Pop Quiz: What's The Spookiest Halloween Song?

The TRL Pop Quiz works like this: our editors are posed a music-related question and have only 15 minutes and just 100 words to statistics, pick and explain their answers. This week's question: aside from everyone's favorites like "Thriller" and "Monster Mash," what's the ideal song to put on your Halloween playlist?


You can’t have A list of top spooky songs for Halloween without mentioning the classic “I Put A Spell On You.” Originally written in 1956 by Jalacy “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins, the song has been covered extensively by each person from Nina Simone Annie Lennox. My main go to iteration though has to be Bette Midler’s version in the 1993 cult film Hocus Pocus, which coincidentally is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. In the movie, Midler uses the song in a show-stopping number to literally put a spell on the partygoers at the town’s local Halloween party. Happy anniversary, Hocus Pocus! – Kristen Maldonado


There’s many classics, however if you’re having a Halloween party this year you better be playing Kim Petras’ spooky pop mixtape Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1. She dropped this danceable mixtape by surprise on October 1 and it’s got eight tracks which Kim herself has mentioned is inspired by different Halloween movies and classics like Halloween and “Monster Mash”. Can’t pick a preference song from this, so in case if you must listen to just three, listen to “Close Your Eyes”, “TRANSylvania” and “In Your Next Life”. – Landyn Pan


Don't ask me how, although Fifth Harmony managed to combine spook and romance in "I'm In Love With A Monster" off the Hotel Transylvania 2 soundtrack. Written and produced, amongst others, by early era-Fifth Harmony collaborator Harmony Samuels, the catchy track is brilliant for pop lovers looking to get just a little bit gimmicky on Halloween night. And although it never charted in the U.S., The 5H song even comes with an accompanying music video, complete with all of the haunted home realness needed to creep you out. – Matt Gehring


“The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by The Charlie Daniels Band is my preferred spooky song. Also, and I know I use this phrase also liberally, nevertheless I think it’s a brilliant song. The song is about a fiddle battle between the devil plus a male named Johnny. If Johnny wins, he gets a golden violin. If he loses, the devil gets his soul. The stakes couldn’t be higher! I won’t spoil the ending, nevertheless I am going to tell you that this song includes not one yet two fiddle solos that will melt your face off, plus a very satisfying ending. – Leah Williams