Halloween Music and Sirius XM

I listen to the Halloween music channel when it comes to Sirius XM every year.  It's not quite as much fun as it used to be.  They only run it over the weekend of Halloween (3 to 5 days depending on when it falls) and almost all they run now are scores from horror movies to make "mood music" for adult Halloween parties. I still listen cuz it's still a nice break from normal music but I remember when they ran the channel for a month and encompassed a wide variety of Halloween music.  From children's songs to regular metal music to the scores from horror movies and even infusing a scary story once in a while as well as their own vignettes of scary sounds. I guess people got annoyed with Monster Mash... lol.  But I thought I'd post my own broad Halloween music samples today.  A lot of them they used to play on Sirius.  Some they still do.

There's always the classic novelty songs like Monster Mash...

Then there's things like Cockroach which I first heard back when I was growing up on the Dr. Demento radio show. I don't know if they ever played this on the Halloween channel.. I want to say they did once, but I can't be sure...

I know they never played this one on Sirius... I think the story behind it is that their dad paid for studio time to record them for posterity. I first heard this on a syndicated radio show on terrestrial radio called The Steve and DC show. They'd cut the first bit of the first verse out to use for any Halloween segment they were doing... because it really is melt-your-brain awful and therefore funny in a nice way.

Sirius would also weave into the rotation more mainstream music that was either a little dark like Ozzy Osbourne or that simply fit the Halloween theme, like Werewolves of London

And we used to get Thriller on that channel every year. They should still play Thriller every year anyway... I mean, it's made for Halloween.  And the video is still the best zombie movie ever made.

This is a short example from several years ago showcasing the "Halloween sounds" that they'd play in between songs when giving the name of the station. 

These have gotten longer over the years and have taken on a life of their own.  They're no longer just background for calling out the name of the station, but vignettes set up to run for several minutes in a row, often titled (i.e. "Train to Nowhere," etc.) The sounds aren't always random either, but they're set up as a kind of mini ghost story that takes a person back to the days of radio entertainment before there was television and you had to fill in the pictures from your imagination. Footsteps in the grass.. howling... a creaking door opens... wind blows... It would seem that you've just entered a haunted house... What does it look like in your mind - a Victorian manor or a trailer?  Is the screaming coming from the attic or just down the hall? Is it even you or someone you don't like who you think deserves to suffer through a good horror story?  Of course they all end with a lot of screaming and a snarling or laughing beast winning the day.  The monsters always get to win on Halloween. But I can deny I'm glad these have gotten longer and more intricate, even if the music rotation is lacking in variety nowadays.

They'd run this one once or twice on Sirius.  I suppose it could be considered "children's" music, but I know a lot of adults that love the Pumpkin King as well.

And I always approve of the soundtracks of movies.  I love instrumental scores and they still run these.

And speaking of instrumentals, Midnight Syndicate is a band that's only been around since the late 90's. They produce original "dark themed" instrumental music that has been adopted in the gaming community. I love instrumentals and I think their work is very creative. It's good "mood music" for Halloween parties and it's nice to hear original work.

I love and appreciate all of these types of music.  There are always songs that aren't as good, or even annoying, but there's a wider selection than most people realize.  As a Christian and a thinker, Halloween plays to fears I just don't have, so I'm not into the "spirit of the holiday" looking for a good scare.  But I am a music lover and the different music and soundtracks are of interest to me. Happy Halloween!