80s Halloween Songs
The best 80s Halloween songs are Michael Jackson's "Thriller", Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters", Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" and Oingo Boingo's "Dead Man's Party", plus theme songs from the Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and Lost Boys films. Every song below plays in one free, non-stop playlist.
Why the 80s own Halloween
No decade gave Halloween more music than the 1980s. Horror movies were everywhere, from Freddy Krueger to Jason Voorhees, and almost every one came with a rock or rap theme song. MTV turned monsters into music video stars, and "Thriller" proved a pop song could be a horror film in its own right.
That is why so many of the songs here were also big chart records, the same kind of songs you hear on our year-round 80s hits mix. The rest come from the metal, goth and new wave corners of the decade.
What made the list
A song earns its place if it is spooky in its subject, its sound or the film it was written for. Every one was first released between 1980 and 1989, and they are listed in release order.
These are year-round songs, so they also play in their own genre playlists on the site. Every pick follows our song selection rules. Tap any title to start the playlist from that song, or press Play All in the player above.
The best 80s Halloween songs, year by year
— AC/DC (1980)
The opening track of Back in Black, the band's first album after Bon Scott's death. It opens with the slow toll of a funeral bell before Brian Johnson warns that he is coming to get you.
— Ozzy Osbourne (1980)
A song about the English occultist Aleister Crowley from Blizzard of Ozz. Don Airey's church-organ intro sets the mood, and Randy Rhoads' solos are still studied by guitarists today.
— The Specials (1981)
A wailing, haunted-house ska record about Britain's emptied-out cities that spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK in 1981. The eerie organ and ghostly backing vocals make it perfect for a dark night.
— Siouxsie and the Banshees (1981)
From the album Juju, Budgie's galloping drums and John McGeoch's swirling guitar build a song that sounds like being chased through the woods. It is one of the founding records of goth.
— Golden Earring (1982)
Despite the title, George Kooymans took his inspiration from the spy novel The Bourne Identity, not the TV show. The Dutch band's creeping groove reached No. 10 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
— Daryl Hall & John Oates (1982)
The prowling bass line and saxophone warn you to watch out, because she'll chew you up. It spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 at the end of 1982.
— Duran Duran (1982)
Simon Le Bon on the hunt, set to a pounding synth-rock beat and a jungle video shot in Sri Lanka. It reached No. 3 in the US and belongs on any costume-party playlist for the title alone.
— Michael Jackson (1983)
Rod Temperton wrote it, Vincent Price delivered the graveyard rap, and John Landis directed the 13-minute video that premiered on MTV on December 2, 1983. In 2009 it became the first music video added to the National Film Registry.
— Ozzy Osbourne (1983)
The title track of Ozzy's 1983 album, with Jake E. Lee's razor-sharp riff. In the video Ozzy plays a mad scientist who drinks his own potion and turns into the werewolf from the album cover. It reached No. 21 in the UK.
— Mötley Crüe (1983)
The title track of the album with the pentagram on the cover, which made Mötley Crüe a favourite target of worried parents. A chanted chorus and a riff built for leather jackets.
— Dio (1983)
Ronnie James Dio's first single under his own name opens with ominous wind and slow synth before Vivian Campbell's guitar charges in. The sword-and-sorcery video is pure 80s metal fantasy.
— Men at Work (1983)
Men at Work give the Jekyll and Hyde story a jittery new wave twist on the album Cargo. It was a No. 28 hit on the Hot 100 in 1983.
— Rockwell (1984)
Rockwell is Kennedy Gordy, son of Motown founder Berry Gordy, and the paranoid chorus is sung by an uncredited Michael Jackson. It reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 in early 1984.
— Ray Parker Jr. (1984)
The theme from the summer's biggest comedy spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in August 1984 and was nominated for an Oscar. Nobody at a Halloween party has ever failed to shout the answer back.
