Halloween Party Playlist 2021

You've invited all your guests. You've decorated your house (if you're American then hopefully that involves one of those crazy 12 foot skeletons because I'm very jealous of those). You've picked out your best costume and spent hours following SFX tutorials on YouTube to get the perfect scary look. Now you just need to set the right atmosphere, and I'm here to provide you with the perfect playlist to do just that. Here it is, and I'll defend my choices below:

Tracks 1-24: Atmosphere

Don't put this playlist on shuffle, I have picked the tracks based on how your party will be progressing. Your guests are arriving and no one is drunk yet so you just need creep factor for now. Turn to horror movie soundtracks, they create the perfect "I feel like I may be brutally murdered by a crazed person with a chainsaw any second" vibe because, well, that's their job. On any other day of the year you could also put this part of the playlist on if there's someone you want to leave your house but you don't want to say it outright; these creepy tracks should make them feel so uncomfortable they'll have to leave you alone.

We of course start with the main title theme of the original Halloween movie, the movie that kicked off the slasher genre. Say what you will about John Carpenter but he's very talented as a director and a composer. We have several other main title themes from Saw (side note: burn 'Just Begun Your Test' from Saw into your brain because I have missed too many quiz questions because I couldn't recognise it), to Creepshow. There's a couple of tracks from Sinister, which was named as the scariest horror film of all time last year, so you know it's definitely going to hit the right creepy vibe. I've included 'Face Hugger' from the Alien soundtrack because it's one of the more outright scary choices but I do think that is one of the best movie soundtracks so if you want to swap some of my other choices out for more Alien tracks that's fine by me.

Our third song is 'This is Halloween' by Music Box Mania and I wanted to talk about this one in a bit more detail. I stumbled across this band when I was using a 'creepy music' playlist to create some atmosphere for writing. They do instrumental versions of popular albums and soundtracks as though they're played on a music box. I really like the style and they all have a bit of a creepy vibe, even the pop songs they've covered, so if you don't want you and your guests to be terrified then you're doing Halloween wrong but you could just put on a selection of tracks from Music Box Mania.

To add to the general mood, I have included a few instrumental choices outside movie soundtracks and scattered them throughout this section. We have three tracks from Brandon Boone of NoSleep Podcast fame, he really makes the podcast stand out with their high production value so I had to include him here. I chose from his album 'Wires' but he has many albums to choose from if you want more of his work. We also have three songs from Derek & Brandon Fietcher's album 'Night at the Carnival' because it's all creepy carnival music to remind your guests of clowns, and nobody likes clowns. If anyone who isn't a child tells you they like clowns then run, that person is a psychopath. Finally, I have included 'Ghostly Voices - Horror Sound Effect' from the album 'Halloween Chopped Up - Scary Horror Sounds' three different times. It's only a minute long but I found it very unsettling in broad daylight so good luck! It may be that it works better on headphones so make sure you have your music up loud. If there's a guest that you don't like you could even agree with everybody else that you'll carry on as though these interludes of creepy demonic whispering aren't happening and watch them think they're slowly going mad. It's Halloween, horrible pranks are allowed. Or maybe you like to do horrible pranks all year, don't let me tell you what to do.

Tracks 25-37: Cheesy Fun

The soundtrack has been on for just over an hour so people should be suitably drunk by now to break out the silly Halloween songs. I make no apologies for the inclusion of these cliched tracks because I know what I'm about. We kick off this section with 'Monster Mash' to get everyone used to the tone change before they're up and dancing to 'Time Warp'. We also have 'Damn it Janet' & 'Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me' scattered in this section because those are the three best songs from Rocky Horror Picture Show. Sorry that's just a fact. Continuing the cliches we have 'Ghostbusters', 'This Is Halloween' (the film version), and 'Flying Purple People-Eater'.

As well as Rocky Horror Picture Show, we have other musical offerings in this section too. We have 'Rest in Peace', the best song from the Buffy musical episode. Again, sorry but that's just a fact. For something lighter we have some NPH Doctor Horrible but we also have three songs from the fever dream that is Repo: The Genetic Opera just your guests don't start feeling too comfortable and forget it's the scariest night of the year. Life's all about balance.

We round out this section with the Addams Family theme tune to get all your guests clicking and smiling.

Final Track: Get the f@$% out of my house!

Here's the deal, pre-pandemic I'd have made this playlist longer but socialising is exhausting after all this time inside. So by this point your guests have been here for just over an hour and a half. If that's not long enough, skip the last track and start the playlist over. If that is enough, play the last track and put the lights on so everyone can see your 'please leave by 9' party banner and know you weren't joking.

The last track is 'Doppel' from the It Follows soundtrack. I have nothing against this track or this film. In fact, I think It Follows was one of the best horror films of the last few years and the soundtrack is a key part of why it's so unsettling. However, this track on its own is hard to listen to. Cranked up loud and without the film for context it gets a bit 'nails on a blackboard' for five long minutes so people will scatter.

Now, congratulate yourself on a successful party, put your feet up and watch your favourite horror film and finish off any sweets left over from the trick or treaters.