Last Christmas I shared a selection of songs from my massive Christmas music collection, but with a focus on warm weather songs, which I called my California Christmas Playlist. Sharing music from my collection is a tradition I plan on doing each Christmas, but this year I decided to add another holiday to the tradition; Halloween! Like Christmas, I have a huge collection of music about ghosts, witches, monsters, and more, all of which are fitting for Halloween! So today I’m sharing ten songs for you enjoy this Halloween season!

“Surfin’ Hearse” by Jan & Dean

We all love surf music, so why not a spooky surf song? The song is about a guy who transformed a hearse to carry his surf boards to the beach, but the girls think it’s “spooky.”  In 1986 The Splatcats covered it, and it’s a good cover too! You can listen to it here.

“The Monster Swim” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett

We’ve all heard of “The Monster Mash” but after it came “The Monster Swim” which claimed to be “bigger than the Mash” as “Mashing is a drag.”

“Monsta’ Rap” by Elvira

While Pickett had “Monster Rap” which he released in 1985, Elvira did “Monsta’ Rap” which oozes loads of horror movie references. I also love other Elvira songs this time of year.

“Ghouls Night Out” by The Misfits

Alright, darn near anything by The Misfits is fitting (pun intended) for Halloween, especially their song “Halloween” but I really love “Ghouls Night Out” as well as pretty much anything off of Famous Monsters and Project 1950, which includes their cover of “The Monster Mash.”

“Anything can Happen on Halloween” by Tim Curry

Maybe you’ve seen the video of this floating around social media, but didn’t know why it exists, however I grew up on this. This song is from the 1986 British made-for-TV movie The Worst Witch starring one of my favorite actresses of all-time, Diana Rigg. I watch this movie every year, and one year even went as a student from Miss Cackle’s Academy. It’s a hokey, which I’m sure you can tell by the above video, but it’s fun nonetheless.

“Rockin’ in the Graveyard” by Jackie Morningstar

Ghosts rocking out in a cemetery? If that doesn’t say Halloween, then I don’t know what does!

“The Monster Hop” by Bert Convy

There were at least two different songs released under the title of “The Monster Hop.” This number, and another by Jimmy Dee, each feature different lyrics, but both are akin to the “Monster Mash” in lyrical content about monsters having a dance.

“Haunted House” by Chris Kevin

Like “The Monster Hop” there are at least three songs with the title “Haunted House” including one by Elvira and another by Sam the Sham, but each have different lyrics and sound. This song has a fun beat and is about what goes on at a house on the top of a hill.

“The Headless Horseman” Kay Starr

No, this is not the song you may know from the Disney cartoon, but a really great number by one of my favorite 50s female vocalists, Kay Starr.

“Rockin’ Ghosts” by Little Gerhard

Little Gerhard was named “Sweden’s Rock King” and “The Nordic Rock King” as he hailed from Sweden. He had several hits in the 1950s, and I love this amusing little song about a man stumbling upon his grandparents’ ghosts dancing.

I hope you enjoyed these numbers! And look for a funky Christmas playlist after Thanksgiving! Also stay tuned for a Halloween decoration post soon!

Want more spooky tunes? Check out other annual Halloween playlists!