Every holiday has its own festive music. And while Halloween may not have the vast number of holiday songs like Christmas does, it still has quite a few. Each year, Halloween brings with it not only candy and costumes, but also a slew of seasonal songs that signal the arrival of All Hallows’ Eve.
Some of these songs are simply not played outside the season. Classics like “Monster Mash” sound rather out of place when it isn’t Halloween. But as the leaves start to turn, these songs are played over and over again.
Other songs are more common year-round, yet also work quite well in the context of Halloween. Warren Zevon’s monster-themed “Werewolves Of London” is one such example. While one wouldn’t be surprised when hearing the song on classic rock radio in the middle of summer, the track has become a holiday staple at Halloween parties across the nation.
24/7 Wall St. has identified the 20 most popular Halloween songs based on data from music streaming service Spotify. These are the songs that have increased in popularity the most on the past three Halloweens.
Click here to see the 20 most popular Halloween songs.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.
20. Monster Mash
> Artist: The Countdown Kids
> Total plays (all time): 48,235
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19. Bark at the Moon
> Artist: Ozzy Osbourne
> Total plays (all time): 34,067,987
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18. Superstition
> Artist: Stevie Wonder
> Total plays (all time): 243,089,828
17. Runnin’ With The Devil
> Artist: Van Halen
> Total plays (all time): 56,828,186
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16. Highway to Hell
> Artist: AC/DC
> Total plays (all time): 281,316,295
15. Evil Woman
> Artist: Electric Light Orchestra
> Total plays (all time): 39,624,679
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14. Halloween Theme – Main Title
> Artist: John Carpenter
> Total plays (all time): 4,787,736
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13. She Wolf
> Artist: Shakira
> Total plays (all time): 59,519,400
12. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper
> Artist: Blue Öyster Cult
> Total plays (all time): 143,449,419
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11. Time Warp
> Artist: Little Nell
> Total plays (all time): 18,506,392
10. I Put a Spell on You
> Artist: Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
> Total plays (all time): 11,292,196
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9. Somebody’s Watching Me
> Artist: Rockwell
> Total plays (all time): 33,847,361
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8. This Is Halloween
> Artist: Marilyn Manson
> Total plays (all time): 28,057,648
7. Thriller – 2003 Edit
> Artist: Michael Jackson
> Total plays (all time): 35,550,768
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6. Werewolves Of London
> Artist: Warren Zevon
> Total plays (all time): 22,080,025
5. A Nightmare on My Street
> Artist: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
> Total plays (all time): 5,146,800
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4. This Is Halloween
> Artist: The Citizens of Halloween
> Total plays (all time): 25,226,630
3. Thriller
> Artist: Michael Jackson
> Total plays (all time): 147,456,326
2. Ghostbusters
> Artist: Ray Parker, Jr.
> Total plays (all time): 79,704,498
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1. Monster Mash
> Artist: Bobby “Boris” Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers
> Total plays (all time): 9,565,814
Detailed findings:
Overall, the most played songs are those that work in non-Halloween settings. AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” has over 281 million plays on Spotify and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” has more than 243 million. While these songs receive major play year-round, their popularity soars on Halloween.
The largest jumps in popularity during the Halloween season are songs that receive much less attention during the rest of the year. These include two undoubtedly Halloween-specific songs from film soundtracks – “This Is Halloween” from the 1993 movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and Ray Parker, Jr.’s theme from “Ghostbusters.”
Methodology:
To determine the most popular Halloween songs, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed Spotify data on songs that have increased the most in popularity during the past three Halloweens: 2015, 2016, and 2017. Data on total plays as of Oct. 26, 2018 is also from Spotify.
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