Tuesday Tunes 275: Halloween 2025

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It was never a plan, but I seem to have got into the habit of playing selections of songs to mark Halloween, which is perhaps a little surprising as this isn’t something I celebrate, and though the commercialisation has taken off here it is still nowhere near as big as deal as it is in the US. But there are some good songs for it, so I’m happy to use it as an excuse! And who doesn’t like songs about ghosts, ghouls, and scary things?

Halloween is 31 October – i.e. this coming Friday – but I thought I’d get in earlier for it this year. The irony of the day’s popularity in the US isn’t lost on me: the origins of Halloween can be traced back to this side of the Atlantic, in a pagan festival mostly known (in Ireland and Scotland) as Samhain, though there are different names for similar festivals in other Celtic regions. The name has been in existence since the mid 18th century, and is given to the day before All Hallows Day, on which remembrance of the dead takes place. Present day Halloween costumes are a hand down from the days of mummers and their attire. Witches’ clothes are an obvious garb for the day, among others, while some others that you see are just plain weird! But none of this explains for me why the US goes so totally over the top for it!

I have played several songs for Halloween over the years, and all of today’s are repeats – if you have a good selection, why not go with them again? Only two of these were in last year’s set, so I’m not just copying that post! I am also changing the order around a little, and am starting with the longest one of the lot:

That was, of course, the full cinematic version – I don’t like short-changing you with the abbreviated cut! It now has more than a billion YouTube views, and the record didn’t do too badly either. Thriller was the title track of Michael Jackson’s sixth album, which was released in November 1982, made #1 just about everywhere, and has gone on to become the biggest selling album of all time, with worldwide sales of more than 70 million. The song was the seventh and final single taken from the album, in November 1983 in the UK and January 1984 in the US, and made #1 in many countries. It *only* got to #4 in the US and #10 in the UK, but has still sold in huge quantities in both: 10 million in the US, and nearly 2 million in the UK, as part of a further 9 million global sales. I think you can consider that a success!

I have often started with this next one, and would never leave it out:

In case you didn’t know it, that was Werewolves Of London by the late, great Warren Zevon. It was a track on Warren’s third album, Excitable Boy, which was released in January 1978 and gave him his breakthrough, reaching #8 in the US and #9 in Australia. The song was released as a single and got a fair bit of airplay here: it peaked at #21 in the US, #8 in Australia, and squeaked into the UK chart at #87. The video was the third updating for the song, released in 2022 having previously appeared in both 2020 and 2021. This most recent update has some lovely touches: I especially liked him playing the ‘Weredle’ game, and the tribute to our late Queen was rather touching.

 

 

Something a little left field for my next one:

Come To The Sabbat, by Black Widow. With its subject of witches, spells and the like it is ideal for the season, although it isn’t specifically about Halloween. And it is very much of its time – late 60s/early 70s, when prog rock was taking shape and there was a renewed interest in the occult. I had this on one of those sampler albums that some of the record companies issued back then: Fill Your Head With Rock, from CBS Records. It always intrigued me, and there is something about the insistent rhythm and chanted chorus that attracts me to it. Black Widow were an English rock band, formed in 1969, who used a lot of occult imagery in their songs. Come To The Sabbat is a track from their debut album, Sacrifice, which came out in March 1970 and made #32 in the UK. The title track closes the album, and at over 11 minutes long it is epic!

Perhaps I should go for something a little lighter after that? How about this:

Spooky Scary Skeletons is a song by Andrew Gold, originally on his album Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music, which came out in 1996, and he released the song as a single, reaching #93 in the US. The Hound + The Fox are a husband and wife duo, Reilly and Mackenzie Zamber, and I absolutely love their version of this. I think they had a lot of fun making this video, too: I follow them on Facebook and their trailer posts for it at the time (October 2022) and some behind the scenes videos, bore that out. The track was on their album Haunted Folk, which came out in September 2022, and is a themed set for this time of year. Their beautiful harmonies deserve a wider audience, in my view, which is why I have played several more of their songs, both for Tuesday Tunes and Song Lyric Sunday.

