From its very beginnings, rock and roll has been rife with songs inspired by monsters, aliens and zombies. Taking their cue from horror-movie classics and comic books, artists from Bauhaus to Alice Cooper to the Cramps have offered campy odes to the fright-filled pop culture of their youth. In tribute to Michael Myers’ favorite holiday, below are 10 songs that evoke the spirit of Halloween.
“Monster Mash” (1962)
This classic novelty song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in October 1962. Horror-film actor Boris Karloff was so smitten with the song – which was co-written and sung by aspiring actor (and Karloff imitator) Bobby Picket – that he performed the tune on a 1965 episode of the rock variety show Shindig. A very young Leon Russell (www.leonrussellrecords.com/) played on the recording, as part of a group dubbed The Cryptkickers.
Fear Factor: 2
“Frankenstein” (1973)
The Edgar Winter Group lifted the synthesizer to a whole new level with this 1973 instrumental. Named, in Winter’s words, after its “monster-like, lumbering beat,” the song was a tour de force for Winter, who played keyboards, saxophone, timbales, and various other instruments. That same year, the New York Dolls recorded a song with the same title on their debut album.
Fear Factor: 4
“Werewolves of London” (1978)
Warren Zevon and guitarist Waddy Wachtel penned this classic at a time when both men were working with the Everly Brothers. The song became Zevon’s only Top 40 single as a solo artist, although his composition, “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” had previously been a hit for Linda Ronstadt. In his live shows, Zevon would often replace the line, “I’d like to meet his tailor,” with the phrase “and he’s looking for James Taylor.”
Fear Factor: 3
“Ogre Battle” (1973)
This lead track on “Side Black” of Queen’s second album was one of the most ferocious songs the band ever recorded. Kicked off by a piercing scream from Freddie Mercury, the track subsequently dives headlong into some of Brian May’s most memorable riffs. Think Led Zeppelin-meets-Yes, at warp speed.
Fear Factor: 8
“Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” (1980)
This title track from one of David Bowie’s darkest albums was powered by the shrill, metallic ring of Robert Fripp’s guitar and Bowie’s portentous, Cockney-accented vocals. Some have speculated that Bowie’s portrayal of John Merrick in the theatrical version of The Elephant Man – staged on Broadway concurrent with the making of Scary Monsters – inspired the dark tenor of the album. Bowie’s incendiary performance of “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” on a 1997 episode of Saturday Night Live ranks among his best-ever TV appearances.
Fear Factor: 7
“Purple People Eater” (1958)
Is it possible that this 1958 novelty hit inspired the creation of “Ziggy Stardust”? Perhaps not, but the track – which centers on an alien who comes to earth in hopes of joining a rock band – had its genesis in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s obsession with creatures from outer space. Come to think of it, the voice of the “Purple People Eater” bears a strong resemblance to that of Bowie’s own creature in the novelty song, “The Laughing Gnome.”
Fear Factor: 1
“Feed My Frankenstein” (1991)
The inclusion of this song in the film “Wayne’s World” made the track an instant classic. More importantly, the song marked the first instance in which guitar maestros Joe Satriani and Steve Vai had recorded together. Cooper, of course, loves the Frankenstein monster, who served as the inspiration behind such other songs as “Teenage Frankenstein” and “Ballad of Dwight Frye.”
Fear Factor: 7
“Creature from the Black Leather Lagoon” (1990)
The Cramps’ psycho-billy brand of rock and roll fits horror-comic motifs like a hand-in-glove. This song, from the band’s 1990 album Stay Sick!, was one of the campiest tracks on one of the band’s campiest records. Guitarist Poison Ivy channels Scotty Moore and Carl Perkins and infuses those influences with a brazen punk attitude.
Fear Factor: 4
“Bela Lugosi’s Dead” (1979)
This goth-rock classic from Bauhaus remains one of the creepiest songs ever committed to vinyl. Peter Murphy’s gloomy baritone sends shivers, while Daniel Ash’s droning guitar moans like a ghost in a graveyard. Small wonder the track served as a memorable opening-scene kickoff in the cult vampire film, “The Hunger.”
Fear Factor: 10
“Night of the Vampire” (1980)
This melodramatic ballad from cult figure Roky Ericson brings to mind the gothic rumblings of a Black Sabbath song. Recorded with his band, the Aliens, the song ranks among the best of several Ericson-penned horror-film inspired tracks, including “I Walked with a Zombie” and “Creature with the Atom Brain.” Ericson’s most recent release, a compilation of live recordings from 1979 through 1981, is titled, fittingly, Halloween.
Fear Factor: 8