Five Alternative Scary Songs to Listen to for Halloween

FIVE ALTERNATIVE SCARY SONGS FOR HALLOWEEN

It’s pretty widely accepted that Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s “Monster Mash” is the Halloween anthem, pretty much worldwide. And deservedly so; the song captured the spooky spirit of the Halloween season in a catchy and influential way.

There are a number of other songs that we’ll call “the usual suspects” as well; songs that are pretty much always played at Halloween parties and show up on every other Halloween ditty compilation.

With that in mind, here is a list of five “alternative” Halloween songs. The only criteria is that they have to contain some of that creepy Halloween spirit that makes a great addition to the season, and they have to be, well, different…that is, you won’t find the likes of “Ghostbusters”, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” or “Addams Family Theme” here.

What you will find, hopefully, are a few minstrels of the macabre, contributing chilling choruses to your autumn nights. And some of these are even danceable.

5) The Charlie Daniels Band – “The Legend of Wooley Swamp”

Pretty much everyone knows that “other” Charlie Daniels Halloween canticle, the one about the red fella who goes down to Georgia on a soul-stealin’ mission. But how about this ultra-creepy little carol, an ode to the ghost of a greedy old man by the name of Luious Clay? Clay, it turns out, is known to get up and walk around. After a group of bad guys dig up Lucius’ 13 mason jars full of cold hard cash and leave ol’ Lucius for the alligators, he retaliates from beyond the grave. And does so with a voice as loud as thunder, so we’re told.

And remember, if you ever go back into Wooley Swamp, well, you better not go at night. That’s the rumor, anyway.

4) Jan & Dean – “Dead Man’s Curve”

OK, so this song isn’t a little known secret or anything – it hit as high as #8 on the Billboard top 100 back in 1964 – but it isn’t one of the songs you hear ad infinitum every Halloween. Why that is isn’t entirely clear; it’s a spooky, extremely well crafted (co-written by Beach Boys melody genius Brian Wilson) and memorable ditty, after all. And it’s been covered numerous times, by artists as varied as The Carpenters and Blink 182. It’s generally more thought of as being part of the “Teen Tragedy” song boom of the time period, but it’s just as easily at home playing in the background of your hoppin’ Halloween hullabaloo (say that three times fast).

3) Alice Cooper – “Former Lee Warmer”

Alice is pretty much the king of Halloween music, in a way; his “Welcome to My Nightmare” is one of the most played three or four Halloween songs, in my estimation. You could choose any number of his songs for the list, including such melancholic, uplifting little ditties as “Years Ago” and “This House is Haunted”. But there’s something about this bizarrely lovely song. Former Lee appears to be the dirty little secret of his family tree, and one of the saddest, creepiest moments comes when Alice discloses that Former sometimes works up the nerve to look out the window and wave at his father’s grave.

Alice has stated that he doesn’t recall making the album Dada, home of this impressively unusual song. That makes it even a little more odd, perhaps. For a bonus Halloween treat, watch the fan-made video on YouTube one late fall night. Pretty nifty.

2) Tom Waits – “Oily Night”

This song might make some of your party-goers take pause for a moment and stare at the speakers. The best way to describe “Oily Night” is simply…weird. It’s full of strange sounds, odd percussion and a super deep voice repeating the refrain in a mantra of darkness. If you listen to it and think, “Whatever, this isn’t scary”…well, hey, at 3 AM, open the windows, turn off all the lights, lay on the couch and turn it up. Should make for a pretty memorable experience. Or just the strangest nap you ever took. So, either way.

1) Jim Stafford – “Swamp Witch”

Why this 1974 song isn’t played everywhere on repeat every October is beyond me. It’s got everything a Halloween fan would want; great, mysterious lyrics, steeped in folklore-ish atmosphere, spookified music and vocals. It’s brilliant. Stafford drawls out the story of Black Water Hattie and the Black Bayou with convincing ease; you might be reaching for the light switch or waking up your significant other by the time you get to this lyrical moment:

They never found Hattie and they never found her shack
And they never made a trip back in
'Cause a parchment note they found tacked to a stump
Said “Don't come looking again.”

Happy listening! And HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Paul Counelis is a writer for Rue Morgue and Halloween Machine, and is an author. His newest release is Spook Sleuths: The Legend of Old Man Gooch and is available, along with five other new titles by other Fear Front Publishing writers, here at The Fear Front Publishing Website.