The Story Behind your Favorite Halloween Songs
Unlike Christmas, there's a somewhat finite number of spooky songs to help get you in the mood for the year's scariest night of the year. But so many songs now considered Halloween classics actually weren't written with Halloween in mind at all, which got us thinking: what are the real stories behind some of our favorite Halloween songs?
"Somebody's Watching Me," Rockwell
While this infectious pop ode to paranoia has long been a pillar of Halloween party playlists, the song wasn't recorded with that in mind. In fact, Rockwell—who's only major hit was this one—is the son of Motown founder Berry Gordy. At the time of the recording, Rockwell was estranged from his father and wanted to release something that would show he had talent regardless of who his father was, hence the Gordyless "Rockwell" stage name. Rockwell enlisted Michael and Jermaine Jackson to provide the backing vocals, which helped cement it as a hit. When Rockwell was writing this, he had his neighbors in mind rather than a deranged stalker. But with overt mentions of horror in the song, a horror-themed music video, and the fact that it was burning up the airwaves at the same time as "Thriller," "Somebody's Watching Me" always seemed destined for Halloween greatness, whether Rockwell—born Kennedy William Gordy—intended that or not.
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," Eurythmics
Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart wrote this after the breakup of their band The Tourists, which also coincided with their breakup as a couple. Still, they continued to work together and began to explore the sounds of electronic music and synthesizers, which is what led to this song's initial, iconic synthesizer riff. While there is a dark sound to this song, Lennox has said that the song was an expression of how she felt after her band broke up: "hopeless and nihilistic." Contrary to popular belief, the song isn't about sex, S&M, or anything along those sordid lines, regardless of what Marilyn Manson tried to make us believe about it.
"Bad Moon Rising," Creedence Clearwater Revival
Released in the spring of 1969, that most pivotal year, "Bad Moon Rising" was written by John Fogerty for Creedence Clearwater Revival's third album, "Green River." Not only was the song a major hit for the band, but the song has increasingly been associated with Halloween due to its ominous, howling-at-the-moon connotations. But in reality? The song is inspired by the 1941 film "The Devil and Daniel Webster" in which a farmer makes a deal with the devil in order to save his crops. Fogerty has described the song as being about "the apocalypse that was going to be visited upon us." So while the song does have some ominous, dystopian vibes to it, its upbeat melody still makes it at odds with the many Halloween playlists it regularly finds itself on.
"Werewolves of London," Warren Zevon
It probably won't come as a surprise to you to learn that this song started out as one big joke. When Phil Everly (of The Everly Brothers) caught the 1935 film "Werewolf of London" on TV, he suggested that Zevon adapt it into a song. The song was written in about 15 minutes, and Zevon's friend Jackson Browne thought the song had real potential. In fact, prior to Zevon even officially releasing the song, Browne and T Bone Burnett were performing the song live. When the song was finally released in 1978, it was a big hit, staying on the Billboard Top 40 chart for over a month.
"Witchy Woman," Eagles
Guitarist Bernie Leadon started writing "Witchy Woman" before he even joined the Eagles, and one day played the opening riff for Don Henley, who recalled that the song sounded "sort of like a Hollywood movie version of Indian music." While the inspiration for some of the lyrics about a seductive enchantress came from several different women, Henley was reading a book about Zelda Fitzgerald at the time who became the song's main muse.
"(Don't Fear) The Reaper," Blue Oyster Cult
While the word "reaper" has clear spooky connotations, this 1976 hit is actually about eternal love and the inevitability of death rather than about some boogie man. Its use in a pivotal scene in the original "Halloween" film forever married it to the holiday, however, and it even served as inspiration for Stephen King while he was writing "The Stand."
"I Put a Spell on You," Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Before "I Put a Spell on You," Jay Hawkins was just a regular blues singer, and he originally recorded the song as a ballad in 1955. However, producer Arnold Maxin brought in a bunch of food and booze to the studio and got everyone drunk, and this weird "screaming" version was born. Of course, the finished product is about as bizarre as it gets, and the grunts and moans at the end of the song caused it to be banned from most radio stations. Still, the demented song has endured, spawning scores of worthy covers in the process.
"Season of the Witch," Donovan
No spooky season classic quite gets under our skin like this psychedelic rock classic from Donovan, which has been used in countless films and even helped inspire the name of the third "Halloween" film. But, like so many other songs repurposed for Halloween, the 1966 song doesn't quite have its roots in horror. In fact, the impending doom that the song references isn't really about spirits, monsters, or serial killers, but rather what Donovan saw as an imminent end of bohemia. Of course, as dealers, hard drugs, and the 1970's eventually brought about the end of the freewheeling sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll of the 60's, Donovan was right, after all.
"Disturbia," Rihanna
With lyrics of paranoia, anguish, anxiety, and confusion, it's no mystery that the dance floor ready "Disturbia" is a modern classic that has been a Halloween staple for the last decade. The song is, as you'd expect, about general mental anguish and anxiety. But most people don't know that the song was actually written by her then boyfriend, Chris Brown, who wrote the song for himself but then decided it would be better suited for a female singer.
"Black Magic Woman," Santana
While Santana's 1970 version is the version that most often shows up on Halloween party playlists, the song—written by Peter Green—was first released by Fleetwood Mac two years prior, which was a whole six years before Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks came along. The lyrics were inspired by Green's former girlfriend, whom he had nicknamed "Magic Mamma," although the music was heavily influenced by Otis Rush's "All Your Love." "If you really like something, you should take the first lines and make up another song from them," said Green. "So that's what I did with "Black Magic Woman."