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I have been wracking my brain trying to whittling down some song choices of our favorite Halloween songs to discuss just one for this post. And you know what? I can’t do it! There are just too many that we ghoulishly salivate over. So, instead of bringing you one song with a review and rating, today I’m listing out our favorite Halloween songs (in no particular order).
Goo Goo Ga Ga by Joe Scruggs
When the spooky, lightly haunting opening music starts, Miss P gets a big grin on her face and starts kicking her legs. For those of you that don’t know this Halloween song, it’s about a dad driving with his baby in the car, encountering a witch, a troll, and an alligator along the path. His way out of getting of trouble with these creeps? The cute baby in the back cooing “Goo Goo Ga Ga Coochie Coochie Coo.” Seeing as how I have experienced my cute toddler getting me out of a pinch with the manager of an Apple store, I totally get this song. And the simple fact that the baby uses their cuteness to get out of a scary situation gives Miss P a little sense of empowerment against the trolls of the world.
by Michael Jackson
Do I even need to say more? From the first two notes of this song, my kids perk up in excitement. And they don’t even know the dance yet! It gives me a chance to break out my zombie dance and choreographic reenactment of this video. Who could ask for anything else?
Photo credit: JD Hancock
by Ray Parker Jr.
I love it when songs that I loved as a kid become some of my kids favorites. This one is no exception. Mr B. goes nuts over this one, even before seeing the movie. This song touts all the wonderful merits of the 80′s synthesizer. Do they even make those anymore? It’s catchy melody will have you singing about ghosts for the rest of the day. And when you do, who ya gonna call?
by Bobby “Boris
An oldie but goodie. The odd ghoulish manner in which this Halloween song is sung isn’t really scary, but does lend itself to lots of imitation. That can be entertainment enough for the under 7 circuit. Plus, it’s dancing monsters!
by Danny Elfman
Photo credit: Andy Zeigert
This Halloween song is from the soundtrack of The Nightmare Before Christmas, a movie neither of my kids have seen yet. But it appears on Just Dance 3, which we’ve had a riot dancing to. The kids love the dance that’s choreographed to this song because each kid gets to pick a character. Mr. B picks the vampire, Miss P picks the purple witch, and I get stuck with the giant pumpkin head. The song itself is distinctive Danny Elfman, a swirl of bells and string instruments that invoke a sense of mystery and spooky activity.
by Sheb Wooley
Another Halloween song that’s been around for decades, this one is great for kids because the high-pitched, sped up voice of the monster makes him seem lovable, not scary. After all, he just wants to be in a rock-n-roll band. My kids love this kind of voice, the same ilk as that of the Chipmunks. Yes, it could potentially drive you crazy, but it’s spread out enough in the song to still be cute. Plus it has a great beat that’s fun to dance to when hopped up on Skittles and Pixie Sticks.
by Justin Roberts
A song about the excitement and adventure of trick-or-treating as a kid. My son echos some of the same concerns – will his bag be big enough to collect all of that candy? I love that the kids come home afterwards and sort out their candy, each brother with his own unique style of candy organization. The last line kills me though: Suzy’s dad’s a dentist and he makes her trade her candy in for fruit, But there ain’t no substitute.
Now that you’re equipped with some Halloween songs to get you in the spooky mood, get your pumpkin carving on, brace yourself for the sugar high and have a safe time trick-or-treating!
What are your favorite Halloween songs?
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I love Monster Mash and Purple People Eater.
I’ve been enjoying blasting them this week to help my kids wake up.
My son loves Monster mash, my daughter Purple People Eater (“purple Mommy! That’s my favorite!”). Have a great Halloween!
Ghostbusters is a classic!
Totally! It is one of those songs that take me a while to tire of. I told my son this morning how when this movie came out when I was a kid, my brothers adapted it to Roachbusters with the goal of killing all the cockroaches and bugs in our home.
I love when I can actually sing along with the songs and their all not just Disney songs! (not that I don’t love Disney)
I’m all for having kids listen to child-friendly adult music. There are only so many time I can pretend to like Part of your world befor my head wants to explode.
I forgot about the song for Halloween until I read your post. I will have to sing to my kids this morning.
Hope they’re enjoying theiR spooky tune this morning!
I do like Thriller! I still blast that in my car if it’s on, and we just loved that video as kids. Could not get enough of it…funny;)
Do you remember watching the premier of the video on MTV? Or does that date me too much? We loved this as a kid as well. It’s great when music can transcend generation gaps.