10 Cool, Spooky Albums Guaranteed to Creep You Out
Posted on September 30, 2024
by Eric S
With Halloween coming up, it’s important to make sure you have the appropriate music to set a creepy mood. If “Monster Mash” is your frame of reference for Halloween songs, then it’s time to seriously update your playlist. We’ve combed the vast world of punk, hip hop, metal, and more to find some of the coolest songs that also fit right in with Spooky Season.
For more great music, make sure to check out the offerings of your local Library branch and Freegal.
Songs the Lord Taught Us by The Cramps
Listen if your Halloween vibe is… a surf party hosted by werewolves.
For fans of… rockabilly, zombies, B-Movies, Adam West as Batman.
Best creepy lyrics… “I was a teenage werewolf/Braces on my fangs/I was a teenage werewolf/And no one even said thanks” from the song, “I Was a Teenage Werewolf.”
Cow Fingers and Mosquito Pie by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
Listen if your Halloween vibe is… schlocky Halloween decorations paired with theater kid energy.
For fans of… skeletons, voodoo, hypnotism, the olden days when blues musicians sold their souls to the devil.
Best creepy lyrics… “Meet me at the stroke of midnight/By the swamp down in the wood/I’m gonna make you love me, baby/Like you never thought you could” from the song, “Alligator Wine.”
Reign in Blood by Slayer
Listen if your Halloween vibe is… a stampede of all the monsters and demons that have ever appeared on heavy metal t-shirts.
For fans of… moshing, Judge Dredd, the nine circles of Hell, Doom (the video game).
Best creepy lyrics… “Confronting the evil you dread/Coalesce into one, your shadow and soul/Soon, you will meet the undead,” from the song, “Altar of Sacrifice.”
Walk Among Us by The Misfits
Listen if your Halloween vibe is… hardcore-punk-meets-Spirit-Halloween.
For fans of… old horror movies, goth Elvis impersonators, alien invasions, haunted houses, early Black Flag.
Best creepy lyrics… “Brains for dinner, brains for lunch/Brains for breakfast, brains for brunch” from the song, “Braineaters.”
Soundtrack from Twin Peaks
Listen if your Halloween vibe is… idyllic small towns with dark, horrifying secrets bubbling beneath the surface.
For fans of… ethereal shoegaze-y dream pop, ghostly wails, astral projection, The Thing (1982).
Best creepy lyrics… “So dark/So dark/So dark” from the song, “Into the Night.”
Faith by The Cure
Listen if your Halloween vibe is… a relentless, all-consuming sense of despair, but in like a cool ‘80s New Wave, Post-Punk kind of way.
For fans of… Joy Division, the aesthetic and general worldview of Lydia Deetz and Wednesday Addams.
Best creepy lyrics… “Lie lifeless, fading lifeless/Hand in hand with fear and shadows/Crying at the funeral party” from the song, “The Funeral Party.”
Atrocity Exhibition by Danny Brown
Listen if your Halloween vibe is… the horror that comes from the depths of your own mind, but you also need to listen to something more frantic and high energy to balance out all the dreary Halloween music.
For fans of… Death Grips, Madlib, stream of consciousness street poetry, manically roaming industrial, neon-lit hellscapes.
Best creepy lyrics… “Think I’m hearing voices/Paranoid and think I’m seeing ghost-es” from the song, “Downward Spiral.”
Disco Volante by Mr. Bungle
Listen if your Halloween vibe is… getting terrorized by malevolent clowns at a haunted amusement park.
For fans of… experimental jazz fusion funk death metal, never knowing what will happen next.
Best creepy lyrics… “The white and ghastly spectrum of the teeth/Meditations were never pleasurable/The phantasma of the teeth maintained its terrible ascendency” from the song, “Carry Stress in the Jaw.”
Prayers on Fire by The Birthday Party
Listen if your Halloween vibe is… getting chased by demons in a tawdry, Southern Gothic jungle.
For fans of… bats, Rat Fink, exorcisms, impending doom.
Best creepy lyrics… “My body is a monster driven insane/My heart is a fish toasted in flame” from the song, “Zoo-Music Girl.”
The Cold Vein by Cannibal Ox
Listen if your Halloween is… an eerie, hazy basement after midnight, set to haunting basslines.
For fans of… NPR Rap, Philip K. Dick, any albums that have anything to do with Aesop Rock and/or El-P.
Best creepy lyrics… “Trying to escape out of hell fires and lakes/Brain on another plane gliding through acid rain” from the song, “Vein.”
Did you like this blog post? Keep up to date with all of our posts by subscribing to the Library’s newsletters!
Keep your reading list updated with our book lists. Our staff love to read and they’ll give you the scoop on new tv-series inspired titles, hobbies, educational resources, pop culture, current events, and more!
Looking for more great titles? Get personalized recommendations from our librarians with this simple form.
