – “Rip Her to Shreds”
20. Bloodrock – “D.O.A.”
21. Blue Öyster Cult – “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”
22. Bobby “Boris” Pickett & the Crypt Kickers Five – “Monster Mash”
23. Bow Wow Wow – “I Want Candy”
24. Britney Spears – “Toxic”
25. Bruce Springsteen – “Spirit in the Night”
26. Carly Rae Jepson – “Warm Blood”
27. Cerrone – “Supernature”
28. Charlie Daniels Band – “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”
29. Cheap Trick – “Ghost Town”
30. Childish Gambino – “Boogieman”
31. Chvrches – “Graves”
32. Classics IV – “Spooky”
33. Cliff Richard – “Devil Woman”
34. Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Bad Moon Rising”
35. Daryl Hall & John Oates – “Maneater”
36. Dave Edmunds – “The Creature from the Black Lagoon”
37. David Bowie – “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)”
38. David Seville – “Witch Doctor”
39. Dead Kennedys – “Halloween”
40. Diamond Head – “Am I Evil?”
41. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince – “A Nightmare on My Street”
42. Donovan – “The Season of the Witch”
43. Duran Duran – “Hungry like the Wolf”
44. Dusty Springfield – “Spooky”
45. Eagles – “Witchy Woman”
46. Echo & the Bunnymen – “People Are Strange”
47. Echo & the Bunnymen – “The Killing Moon”
48. Edgar Winter Group – “Frankenstein”
49. Eels – “My Beloved Monster”
50. Electric Light Orchestra – “Evil Woman”
51. Electric Light Orchestra – “Strange Magic”
52. Elvis Presley – “Devil in Disguise”
53. Eminem ft. Rihanna – “The Monster”
54. Evanescence – “Bring Me to Life”
55. Fifth Harmony – “I’m in Love with a Monster”
56. Five Finger Death Punch – “Jekyll and Hyde”
57. Fleetwood Mac – “Rhiannon”
58. Focus – “Hocus Pocus”
59. Franz Ferdinand – “Evil Eye”
60. Fred Schneider & the Shake Society – “Monster”
61. Gary Wright – “Dream Weaver”
62. Ghost – “Ritual”
63. Gnarls Barkley – “The Boogie Monster”
64. Goblin – “Suspiria”
65. Gorillaz – “Dracula”
66. Grateful Dead – “Friend of the Devil”
67. Halsey – “Devil in Me”
68. Halsey – “Ghost”
69. Halsey – “Nightmare”
70. Harry Styles – “Two Ghosts”
71. Hayley Williams – “Creeps”
72. Helen Reddy – “Angie Baby”
73. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora – “Black Widow”
74. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
75. INXS – “The Devil Inside”
76. Iron Maiden – “The Number of the Beast”
77. Japan – “Ghosts”
78. John Carpenter – “Halloween Theme”
79. John Mellencamp – “Rain on the Scarecrow”
80. Johnny Cash – “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky”
81. Johnny Cash – “Ain’t No Grave”
82. Joy Division – “Dead Souls”
83. Jumpin’ Gene Simmons – “Haunted House”
84. Kanye West ft. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver – “Monster”
85. Katy Perry ft. Juicy J – “Dark Horse”
86. KC & the Sunshine Band – “I’m Your Boogie Man”
87. Kesha – “Cannibal”
88. Kim Petras – “There Will Be Blood”
89. Kim Petras ft. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark – “Turn Off the Light”
90. King Harvest – “Dancing in the Moonlight”
91. Kiss – “Hotter Than Hell”
92. Kristen Hersch – “Your Ghost”
93. Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein – “Stranger Things Theme”
94. Lady Gaga – “Monster”
95. Lana Del Rey – “Gods & Monsters”
96. Lou Reed – “Halloween Parade”
97. Lydia Lunch – “Spooky”
98. Madonna – “Illuminati”
99. Marianne Faithful – “Witches’ Song”
100. Marilyn Manson – “The Beautiful People”
101. Marilyn Manson – “This Is Halloween”
102. Meat Loaf – “Bat Out of Hell”
103. Metallica – “Enter Sandman”
104. Michael Sembello – “Maniac”
105. Mike Oldfield – “Tubular Bells”
106. Ministry – “Every Day Is Halloween”
107. Misfits – “Halloween”
108. Missy Elliot – “Get Ur Freak On”
109. Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels – “Devil with a Blue Dress”
110. Morrissey – “Satan Rejected My Soul”
111. Mötley Crüe – “Shout at the Devil”
112. Mudhoney – “Halloween”
113. My Chemical Romance – “Cemetery Drive”
114. New York Dolls – “Frankenstein”
115. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – “Red Right Hand”
116. Nick Jonas – “Voodoo”
117. Nine Inch Nails – “Dead Souls”
118. No Doubt – “Spiderwebs”
