Spookiness abounds on Halloween. The many superstitions that
surround the holiday’s Celtic roots and pagan traditions make it one of the
most terrifying and creepy nights of the year.
There are a lot of songs that hinge themselves on creepy occurrences
and the occult. Metal, for one, often adopts the satanic as its own. It’s far
from unheard of to hear references to the devil or death. But other rock genres
have taken on creepy topics as well. From haunted hotels and stalkers to
psychopaths and killers, horror is not reserved for horror rock.
Last year, Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet,
brought you a
short list of alternative rock songs for your Halloween playlists. Now we’re
back with more rock songs for your holiday soundtrack. Here are seven that will
give you that creepy, uneasy feeling you’re looking for.
1.
Eagles,
“Hotel California”: You might not be able to tell unless you read into the
lyrics, but “Hotel California” is pretty messed up. Written about the excesses
of fame in Los Angeles, the song talks about a hotel haunted by spirits that,
once one enters, can “check out any time” but “can never leave.” (video)
2.
Billy Joe Armstrong, “Mechanical Man”: Chances
are you aren’t familiar with the direct-to-video film ‘Live Freaky, Die Freaky”
(and honestly, you shouldn’t be because it’s terrible and disgusting). But the
film, which tells the story of the Charles Manson murders with puppets, stars a
veritable who’s who of punk and rock music artists including all Jane Wiedlin
of The
Go-Gos, Davey Havok of AFI, Travis Barker of Blink-182,
Joel and Benji Madden of Good
Charlotte and, most importantly for this post, all three members of Green
Day. Billy Joe Armstrong played Manson himself, which means that he has a
lot of crazy songs on the soundtrack, including “Mechanical Man.” With its children’s-song-like
vibe, the song explains Manson’s personality, marking him as “satanical,” “puritanical,”
“messiahcal” and “maniacal” all “stirred” together “with a bloody hand,” while
inviting others to join his cult. (video)
3.
Beatles,
“Revolution 9”: Speaking of Charles Manson, “Revolution 9” was one of the songs
that inspired him to kill. It’s also one of their weirdest songs, repeating the
“number 9” part as if it were on a skipping record. If it doesn’t scare you or
make you feel uneasy, it will definitely annoy the heck out of you. (video)
4.
Panic! at the Disco, “Emperor’s New Clothes”:
Off Panic! at the Disco’s latest album ‘Death of a Bachelor,’ “Emperor’s New
Clothes” is one of the band’s creepiest songs to date. Topically, it’s a bit
like the ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ fable mixed with ‘Dante’s Inferno.’ The guy loves
excess and winning, and it will almost definitely end with his demise. Also,
The band released a video for the song where Brandon Urie transforms into a
gargoyle-like devil that rivals “Thriller’s” creepy factor. (video)
5.
Talking
Heads, “Psycho Killer”: “Melodically, “Psycho Killer” is very unassuming,
like any other danceable new wave track. But as its name suggests, it’s not so
innocent. The song is written from the perspective of a serial killer,
expressing the things that irk him and drive him to kill. Better run, run, run
away! (video)
6.
The
Police, “Every Breath You Take”: Like “Hotel California,” you wouldn’t
necessarily realize that “Every Breath You Take” is that creepy a song until
you listen to the lyrics. The refrain of “every breath you take, every move you
make, I’ll be watching you” is very scary, cultivating images of someone
stalking you outside your window. In fact, if that’s not scary, go out and rent
just about any scary movie based around someone haunting someone inside a
house. (video)
7.
Suicide, “Frankie Teardrop”: In researching this
list, “Frankie Teardrop” came up very frequently as one of the most disturbing
songs ever. And listening to it, I wouldn’t disagree. It starts off minimally;
just Alan Vega’s voice talking about the song’s character Frankie and some
static crickets. But the song slowly intensifies, the tension building as Frankie
kills his kid, his wife and himself. Then Vega starts screaming with horrific
pain. Then more crickets until Vega returns to tell us that Frankie is in Hell,
at which point he gives a series of devilish cackles and screams. It’s somewhere
between performance art, music and campfire story, and it’s all very uncomfortable.
(video)
There are a lot of creepy songs out there that sum up that
uneasy feeling people love about Halloween. These songs, while not all so
obviously scary, certainly fit the bill on the eerie content factor. Check out
the songs on this list and let us know what spooky songs fill your Halloween
playlist.
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Find music from many of these spooky artists and more at
Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s top new independent record shop. We have thousands
of titles to choose from in a variety of genres. Browse our wide selection of
new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs and memorabilia in store
at our Plainview location or online at vinylbay777.com. With more titles being
added to our selection all the time, you never know what you might uncover at
Vinyl Bay 777.
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