Now that it is October, it’s that time of year again to have fun with the dark side and to celebrate the spookiness of Halloween. This is when teenagers or college students resurrect the undead and fuse the grotesque or the fantastical with their exciting, young lives, making this one night of the year memorable for years to come. It’s where we unleash our wicked, creepy sense of creativity and scare the hell out of each other with what we can conjure up.

And what better way to celebrate that but with a blasting costume party with great food and awesome music that are not the typical Halloween soundtracks off of horror movies or from specialized CDs that feature silly Halloween instrumentals with your usual witch’s cackles or some cartoon woman’s scream! I’m talking real, produced music by current or famous Pop artists that contain something reminiscent of Halloween or just the supernatural, whether it’s in their lyrics, in their song titles, or in their accompanying music videos as well.

So, I have put together here a list of them and this time I am excluding King of Pop Michael Jackson’s 1984 hit single, “Thriller” because it is the Halloween celebratory song of all time and that, no offense to dear Michael, has been overused by now. And please note: I apologize to metal music fans (whose genre usually has all the songs fit for Halloween parties) that I have my personal reasons, nothing too crazy, to not include them on this list. Okay, here they are with their music videos off of YouTube for you to see why I consider them the best for your Halloween night fiestas!

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1. "BELIEVE" by Cher (1999)

“Believe” was singer/actress Cher’s comeback single that brought her back into the popular music scene, earning her then-young fans and accolades including reaching the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Believe” is a perfect and kind of spooky song for Halloween because you can take its line: “Do you believe in life after love” and rephrase it as “do you believe in life after life?” This meaning do you believe in the afterlife where you are a supernatural being back from the dead to haunt let’s say, your boyfriend or girlfriend? Also, when you watch its official music video above, you could see that Cher assumes a mannequin-like character with glowing eyes situated in a glass structure in the middle of a nightclub that magically comes to life to sing her song. The atmosphere of the video is dark and magical and the young main characters have this melancholic warlock/witch feel to their outfits and personas. This song and video will definitely get your partygoers dancing their heads and feet off on the dancefloor as your party takes off for the night…

2. “TO THE MOON AND BACK (Remix)” by Savage Garden (1998)

“To the Moon and Back (1998 remix)” was a rearranged release of Australian band Savage Garden’s 1996 single of the same name that I concur will make your Halloween party a blast if you play it or its video there. The video is also dark and has a vampire feel to it. Its reference to the moon will excite those who came to your party as werewolves in addition to those who came as vampires. Actually, any ghoul or demon in your party will be so motivated by this tune’s lyrics and video they will go away feeling like your party was their best Halloween party of all. Just for reference, the band’s members got their band’s name from a phrase in gothic horror writer Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles. Yes isn’t it perfect?!

3. “BLACK MAGIC” by Little Mix (2015)

Here’s a more recent witchy song from UK’s power girl-group Little Mix that was released in 2015 and hit the peak position there for three weeks. The song makes the usual, dark and dreadful notion of black magic a fun, upbeat, bubblegum tune with a video that combines elements from magical-themed TV shows such as Sabrina: The Teenage Witch and Charmed making it appeal to those who would prefer Clueless over The Craft. This will definitely lighten up the creepy mood of your Halloween party and will definitely turn those cackles into giggles I really urge you to play this one and its accompanying video because what’s a Halloween dance or party without black magic? Well, in this case, “happy magic.” Haha.

4. “HEATHENS” by Twenty One Pilots (2016)

What’s a Halloween party without the hit song from the villain-soaked, psychopathic Suicide Squad movie of 2016? Yup. Hold fast to your brain and grab your friend for protection as you play this song and/or its video on a huge screen at your party. This song will definitely get the males of your party in a head-nodding trance as ominous images of Harley Quinn, the Joker, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, the Enchantress, etc. come back to their minds granted that they had seen the movie or know about its contents at some point by now. When I heard this song, I thought how suitable it is for Halloween since you can just replace the term “heathens” with “psychopaths” or “crazies” and the rest is history. Add this to your playlist and your party guests will go “crazy” over it…pun intended.