119. Oingo Boingo – “Dead Man’s Party”
120. OutKast ft. Kelis – “Dracula’s Wedding”
121. Ozzy Osbourne – “Bark at the Moon”
122. P!nk – “Funhouse”
123. Pat Benatar – “Shadows in the Dark”
124. Peter Gabriel – “Intruder”
125. Phoebe Bridgers – “Halloween”
126. Pilot – “Magic”
127. Pink Floyd – “Careful with That Axe, Eugene”
128. PJ Harvey – “The Devil”
129. Queens of the Stone Age – “Burn the Witch”
130. Radiohead – “Burn the Witch”
131. Ramones – “Pet Sematary”
132. Ray Parker, Jr. – “Ghostbusters”
133. Red Rider – “Lunatic Fringe”
134. Redbone – “Witch Queen of New Orleans”
135. Rick James – “Super Freak”
136. Rihanna – “Disturbia”
137. Rob Zombie – “Dragula”
138. Rob Zombie – “Living Dead Girl”
139. Rockwell – “Somebody’s Watching Me”
140. Roky Erickson & the Aliens – “Creature with the Atom Brain”
141. Rush – “Ghost Rider”
142. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – “I Put a Spell on You”
143. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – “Little Demon”
144. Selena Gomez – “Wolves”
145. Shakira – “She Wolf”
146. Sheb Wooley – “The Purple People Eater”
147. Siouxsie & the Banshees – “Halloween”
148. Sonic Youth – “Halloween”
149. Squirrel Nut Zippers – “Hell”
150. Steppenwolf – “Magic Carpet Ride”
151. Stevie Wonder – “Superstition”
152. Styx – “Crystal Ball”
153. Sufjan Stevens – “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”
154. Suicide – “Frankie Teardrop”
155. Talking Heads – “Psycho Killer”
156. Taylor Swift – “Haunted”
157. Tegan and Sara – “Walking with a Ghost”
158. The 1975 – “Antichrist”
159. The Alan Parsons Project – “The Raven”
160. The B-52’s – “Devil in My Car”
161. The Beatles – “Helter Skelter”
162. The Beatles – “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”
163. The Black Keys – “Howlin’ for You”
164. The Citizens of Halloween – “This Is Halloween”
165. The Clovers – “Love Potion No. 9”
166. The Cramps – “I Was a Teenage Werewolf”
167. The Cranberries – “Zombie”
168. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown – “Fire”
169. The Cult – “Fire Woman”
170. The Cure – “Lullaby”
171. The Doors – “People Are Strange”
172. The Dream Syndicate – “Halloween”
173. The Flaming Lips – “Halloween on Barbary Coast”
174. The Guess Who – “Clap for the Wolfman”
175. The Hooters – “All You Zombies”
176. The Jam – “Ghosts”
177. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – “Voodoo Chile”
178. The Kinks – “Wicked Annabelle”
179. The Lovin’ Spoonful – “Do You Believe in Magic?”
180. The Police – “Every Breath You Take”
181. The Psychedelic Furs – “The Ghost in You”
182. The Rocky Horror Picture Show Cast – “Time Warp”
183. The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy for the Devil”
184. The Sonics – “The Witch”
185. The Specials – “Ghost Town”
186. The Steve Miller Band – “Abracadabra”
187. The Waterboys – “The Whole of the Moon”
188. The Who – “Boris the Spider”
189. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Heads Will Roll”
190. Tim Curry – “Sweet Transvestite”
191. Tracy Morgan & Donald Glover – “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah”
192. Tyler, the Creator – “Nightmare”
193. Van Halen – “Runnin’ with the Devil”
194. Van Morrison – “Moondance”
195. Vic Mizzy – “The Addams Family Theme”
196. Warren Zevon – “Werewolves of London”
197. White Zombie – “I’m Your Boogie Man”
198. Whodini – “Freaks Come Out at Night”
199. Willie Nelson – “Gravedigger”
200. XTC – “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead”

Author: ifmyalbumscouldtalk

I am just a long-time music fan who used to be a high school science teacher and a varsity coach of several high school athletic teams. Before that, I worked as a medical technologist at three hospitals in their labs, mainly as a microbiologist. I am retired/disabled (Failed Back Surgery Syndrome), and this is my attempt to remain a human. Additionally, I am a serious vinyl aficionado, with a CD addiction and a love of reading about rock history. Finally, I am a fan of Prince, Cheap Trick, Tom Petty, R.E.M., Hall & Oates, Springsteen, Paul Weller & his bands and Power Pop music. View all posts by ifmyalbumscouldtalk