My top 5 Favorite Halloween Songs:
1) Joy Division - Dead Souls
Ian Curtis haunting voice and dark lyrics make this my favorite song to listen at Halloween. Probably because I remember fondly seeing The Crow in my early teenage years and the great cover of this song by Nine Inch Nails.2) Bauhaus - Bela Legosi's Dead
Peter Murphy also with deep and tortured voice sings a song again with dark lyrics. This is a long song with a slow base line and some truly spooky guitar effects. Music historians consider this song the first gothic rock song (released August 1979) and it is about actor Bela Legosi, who played the first Hollywood Dracula in 1931.3) Queens of the Stone Age - Burn the Witch
Again some great dark lyrics appropriate for Halloween. This song comes complete with a music video inspired by the Salem Witch Trials.4) Michael Jackson - Thriller
It is hard not to love this song or the music video directed by John Landis. It has a 152 million views on You Tube and counting. Watch all 14 minutes of its glory.5) Pink Floyd - Syncopated Pandemonium
This is piece from a larger song called Saucerful of Secrets off of 1970's Atom Heart Mother. With its driving beat, banging piano, guitar effects and staccato notes. This song shows the evolution of the 'organized' cacophony of notes and wall of sounds that Igor Stravinsky revolutionized the world in the early 1900's. This clip is from their Live at Pompeii art rock concert film which I recommend.
Some Honorable Mentions:
- Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
- Ramones - Pet Semetary
- Pink Floyd - Careful with that axe Eugene
- Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me
Lastly it is hard not to love Jason Segal and the song he wrote for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Here he is performing Dracula's Lament.
Origins of Halloween Facts:
- “Halloween” is short for “Hallows’ Eve” or “Hallows’ Evening,” which was the evening before All Hallows’ (sanctified or holy) Day or Hallowmas on November 1. In an effort to convert pagans, the Christian church decided that Hallowmas or All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2) should assimilate sacred pagan holidays that fell on or around October 31.
- Jack o'lanterns were originally carved out of turnips by the Celts to keep away spirits on the Samhain holiday. According to Irish legend, Jack O’Lanterns are named after a stingy man named Jack who, because he tricked the devil several times, was forbidden entrance into both heaven and hell. He was condemned to wander the Earth, waving his lantern to lead people away from their paths.
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| Turnip Head - Jack O'Lantern |
- Samhain was the Gaelic festival that celebrated the end of the harvest and the beginning of Winter. It occurrs on October 31st, the midpoint between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice. Mumming and guising are part of this festival, and involved people going door-to-door in costume (or disguise), often reciting verses in exchange for food.
- During the pre-Halloween celebration of Samhain, bonfires were lit to ensure the sun would return after the long, hard winter. Often Druid priests would throw the bones of cattle into the flames and, hence, “bone fire” became “bonfire.”
- If you truly don't like Halloween to the point of being fearful about it, than that is called 'samhainophobia.'
In closing, I leave you with this quote:
"Always go to other people's funerals,
otherwise they won't go to yours." - Yogi Berra
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