— Echo & the Bunnymen (1984)
A moonlit, fate-haunted ballad from Ocean Rain that reached No. 9 in the UK. A new generation found it when it opened the 2001 film Donnie Darko.
— Oingo Boingo (1985)
Danny Elfman's invitation to a party full of skeletons, with horns and a marching beat. The band played it themselves in the 1986 comedy Back to School, and it has been a Halloween staple ever since.
— Oingo Boingo (1985)
Danny Elfman wrote the mad-scientist theme for John Hughes' 1985 film after a single phone call, hearing the whole song on the drive home. It reached No. 45 and became the band's most successful single.
— Siouxsie and the Banshees (1985)
A dance-floor song about the eruption that buried Pompeii, with Siouxsie describing bodies frozen in ash over a bright, driving beat. It is from the 1986 album Tinderbox.
— Alice Cooper (1986)
The theme for Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, complete with the franchise's whispered "ki-ki-ki, ma-ma-ma". It reached No. 4 in Sweden.
— Dokken (1987)
Written for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. The video stars Patricia Arquette and Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger, who chases her until Dokken turns up to save the day.
— Echo & the Bunnymen (1987)
Echo & the Bunnymen cover The Doors for the 1987 vampire film The Lost Boys. Ian McCulloch's cool, faraway vocal fits the Santa Carla boardwalk perfectly.
— Gerard McMann (1987)
The theme from The Lost Boys, sung by Gerard McMahon under the name Gerard McMann. A chanting choir hovers over a slow gothic power ballad, and it is the scariest-sounding song on this list.
— DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (1988)
The Fresh Prince tells the story of Freddy Krueger turning up in his dreams. New Line Cinema, which owned the films, sued, and records carried a sticker saying the song was not authorized. It reached No. 15 on the Hot 100 anyway.
— The Fat Boys (1988)
The officially approved Freddy rap, made for A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. Robert Englund raps some of the verses himself as Freddy and chases the Fat Boys through a haunted house in the video.
— INXS (1988)
A slinky, menacing groove from Kick about the devil in all of us. It reached No. 2 on the Hot 100, and Michael Hutchence sells every word.
— The Ramones (1989)
Stephen King, a longtime fan, invited the Ramones to his house in Maine and handed Dee Dee Ramone a copy of the novel. Dee Dee came back about an hour later with lyrics. The song closes the 1989 film and reached No. 4 on the Modern Rock chart.
— The Cure (1989)
Robert Smith whispers a bedtime story about a spider that comes to eat him. It reached No. 5 in the UK, the Cure's only top-five hit there, and its Tim Pope video won British Video of the Year at the 1990 Brit Awards.
Make your own Halloween mix
Want more horror-movie themes or less metal? Open the custom 80s playlist builder, search for any song on the site and build a Halloween mix of your own that you can share with a link.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most famous 80s Halloween song?
Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Its 13-minute video, directed by John Landis with a spoken-word part by Vincent Price, premiered on MTV in December 1983 and became the first music video added to the National Film Registry in 2009.
Who sings the chorus on "Somebody's Watching Me"?
Michael Jackson, uncredited. The singer, Rockwell, is Kennedy Gordy, son of Motown founder Berry Gordy. The song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984.
Which 80s horror movies had theme songs?
Ghostbusters (Ray Parker Jr.), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 (Dokken's "Dream Warriors"), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 (The Fat Boys' "Are You Ready for Freddy"), Friday the 13th Part VI (Alice Cooper's "He's Back"), The Lost Boys ("Cry Little Sister") and Pet Sematary (the Ramones).
What 80s songs are good for a Halloween party?
"Thriller", "Ghostbusters", "Somebody's Watching Me", "Dead Man's Party", "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Maneater" get people moving. Save "Cry Little Sister" and "Lullaby" for when the lights go down.
Is "Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring about the TV show?
No. George Kooymans based it on the spy novel The Bourne Identity. The song reached No. 10 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
Last updated: September 23, 2026