As an emo kid at heart, “IT is the end” by metalcore band Ice Nine Kills is the best halloween song. While it was hard to pick between their other songs from their horror movie inspired album, “The SIlver Screen,” this just goes so hard. The rain in the beginning puts you at the scene before little Gerogie gets snacthed by Pennywise. The singer puts himself in the clown’s shows as he sings as Pennywise upping the creep factor. Its ska inspired usage of trumpets in the chorus adds a bit of grooviness to the heaviness of the fast drums as the singer describes the carnival of carnage that Pennywise causes. This is a blast to headbang to while putting on your spookiest face, just in time to float down in the sewers with the dancing clown. 

– Gabby Felitto

I am not a fan of halloween, call me crazy but I despise dressing up and have always found the parties underwhelming. I could 100% do without the holiday, but since it is celebrated every year I’ve found other things to enjoy. One of these being the musical classic, “The Monster Mash,” produced by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers. Those names alone are reason to listen. The chorus brings back fond memories, when halloween was innocent fun, sprinting around my neighborhood dumping “take 1” bowls into my pillowcase, laughing with my friends about our candy heist. Yes, I was that kid, and I have no regrets. That was my version of having a “Monster Mash.”

– Sam Jefferson

In my opinion, Fleetwood Mac owns spooky season. No, they’re not like Michael Jackson with his twenty-some-odd Halloween anthems. But there’s something about their music that makes me feel like a celestial witch who lives deep in the forest in a cottage made of stone with my herd of deer and raccoon familiars. “Tusk” is my personal favorite. Its drum beat is perfect for dancing around a fire in a white nightgown while worshipping your favorite pagan god and the faded hooting in the background sounds vaguely like the baying of wolves through the trees. This Halloween, put “Thriller” and “Monster Mash” aside and join Stevie Nicks’ witches coven. We’re brewing the cure for corona with stars in our hair. 

– Sophie Oehler

Michael Jackson’s Thriller is a signature song of Halloween. The tempo sends chills down your spine, yet at the same time, the catchy rhythm and lyrics give you a sense of joy. What puts the song above others is the music video made for it. Running for 18 minutes, it shows a story of horror and somehow manages to make it comical. The dance that Jackson and dozens of zombies performed to the song became iconic. Whenever I hear the song, I imagine that dance and feel a sudden urge to perform it. This combined with the catchy tune makes Thriller the best Halloween song.

– Jordan Spindel

Two breaths; in and out fill the room in the middle of a song and everyone goes wild. That is the typical reaction when “She Wolf” by Shakira comes on, making it the best Halloween song. That song can turn any gathering from a dud to a bop. My love for the song started as a kid, playing with my siblings listening to the song. We would designate a “she wolf” among the group and whoever was the she wolf would hide in the closet until the breaths came and then they would pop out. Throughout my life, “She Wolf” was always fun around Halloween.

– Emily Johnston