Halloween is one of those holidays that gets harder to enjoy with age. Because it’s taboo to trick-or-treat after the age of, say, 14—and because they generally lack young children of their own—young adults are left with the options of 1) passing out candy or 2) waiting for the weekend to throw a party with friends. Luckily, for those of us doing the latter, there is a rich trove of appropriately themed music for the occasion. Here are 21 songs to add to your playlist this Halloween.
1. “Dance Magic Dance,” by David Bowie (from Labyrinth soundtrack)
2. “Superstition,” by Stevie Wonder
3. “Terror!” by The Rakes
4. “Boris the Spider,” by The Who
5. “Coffin Trick,” by Atlas Sound
6. “Nail in my Coffin,” by the Kills
7. “Pluto,” by Björk
8. “Little Ghost,” by The White Stripes
9. “The Ghost Who Walks,” by Karen Elson
10. “I Put a Spell on You,” by Nina Simone
11. “Hell,” by The Squirrel Nut Zippers
12. “Sympathy for the Devil,” by The Rolling Stones
13. “Dead Man’s Party,” by Oingo Boingo
14. “Little Drop of Poison,” by Tom Waits
15. “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” by Johnny Cash
16. “Blood Like Lemonade,” by Morcheeba
17. “Dandy’s in the Underworld,” by T.Rex
18. “Jump in the Line (Shake Senora),” as performed by Harry Belafonte
19. “This is Halloween,” from The Nightmare Before Christmas
20. “Thriller,” by Michael Jackson
21. “Werewolf Bar Mitvah,” from 30 Rock
