Idolator Halloween Party Playlist: 12 Secretly Scary Songs

It’s the home stretch before Halloween, and we’re here to remind you that this celebration of pumpkin spice and sideboob was once about scares, people. To help you in the horror department, we’ve thrown together a playlist of secretly scary songs. This way you can focus more on perfecting that Lady Gaga costume.

What, exactly, is a secretly scary song? Well, it’s nothing that really broadcasts its theme. You won’t find something like Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller” or Tegan And Sara‘s “Walking With A Ghost” on here, because they’re up front about their spooky subject matter. So below, check out our 12 choices and use the handy little Myspace player so you can queue it up next to your bowl of candy. 

1. Kings Of Leon — “Closer” This song is about a 2,000-year-old vampire. No, really.

2. Daft Punk — “Contact” This song basically sounds like an alien spacecraft launching, soon to have contact with humans. Alien contact is scary.

3. Foster The People — “Pumped Up Kicks” By now everyone knows this hit is about a dude who is about to go on a shooting spree.

4. St. Lucia — “The Night Comes Again” You know in a scary movie when it’s nighttime, and things get bad, then the morning arrives and you can take a deep breath? The worst part is that you know the night comes again, and you know it’ll be even scarier than the prior night scene.

5. Kanye West feat. Mos Def — “Drunk And Hot Girls” There’s nothing scarier than a roving pack of drunk and hot girls.

6. Lorde — “Tennis Court” Who wants to meet at the tennis court to talk something out? Someone who is about to murder you, obviously.

7. HAIM — “Forever” Eternity is a frightening concept.

8. matt pond PA — “Halloween” OK fine so we had to throw in a couple obvious Halloween songs to let your partygoers know this wasn’t just a random playlist but, rather, a high-concept Halloween mix. Now they can be in on the joke.

9. Violent Femmes — “Country Death Song” See #8.

10. The Weeknd — “Kiss Land” Sounds like the name of an amazing place. But then you hear the screams.

11. Oingo Boingo — “Dead Man’s Party” When you think about it, Weekend At Bernie’s is pretty frigging gruesome.

12. Paul McCartney — “Helter Skelter” You youngsters might think “helter skelter” is just a phrase for “chaotic,” but yeah, check out Charles Manson’s Wikipedia page one day and get back to us on that.

IDOLATOR Halloween Mix from My Mixes on Myspace.