Date With The Night

A Halloween playlist isn't about dancing or shouting "Ghostbusters!"

A Halloween playlist should make you just a little bit uneasy.

Right off the top, let’s skip all the obvious contenders. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is probably the first song on everyone’s list. You’ve heard Bobby Pickett’s “Monster Mash,” and Rocky Horror’s “The Time Warp,” and of course: Ray Parker Jr.'s “Ghostbusters,”

That’s not where we’re going with this.

Campy, spooky hits have their place, but if I’m throwing a Halloween party, I want to scare the hell out of people. My music isn’t fun, poppy, dancing music -- not for the spookiest day of the year.

My playlist will be tapping, coiling, scratching, crescendoing; I want guests to feel like at any moment, the music itself might reach out and wrap disembodied fingers around their wrists. Everyone in range should, at varying intervals, feel the hair on the back of their neck stand up. People should constantly feel like there's something moving, just out of the corner of their eye, but when they turn to look it vanishes.

If you’re at my party, you’re in a dark room: purple and green lights, shifting shadows, floating fog, and eerie noises you can’t locate the source of.

Let me introduce you to just the right amount of unease.

Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Karen O

Originally by the Smashing Pumpkins, this version is all the creepier for the female rocker singing it. The eerie synth elements that lead the song immediately set the mood, and the background sound effects make it seem like something evil might be happening just out of your line of sight.

You Should See Me In A Crown, Billie Eilish

Does anyone do creepy melodies better than Billie? This song has it all: a lilting tune that draws you in, just to spook you; something pulsing to make your heart beat follow along; whisper-sung lyrics to crawl along your skin. If the amazing minor key doesn't get you, the music video of Billie singing while letting spiders crawl over her face will.

Yellow Flicker Beat, Lorde

When it comes to low, moody vocals that will get you in all kinds of spooky moods, Lorde’s your girl. There’s something totally sinister about the lyrics -- which start out with princesses, treasure, precious stones, and so on -- sung in such a menacing way. You can’t tear your attention away.

Date With The Night, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

A classic. This song tricks you into thinking it might be a pop song, but the scratchy vocals are amazing; take a listen in a dark room, and you’ll feel it up the back of your neck.

Ring-A-Ring-O’Roses, Charlotte Gainsburg

This song leads with an eerie haunted-carnival tune, and the lyrics make you think of a creepy kid in a horror movie; like you’re hearing “Ring Around the Rosy” whisper-sung down an echoey hallway just before the bad guy comes through your window.

Go F*ck Yourself, Two Feet

The thrumming, vibrating bass in this song is what will get you. It feels like something pulsing, in a really creepy, Stranger Things kind of way. Aside from that, the not-quite-there record player static makes you feel like you might be in a horror movie. Any minute, the record’s going to start playing one section on repeat and the lights will flicker.

Yatton, Beak

The slowly-increasing beat makes it feel like something’s chasing you. If your heart rate doesn't increase when the intro starts up, you might be a robot. Play it low in the background, and watch your guests slowly start to feel unnerved without knowing exactly why.

Clouds | Miss Red

Another one to play quietly enough to unnerve people. The background vocals make it sound like there’s people in the room, even when there’s no one there. Get this playing in surround sound, and watch guests try to triangulate the source.

No Light, No Light | Florence + The Machine

Elements of church organs, the key, the beat, and the almost desperate feeling of this song make it somehow unnerving to listen to. Something about it sounds like the singer is slowly being overtaken by something dark.

Bury a Friend | Billie Eilish

Yes, we’re back to Billie. This song is written from the perspective of a monster under your bed -- what better choice for a spooky Halloween party?

Want to be scared silly? Turn off the lights and play the full list here.

Happy Halloween.....