The 15 Undisputed Greatest Halloween Songs of All Time

Can you imagine having a dog for an office mate? Now imagine it’s got two heads! Combine that with all the other stuff going on at his particular workplace (crucifixions, communism, etc.) and you’ve got a heck of an HR nightmare!

This little tune is about taking a stroll with the undead, a great (spooky) way to get your steps in!

Here’s a song for all you Dracula heads out there, written by someone who knew his vampire lore! Don’t believe me? Check out this expert advice for dealing with the undead:

If its raining and your running

Don’t slip in mud

Because if you do

You’ll slip in blood

Buffy Summers who?

This song is full of Halloween tropes: Cold weather, reptiles, startled dogs, screaming birds—it’s all there. It’s an ensemble production of The Greatest Halloween Characters of all time, and you’re invited to opening night!

Touring haunted houses is a classic October activity, and this one—with its goblins, gremlins, and levitating pencils—is sure to give you a fright.

This is a song about extra terrestrial beings fattening us up for slaughter before devouring our tender human bodies. (I wish they’d hurry up!)

This is about the scariest monsters of all: White people.

This is a song you can play for the kids if they get a little too scared. It assures the listener that demons “never kill,” though they will “scare, it’s true.” A demon won’t sip your blood, and you—and your little ones—should feel good about that.

Movie buffs, history buffs, and fans of The Walking Dead will love this song, which is about a zombie movie (and nazis)!

What’s scarier than wind? Objects moving without the help of the wind. (You know what that means: Ghosts.)

This is a song about the scariest thing of all: Setting a personal boundary (with The Devil).

Who has the bloody hammer? Not this guy! He’s never had the bloody hammer, so don’t you try and pin this shit on him.

This is a song about giving the Fire Demon the respect he is due. Stand for him. Stand for him right now.

I don’t know what play this guy is watching, but it sounds pretty scary! Someone is screaming for murder, someone is screaming for hate, and the monarchy is hogging all grapes (the fruits of the working class).

This is a song about living with untreated—and poorly treated—mental illness, as is most of this album. Roky Erickson struggled with illness, both physical and mental, from a very young age, and his ability to write about demons of all kinds translated into a body of work that is relatable, terrifying, funny, heartbreaking, and—yes—spooky, all at once.

The Evil One is one of my favorite albums any time of year, but it’s also the coolest thing you can put on at a Halloween party. The songs are undeniably on-theme, well-constructed bangers, and you can spend hours discussing the larger themes (if you are so inclined). And that, my friends, is why it gets the much-coveted Queen of Halloween seal of approval.