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The 8 Songs That Belong on Every Halloween Playlist

By Don Chase

Halloween 2023 is here and I hope you are ready. Now, let’s do some homework. Do you have your costume picked out yet? Have you bought all of your candy that you plan to hand out to trick or treaters? Now be honest. Have you sampled any of that Halloween candy for your own enjoyment? I will plead the fifth if I may.

Have you thought about the safest neighborhoods for trick or treating? When it comes to costumes, are they reflective and easily visible to drivers?

Speaking of Halloween candy, I was reading an article that listed this year’s most popular Halloween candies. Favorites include Starburst, Rice Krispy Treats, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Twizzler’s, Sour Patch Kids, Kit Kat bars, M&M’s and Candy Corn.

This was a surprise for me. Can you guess which candy is most popular here in the Tar Heel State of North Carolina? According to CandyStore.com, M&M’s are our favorite. Check out your state’s favorite candy here.

When it comes to Halloween costumes, the runaway favorite by a huge margin this year is Barbie. No surprise, right? For a list of this year’s most popular costumes, click here.

So, we have our candy and our costume. All we need is one more thing. Music! One of my favorite memories as a newlywed was living East of Fayetteville in the Gray’s Creek community. On that All Hallows’ Eve, October 31st 1993, my wife Debbie and I set up a couple of speakers in the front yard along with a CD player and entertained trick or treaters for a few hours. We hid the speakers behind our landscaping so they were not visible from the road.

Below, you will find the very playlist that we used that fun evening.

Here’s hoping you have a fantastic and safe Halloween 2023.

  • Michael Jackson "Thriller"

    Halloween just would not be Halloween Without Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” By the way, did you know the Library of Congress has a National Film Registry and that “Thriller” became the first music video to be added to this registry? Me neither. Let’s kick off our playlist with this monster tune from 1982.

  • Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt Kickers "Monster Mash"

    For our second selection, let’s go way back to 1962 and a number one song on the Billboard Hot 100. A few of the lyrics include, “I was working in the lab late one night, when my eyes beheld an eerie sight.” Enjoy this graveyard favorite from Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt Kickers.

  • Vic Mizzy "The Addams Family: Main Theme"

    If you were asked to name the spookiest family on tv, your answer might be The Addams Family. Talk about unique. Has anyone ever had a pet octopus? Pugsley did. Pugley’s sister was named Wednesday. Let’s not leave out uncle Fester, Gomez, Morticia and of course, Lurch. From 1964, let’s crank up the tv theme song to “The Addams Family.”

  • Ray Parker Jr. "GhostBusters"

    Let’s go back to the year 1984. Ray Parker Jr. said that he only had three days to create the title track you are about to hear. If you own a copy of the movie soundtrack, you probably remember “Ghost Busters” as the first track. What you may not remember is that the last track on the album is the instrumental version. Not only was the movie a huge success but the song did well reaching number one on Billboard. This is Ray Parker Jr. and “Ghostbusters.”

  • Sheb Wooley "Purple People Eater"

    Originally recorded and released in the year 1958, this tune not only reached number one on the Billboard magazine chart but thirty years later inspired a successful movie by the same name. By the way, the film starred Shelley Winters and Ned Beatty. Take a listen to Sheb Wooley’s “Purple People Eater.”

  • David Seville "Witch Doctor"

    Way back in 1958, Ross Bagdasarian wrote, recorded and performed his song “Witch Doctor.” Ross Bagdasarian is the real name of singer/producer/actor David Seville. You may know the name David Seville as the creator of “The Chipmunk Song” that we play at Christmas time. Check out this Halloween favorite “Witch Doctor.” The Witch Doctor will tell you what to say and what to do.

  • Rocky Horror Picture Show "The Time Warp"

    Movie experts say that the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” was a flop at movie theaters when it first came out in 1975. Today, the film has a cult following. From 1973, two years before the movie release, enjoy “The Time Warp.” By the way, listen for the unique voice of rock star Michael Lee Aday better known as Meat Loaf on this tune.

  • John Carpenter "Halloween" Theme Song

    In my opinion, like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” your Halloween playlist must include the theme song for the “Halloween” movies. Musical genius John Carpenter developed and recorded this eerie music separately from the movie. Using state of the art technology at the time, the music and movie were then mixed together. The saga of Michael Myers lives on with 13 films in the Halloween library.

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