5. “DISTURBIA” by Rihanna (2008)

“It’s a thief in the night to come and grab you/ It can creep up inside you and consume you/ A disease of the mind it can control you/ I feel like a monster, “sings Pop princess Rihanna while she takes on various creepy looks and outfits in this video of a song about mental pain. I include it here as an apt Halloween party song for the video and lyrics just scream horror movie/psychological thriller. I’m absolutely positive your party guests will be eating it up as they mingle and munch on refreshments you provided around your dimmed living room. To top it all off, this jam was a Billboard Hot 100 #1 back in 2008.

6. “ROCK DJ” by Robbie Williams (2000)

Warning: This video may be disturbing to some or all…click on it at your own risk! But it’s still fun and fit for a Halloween hangout. “Rock DJ” was Robbie Williams’ 2000 song that topped the UK chart and failed to chart in the USA seemingly due to the controversial, gross video posted above. I don’t know, since we’re all adults here, I included it because of the flesh/blood/skeleton that is Robbie and for its upbeat, worthy-of-the-dancefloor nature. It’s up to you whether or not to include it at your event but blood and grotesque aside, it’s still a club anthem. You decide…

7. “SHE WOLF” by Shakira (2009)

This critically-acclaimed song and video was released in the summertime of 2009 and reached the #11 spot on the US’ Billboard Hot 100 chart. As you can see, Shakira, the successful Latina singer and songwriter is singing about her unleashing her fierce side after being treated unfairly by her lover. This fierce side is described as a “she wolf” or a female werewolf. The song comes with wolf howls (done by Shakira herself) with a chant-like part that makes you think of evil people of the night summoning something evil from beyond. I tell you, not only does this song contain those spooky elements but it’s also an upbeat, Latin Pop song for the dancefloor. The video contains a full moon, a wolf-to-woman transformation, and a thunderous roar at the end. Isn’t that Halloween enough?

8. “DEVIL INSIDE” by INXS (1988)

What’s a Halloween party without a blast from the past, eh? Going back to the 80s, this song and video which reached the #2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988 is from Australian band INXS. There are no explanations needed to justify that this gem is fit for a scary Halloween dance. The video is dark, its title says it all, and just the ominous but seductive vocals of lead singer Michael Hutchence will draw you in like how a vampire is often portrayed to do. 80s horror film fans will definitely thank you for this inclusion. I’m definitely sure of it.

9. “BON APPETIT” by Katy Perry (2017)

Now to bring your party back to 2017, turn this song and video on and surely everyone will still be rooted to the dancefloor. Thanks to California queen Katy, “Bon Appetit” here is very much in the now with the accompaniment of rap trio Migos. The song is sexual by nature but the video, if you choose to show it at your event, takes on a cannibalistic meaning. (Laughs). It’s sad that audiences did not fancy this track as it charted on the lower positions of the Billboard Hot 100 but still the video itself above is a YouTube hit, reaching more than 300 million viewers (at the time of this article) and getting appreciated by 2 million. Remember, don’t forget to make body part-themed refreshments for your guests for this song will definitely make them hungryyy!

10. “THE HILLS” by The Weeknd (2015)

Now that the party guests are cooling down and resting from the last string of dance hits, it’s time for some lounging and the end of this list. I tell you, add this one to your Halloween party playlist and I’m sure the party guests will be stopping and actually “listening” and pondering on the beat of this 2015 Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit that features a woman’s cries similar to actress Jamie Lee Curtis’ terrified screams in the 1978 movie, Halloween with Curtis running for her life from the murderous Michael Myers. However, according to an article on the website, Songfacts.com, the song’s title and lyrics are a tribute to famed horror director Wes Craven’s 1977 film, The Hills Have Eyes. Additionally, The Weeknd wrote it during a time when he felt that with his newfound fame and success, the entire entertainment industry now has set their eyes on him. Personally, I just think it is such a fantastic addition to any Halloween party playlist because well, listen to the song itself or watch its official music video above.

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And there you have them! My ten Halloween-worthy Pop videos for your party that is planned for the most ghastly night of 2017. You can include other songs in between these to last all night. Have a good one!