 

I’m closing today with the song that has rounded off my Halloween posts for the past couple of years, in the spirit of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ The song and video were first released in October 2021, and the video now has more than 3m views on YouTube. As they are one of my favourite bands it feels right to give them another airing:

Faun describe their style as ‘pagan folk music,’ which seems apt for this time of year. At other times I have featured them singing in their native German, but they have occasionally used English lyrics on their albums and this is one such. Their music is great, and the video is amazing: not least for what they have (so far) got away with on YouTube! The band have also shared a ‘making of’ video for this song, which is quite revealing – in more senses than one. This link should take you to it: it’s in German but has subtitles, and shows what goes into a video like this – it looks like hard work! Halloween was included on their album Pagan, which was released in April 2022 and reached #3 in Germany – quite an achievement for a pagan folk band! I am closing with this one as the first three verses of the song sum up what I think is the essence of Halloween – the Eve of All Hallows Day, on which we celebrate the departed, as I have said:

Spirits haunt these magic hours, Dwelling in the sylvan bowers; In the trees is a ghostly breeze.

Light a candle for the dead, With sprigs of fir do warm their bed; And in songs bless the ancient ones.

Halloween – in moonlight we gather; Halloween – to join with the unseen; Halloween – calling the spirits who come forth on Halloween

 

That’s it for today. I hope you have enjoyed these, and if you celebrate Halloween in whatever way have a good one. I’ll be doing my usual trick (no treat) of trying to avoid anyone banging on my door demanding chocolate with menaces! Take care 🎃

68 thoughts on “Tuesday Tunes 275: Halloween 2025”

  1. Pingback: That Was October | Take It Easy

  2. A good selection of songs for Halloween, Clive which isn’t celebrated here the one centre we have decorates and sells Halloween bits and bobs but its only expats that celebrate it probably when I explained to Lily the other day what the buckets were for she just looked at me as much as to say you wouldn’t get anything put in them here it just isn’t celebrated the centre just decorates and has a small display as they probably been told to do it its like Easter and Christmas the stores in the centre decorate but its just a token so to speak especially what I call corporate stores that have outlets around the world xx

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    • Thanks, Pete, glad you liked these. This is as close as I get to celebrating it too, though we made an effort when the kids were little. I’ve played Monster Mash several times previously, but it missed out on the rotation this time. Maybe next year…

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  6. Thanks for another introduction – this one being The Hound + The Fox I do like that mix of tongue in cheek with sinister…Exceptionally classy video too.

    Of course there has to be Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon.
    Personal bit – Back in 1978 I was getting off a bus and heard just a snippet of this, didn’t know who or the title, but it stuck with me for forty years and by one of the synchronistic events the whole was revealed to me. One of the few songs I know all the word to….bliss.

    I too purchased Fill Your Head With Rock, which introduced me to Moondog and Steamhammer. By then being drenched in Velvet Underground and thus misanthropic Black Widow did not impress me, I had my own take which is kept to myself not to upset folk- not so much a parody as including a subversive ‘add-on’

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    • Happy to have made that introduction for you. They always make classy videos, and their harmonies are beautiful.

      Werewolves is a classic, isn’t it, and Warren Zevon was, to use his own song title, a genius with lyrics.

      I won’t ask about that album! I had a full set of them, and they introduced me to many acts I still play, as did the Island Records samplers.

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      • I’ll keep a look out for more The Hound + Fox👍

        Werewolves of London does conjuror up
        amazing images, such as this werewolf visiting his tailor…the conversations???
        And he had perfect hair.
        Genius indeed.

        The samplers were a very valuable door into music, Fill Your Head With Rock, also gave me insight to Tom Rush and Laura Nyro. Also the sadly underrated doomed to obscurity Steamhammer, and Trees who at least gained later cult status.
        And on the other hand when I listened to the much talked about Flock thought ‘Is that all you got?’

        Although I never followed Island Records output much, I certainly knew about them- almost legendary status….. Can’t be bad.

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      • there were a couple of single album Rock Machine samplers before that one – also very good. As for island, their double was bumpers, but again there were a couple of single albums before it. I had them all! Cat Stevens, Nick Drake, Traffic, Jimmy Cliff, early Mott The Hoople – they were great value.

