Scary HalloweenNot Funny Doesnt Kills Its Fall and Sometimes Lock Down
In the mood for some scary songs?
Halloween is right around the corner, and frightful songs abound. In our book, there are two types of scary Halloween songs. One category, which is not as scary, are songs made with fun frights in mind, such as Boris Picket's 1962 "Monster Mash." It's a giggle, but you're not going to lose any sleep over it.
The second category is songs that are not really intended to scare, but they have an unsettling unknown element about them that causes the listener to say: "I'm not sure what is happening here, and I'm scared."
The Ohio Players 1975 hit "Love Rollercoaster," which has a mysterious scream in it, is one such song. It's included in our list of the 12 Scariest Songs for Halloween. The element of the unknown is the key to terror, and on these 10 songs, there's some unknown and scary stuff going on.
12. "Werewolves of London" (1978) by Warren Zevon
There's something about werewolves and London.
Warren Zevon delved into the topic for this 1978 hit, the biggest of his career. Werewolves are all the rage on the novelty track, which references London landmarks like the Lee Ho Fooks Chinese restaurant and city's Trader Vic's bar.
The funny thing is the '70s were very hirsute times for rock 'n' rollers, so many did indeed look like werewolves.
11. "Psycho Killer" (1977) by Talking Heads
The timing is the thing with "Psycho Killer." The Talking Heads released the track a few short months after David Berkowitz, the notorious Son of Sam killer, was caught in New York City Aug. 10, 1977. So, basically, when "Psycho Killer" came out in December that year, it seemed like there really was a psycho killer sneaking around the New York City area as everyone was still on edge. Scary stuff.
10. "Mr. Dieingly Sad" by the Critters (1966)
"Mr. Dieingly Sad" by the Westfield-based Critters is wonderfully morose, and kind of scary, too. Critters singer Don Ciccone wrote the song as he was about to go into the military during the Vietnam War and was sad because he'd miss his girlfriend. Thankfully for Ciccone made it back from the service, but we don't think the relationship survived.
9. "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus (1979)
"Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus is 9-plus minutes of fright thanks to minimalist haunting reverb and singer Peter Murphy continuously repeating that either he, or Lugosi, is dead. "I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead!" Unsettling stuff. The track is considered rock's first Goth song. Where would Hot Topic be without it?
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8. "Black Magic" by Backxwash (2020)
Now for something wonderfully unsettling. "Black Magic," by Zambian native Backxwash, is a fine example that really scary music is still being made. The track is haunting hip-hop framed by a Gothic metal bombast and an eerie choir. It sounds like a room is being trashed. Or maybe that's the sound of a soul being lost?
7. "Tell Laura I Love Her" by Ray Peterson (1960)
"Tell Laura I Love Her" by Ray Peterson is probably the most famous of the teenage death discs of the late '50s and early '60s. It's the story Tommy and Laura, who want to get married, but Tommy doesn't have enough money for a ring. He enters a stockcar race at a local speedway and dies trying to win the money. The B-side was, ironically, "Wedding Day."
6. "Wreck on the Highway" by Bruce Springsteen (1980)
Springsteen called cars "suicide machines" in 1975's "Born to Run," and in "Wreck on the Highway," from "The River," he presents a haunting scene of a fatal car wreck. Yes, "Wreck on the Highway" does speak to bigger truths, like mortality and the randomness of tragedy, but darn it, the eerie organ and starkness of the track is downright creepy.
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5. "Mind Playing Tricks On Me" Geto Boys (1991)
This cautionary gangster tale, set to a scratchy sample of Isaac Hayes' "Hung Up On My Baby," eerily depicts the pitfalls of running the streets. It's a real scare as a the protagonist descends into mental anguish and villains, real or imagined, are around every corner.
4. "Last Caress" by the Misfits (1980)
Where do we begin when it comes with the Misfits? Every one of their songs is scary. Scary dudes, too. "Last Caress" is a punky take on the teenage death discs of the late '50s and early '60s, and the Misfits take to the extreme as the protagonist goes on a killing rampage.
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3. 'Jaws' theme by John Williams (1975)
We don't care if it's Halloween or of the Fourth of July, the theme from "Jaws" is downright scary. Composer John Williams, who would also score "Star Wars" and many more movies, used a two-note repeating musical motif, an ostinato, to cue up movie fans that the giant shark was coming.
When Jaws finally did make his appearance in the movie, the notes weren't played, so that was extra scary. When we hear the "Theme from Jaws" now, we don't know if we should stand still or run like crazy.
2. "Love Rollercoaster" by the Ohio Players (1975)
This funky romp from the '70s is on the list because there's a blood curdling scream in a musical break at 2:30 of the song. We suppose the producers intended the scream to be interpreted as someone on a roller coaster, but it begot quite an unban legend.
One story is that it was the sound of someone getting murdered in a nearby studio. Another is the scream was from someone undergoing shock therapy at a local institution. Decades after "Love Rollercoaster" was released, Snopes.com declared that no one was murdered on the recording.
1. "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins (1957)
The hoots, hollers, snarls and, yes, screams of Screamin' Jay Hawkins on "I Put a Spell on You" make for a very scary song. He certainly does put a spell on listeners in this electric blues descent into the abyss.
The story is that Hawkins was drunk when he recorded it. It sounds like he's possessed.
"On my session, they got everybody drunk," said the late Hawkins to Gary James via classicbands.com. "It was a picnic. I had to do something different with the song."
Mission accomplished.
Guitarist Mike Armando played with Hawkins in the '70s. He was on stage in 1976 with Hawkins when the singer suffered facial burns from a flaming prop while performing "I Put a Spell on You" at the Virginia Theater in Alexandria, Va.
"It was scary because the smoke was all around and Hawkins was being carried off the stage," said Armando to the USA Today Network New Jersey.
Hawkins lived to sing another day until he passed away in 2000 at the age of 70. Armando plays in a tribute to Hawkins in the group called The Resurrection of Screamin' Jay Hawkins Band.
"It's a show, it's not just music," Armando said. "The last time we played we had a coffin in there and the singer, who portrays Screamin' Jay Hawkins, comes out of the coffin slowly while the drummer does a slow roll, and then we go into "Alligator Wine." It's a lot of spooky music."
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.
Source: https://www.app.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/10/26/halloween-top-12-scariest-songs/8470613002/
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