Halloween may have passed but this playlist shall last. Below you will find twenty ghoulish tracks, ranging from demented pop songs to heavy dark metal, to hypnotic noir techno and jazz, to mystical horror melodies for a good night sleep.
1. John Carpenter's "Halloween" by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
To start off we have a little homage to the classic "Halloween" theme song, although reworked by the talented Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to help put a wrench to the nightmare. This is a beautiful beginning to a ghoulish playlist to come. So relax, breathe this version in and get ready for a chaotic ride.
2. "Exhumed" by Zola Jesus
This experimental-electronic pop song by the stunning Zola Jesus is a grand song ready to fill rooms with echoes and discomfort. It sounds like a haunting preach, the epitome of a demented ballad. This song will vibrate your ears in the most haunting way and make you feel like you're sprinting at war.
3. "Selfish Gene" by Panda Bear
This synthy-funky track by Panda Bear pays homage to the camp of '80s horror films. It resembles the trick-or-treat stroll down your neighborhood, with the thought of a murderer on the loose in the back of your head. It's the colorful hunt for the kid in the best Halloween costume in your neighborhood.
4. "In The Next Life" by Kim Petras
The rising pop princess Kim Petras dropped her album "TURN OFF THE LIGHT, VOL 1," which featured this instant club classic. This song will bring your clubbing veins to a pulsing manifesto. The haunting beginning only leads into the depths of a bloody club night with strobe lights, German verses, and hypnotic beats. It's the epitome of a dark club anthem.
5. "Hermelin" by Recondite
Moving away from pop, but more into the hands of techno and IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), Recondite is the way to go. "Hermelin" is the nighttime walk into the hidden forest. It embodies the lost boy in a field of trees who encounters a strange creature ready to guide him into a chaotic, but intriguing night.
6. "The Valley of Wraiths" by Codex Empire
The alarming electronic chant of the first four seconds of this song will throw you down a stream of monochromatic beats and will leave you wanting more. "The Valley of Wraiths" is all in the title. This song will give you the journey and the return of going to a forbidden valley.
7. "Isolated Loop" by Positive Centre
"Isolated Loop" is the muddy rusty version of the previous song. It drives you into the tar of darkness, almost like sprinting in quicksand. It's an electronic number that'll spin multiple heads on the dance-floor. Accompanied by a grindy electronic beat, this song will surely be the dub in your step.
8. "Monstro" by Paula Temple
This is the closer for this IDM trail we have been on. It's the monstrous end to electronic music, the last beats you hear before the apocalypse. The terror in the echoed instrumental and distorted sounds will drive the listener into a dark heaven.
9. "Spirit" by Ghost
A "palette cleanser" is quite the understatement for this track. It's like the rebirth of Halloween in the beginning, giving some spooky sounds and mysterious melodies into a driving metal force. Almost like a riding a motorcycle on fire, this is a barbaric Halloween track.
10. "Aimless Arrow" by Converge
This song is absolute chaos in the best way possible. Its two minute and 39-second runtime is all you need because this song packs the ultimate punch filled with claws, razors, knives, blood, and madness. It's the feeling of a thousand mirrors breaking every five seconds.....which is perfect for a horrifyingly energetic Halloween.
11. "Speed and Violence" by Silent Servant
After that bag of chaos, you'll want to have a more subtle track up your sleeve. "Speed and Violence" is the creepy, sci-fi track you listen to cruising the night on Mars. Its galactic presence gives the listener a "Twin Peaks in Space" feel to it. There is some sort of serious element to this track, resembling a stern and more machine-like sound.
12. "Heaven's Blade" by Coil
"Heaven's Blade" reminds me to a situation similar to Poe's "Pit and the Pendulum," being helplessly trapped in a completely dark room with environmental danger lurking about. A danger that only you can cause yourself to fall victim to mainly due to the aural effect when you listen to it with headphones, giving a delirious feeling.
13. "City Song" by Daughters
"City Song" is the sound of the purge. It's basically a six-minute introduction to a hellish city living under the most black and white light with paranoia hidden at every corner. Its stomping distortion and shrieking sound sounds like an inverted white noise. The album cover only makes it more intense.
14. "Oceania" by Bjork
This gorgeously bizarre Bjork track is the embodiment of a glamorously melancholic Halloween. A swimming pool of voices helps accompany Bjork's vocals throughout the track. It feels like someone is trying to drown Bjork in a sea of oxygen. It's a dark aquatic record.
15. "Reverie" by Arca
Arca is a strange but gorgeous artist. His depiction of pain is extremely haunting, queerful and mesmerizing. "Reverie" is a track that showcases the dripping production of Arca at its core, and his chilling vocals eager to vibrate your skin till it falls off. The chorus brings the pain of the song to its ultimate light, filling it with a cathartic push to help bring the sonic all around the room.
16. "Dancing and Blood" by Low
"Dancing and Blood" is the one-man party of the introvert with a little psychotic tweak in their system. Just watch the music video above. The black and white filter over an old man dancing by himself is exactly how you should feel listening to this song. Its the lonely 2 a.m. party for the saddened and helpless.
17. "Falling" by Julee Cruise
I mentioned Twin Peaks a few tracks back and here it is again. Everyone loves a little Twin Peaks on Halloween; the psychological thriller show granted such an art style and an amazing misty atmosphere that many have tried to recreate. "Falling" is the dawning ballad of the grey atmosphere around us. It's the heartbeat of the foggy weather we encounter.
18. "32 Ghosts IV" by Nine Inch Nails
"32 Ghosts IV" sounds like Michael Myers running down a spree of murders in a neighborhood. The anxiety behind the instrumental increases the heartbeat of the listener as the song gets deeper. It's a slasher movie's wet dream.
19. "Maximum Black" by Bohren & Der Club of Gore
"Maximum Black" is a hypnotizing doom jazz track. It's the nightmare version of a jazz club in a room filled with skulls and hoods comes a haunting melody. The audience tastes blood in their wine and gets very sleepy as the song progresses. It's the most demented version of relaxing lobby music.
20. "Has Ended" by Thom Yorke
This is the end of our gorgeously dark Halloween playlist. "Has Ended" is a track from the soundtrack for the new Suspiria movie. Thom Yorke creates a beautifully haunting melody that visualizes a ballet show closing the last show on earth. It feels like the blinding lights of conclusion embodied through pink and blue colors. This playlist "Has Ended" in the most calmly haunting way possible.
Below you will find a playlist on Spotify to all these songs, now go listen and keep it spooky!
Energetic dance performance under the spotlight.
Taylor Swift in a purple coat, captivating the crowd on stage.
Taylor Swift shines on stage in a sparkling outfit and boots.
Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers sharing a joyful duet on stage.