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      • Rock Machine I Love You. Rock Machine Turns You On.. Ah days of yore.
        I never bought the albums on account of having about half of each through other albums.
        I wish I had invested in the Island Albums though

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      • 14s 6d for an LP…..Ohhhhh, those WERE the days 🥰(What track lists – man… did I miss out)
        (My first was for 10s 3d) on a Pye Subsidiary Piccadilly – renowned for being twice as thick as the average LP – ‘Well Respected Kinks’)

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      • I bought a lot of budget albums back then. I had that Kinks one, plus another. A couple by Donovan, a Lovin’ Spoonful, early Cat Stevens. Always considered them a good use of my pocket money until I started earning and went full price!

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      • As yes. Once wages arrived the LP collection took off!
        And buying EPs if you couldn’t get the cash for an LP
        Somewhere my copy of ‘Ready Steady Who’ vanished (apparently it never was live tracks from the RSG show)

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  7. Of course, I knew the first two. The last three are all new to me, though the runaway of those is Faun. I’ve always been a fan of Thriller, though I have a hard time supporting anything Michael Jackson did after learning about his sexual abuse of children. Is it possible that this is the same Andrew Gold who wrote Lonely Boy back in the day? I was a big fan of that tune.

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    • I thought those might be new, and I’m not surprised that you liked Faun best. Their music is very beguiling, isn’t it. I wasn’t a Michael Jackson fan even before the truth emerged, but I can’t deny that this is an iconic video.

      Yes, the same Andrew Gold, who was also part of Linda Ronstadt’s band as well as his solo career.

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  8. The first two are my pick. I remember all the excitement about Michael Jackson’s Thriller album and hearing the song just about everywhere you went!
    Halloween is not a big event with our family, but yes, the US gets crazy about it! Well, you already knew we were crazy 🤪, shouldn’t be a surprise! LOL!
    We had fun when our children were little and dressing them up in fun costumes. But that time has passed. Now I have fun seeing my great-neices and nephews dressed up.

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  9. The Warren Zevon is such a great track and (particularly) lyric. As for the Michael Jackson guy, is he new? Not sure he will go on to have a long career – not exactly ground breaking is he? 😜 Was unfamiliar with each of the other three. Black Widow really reminded me of one of my great favourite bands, Horslips, and I really liked it. The Hound & the Fox is excellent and the Faun track is brilliant. For me, I would have to include Scary Monster & Super Creeps by a certain Mr Bowie (but I guess you will have already a) guessed it and b) included it previously!) As for the day, lock the door and eat the chocolate!

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  10. ‘Thriller’ still stands up, Warren is a must hear and the make up and song ‘Spooky Scary Skeletons’ is very grue- good. (Why does the fiddle always seem to work on these scary sort of songs?) Not really a song for Halloween but roughly adjacent might be Cathy Davey ‘Little Red?’

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  13. Thriller is a classic. I remember seeing the video when it was released on TV. I thought it was amazing but it will probably seem a bit corny now. My favourite is Faun.

    Like you I am not a fan of Halloween as an event. My grandkids don’t really get it but they like to scare each other and enjoy the dressing up and overdosing on sweets.

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    • I think the Thriller video has stood the test of time well – it still looks good. You picked a good one as your favourite 😊

      Kids seem to like the event – anything that gives them chocolate has to be good!

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  15. Love them all, Clive but what in the name of Halloween is going on with Black Widow’s Come to the Sabbat? That intro sounds like it’s straight out of an old Cowboys & Indians movie. Circle the wagons! 😂
    Always a pleasure to hear Warren Zevon and Faun, and Thriller will always be considered a dancing tour de force. It’s a classic and I enjoyed seeing it again. 🧟‍♂️
    Love, love, love those skeletons! Fab video! 💀
    Happy Halloween week, Clive! 🎃

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    • I’m pleased you enjoyed them, Nancy. Funnily enough I’ve never got that feeling about the Black Widow intro – I think it builds the menace of the song.

      The Hound + The Fox always go down well here – beautiful music and great videos. Happy Halloween week to you too 💀

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