With leaves changing color and Halloween creeping in, listed are some of the Northern Star Staff’s favorite tunes to listen to during spooky season. 

AUSTIN LAMB’S PICKS

1. Halloween – Mastodon
2. Okay, You Can Be Tigers, But No Crashing – Newfound Interest in Connecticut
3. Pamela – Chat Pile

I listen to “Halloween” during the transition to midnight on Halloween every year. The track combines winding, psychedelic guitar passages with a steady midtempo beat and classic Mastodon riffs to perfectly create the ideal Halloween mood. Rarely does a guitar part hit as hard as the looping outro riff and accompanying solo at 3:45.

“Okay, You Can Be Tigers, But No Crashing” feels like watching the leaves change color and fall from the trees, beginning with a few yellow-green stragglers and progressing to a whirlwind of auburn, almost as if watching autumn progress in just under five minutes. 

This track’s narrative is delivered from the perspective of antagonist Jason Voorhees’ mother, Pamela, in  “Friday the 13th.” “Pamela” feels like complete despondency, loss and most importantly, Halloween. The hypnotic, twisted guitar passages evoke a psychotic and tortured feeling, with the final two minutes culminating in a hellish and honestly horrifying manner as Pamela laments, “Resurrect my son!”

EMILY’S BEEBE’S PICKS

1. Ghostbusters – Ray Parker Jr.
2. bury a friend – Billie Eilish
3. Thriller – Michael Jackson

Released in 1984, “Ghostbusters” is the perfect song to represent Halloween. This song is more upbeat, making people want to dance and sing along, compared to the traditional spooky vibe that some Halloween songs give. Ghosts are one of the main parts of Halloween and this song definitely mentions ghosts in it.

This song gives off a spooky vibe, making “bury a friend” ideal to listen to especially closer to Halloween. Released in 2019, Eilish’s voice is soft and ethereal in this song, making it sound like she’s whispering. The use of the distorted voice in the background also gives this song a haunting sound.

“Thriller” is the epitome of a Halloween song. When I think of Halloween music, I think of this song. Released in 1983, the song starts with a creaking sound and incorporates werewolf howls, which provides an immediate scary vibe. The music video for this song is exquisite, with the almost 14 minute video telling a vivid story of Jackson turning into a creepy werewolf.

ETHAN RODRIGUEZ’S PICKS 

1. song for my lost ghost friends – spellcasting 
2. Trisha’s Lullaby ~A Reminiscence~ – Akira Senju 
3. Echoes of the Eye – Andrew Prahlow 

Falling in line with more traditional Halloween songs, spellcasting crafts a more ethereal sound for lost ghost friends by having the instruments repeat every beat at a slight delay. This makes it sound like the song is echoing from a ghost’s favorite spot to hang out.

One the last songs featured in the “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” soundtrack, Senju  uses string instruments to calm its listeners. It’s a song that is gentle and slow, like the leaves falling off the trees as the world moves into fall.

When people walk anywhere, they often like to listen to a song that sounds like their surroundings. “Echoes of the Eye,” composed by Prahlow for the “Outer Wilds” DLC of the same name, creates a feeling of walking through a forest as the colors change around you, making it the perfect song for any hike this fall. 

CALEB JOHNSON’S PICKS

1. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper – Sharon Needles 
2. I Put a Spell on You (From ”Hocus Pocus”) – Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy
3. The Dead Dance – Lady Gaga

Originally released in 1976 by the Blue Oyster Cult, Needles released her cover in 2022. Needle’s cover is a pop-electric beat that is soothing to listen to. It’s perfect for the season as it discusses death and acceptance. 

This classic from the 1993 Halloween staple “Hocus Pocus” is a seasonal smash. I love bopping to this song every year. It’s a witchy good time. Nothing is more spooky than Halloween in Salem. “I Put a Spell on You” was originally released in 1956 by “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins and co-written with Herb Slotkin.

This delightful spooky melody was featured in Season 2 of “Wednesday” on Netflix which was released in September. I really enjoyed this song, and nothing gets you in the Halloween spirit more than “dancing until you’re dead!” The song invokes Gaga’s earlier works, such as “Monster” and “Bloody Mary;” it vibes perfectly with Wednesday’s dark gothic humor and aesthetic.  

CHERYL SEGUIN’S PICKS

1. The Magic – Lola Blanc 
2. Nightmare – Tuesday Knight 
3. Trøllabundin – Eivør 

“The Magic” is an indie, dark cabaret anthem that conjures rebellion and ritual. It’s witchy, seductive and thrumming with October energy. It is perfect for casting spells, lighting candles or dancing under a blood moon.

Singer-actress Tuesday Knight — yes, that’s her real name — performed this eerie synth-pop track from “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4.” It oozes ‘80s slasher energy — dreamy, menacing and ideal for creeping through foggy October nights.

Haunting vocals and Faroese lyrics, language of the people of the Faroe islands, evoke ancient magic. “Trøllabundin” feels like being lured into the forest by something beautiful — and maybe dangerous. The title means Spellbound in Faroese. Sung in her native tongue, Eivør evokes enchantment and surrender to desire — lured by a wizard’s spell and burning with inner fire.

LOTUS BARNES’ PICKS 

1. WEREWOLF Full Moon Bash! – Freshman Biology 
2. A DARK ZONE – Toby Fox 
3. Five Nights at Freddy’s – The Living Tombstone 

This song was released in 2024 as a part of the album “Crawlspace.” Freshman Biology loves adding little sproingy sound effects to his songs, and it really fits in this song as it adds a spooky atmosphere.

“A DARK ZONE” plays when you fight a pumpkin monster known as Jackenstein in the game “DELTARUNE Chapter 4.” The main motif in this song is based on an earlier song by Fox, known as “Spooktune.”

Horror games are just as iconic as Halloween itself, but no horror game has caused a lasting impact like “Five Nights at Freddy’s” has. With several games, books, two movies and countless plushies, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” will go down as one of the most influential horror franchises in history.