The Playlist is a column for Pop Break celebrating the songs we love at this very moment, and we think you, our readers, should be putting in your life as well! This column features recommendations from the writers, podcasters, and photographers of Pop Break as well as our friends from the world of journalism, entertainment, podcasting, and our everyday lives.
For October 2026, we’re talking about our essential songs for our Halloween Playlist!
Randy Allain (Co-Host Podelay!, The Hope of It All, Media/Lit)
Song: “The Mariner’s Revenge Song”
Artist: The Decemberists
There’s more than one way to celebrate the spooky season. You might romanticize the crunch of fall leaves and the laughter of children swapping candy from overstuffed pillowcases, but maybe nostalgia isn’t your speed. Perhaps you’d rather plunge into the depths of the human soul with a horror movie marathon, but life is just too busy. How can you appreciate the Halloween Horrors when the daily commute has you down? Luckily, quirky indie folk pioneers, The Decemberists, have you covered. 2005’s Picaresque takes listeners on a whimsical 19th-century vision quest, and no track is more ready-made for your Halloween playlist than “The Mariner’s Revenge Song.” How’s this for atmosphere?
We are two mariners
Our ships’ sole survivors
In this belly of a whale
Its ribs are ceiling beams
Its guts are carpeting
I guess we have some time to kill
This nine-minute behemoth is party sea-shanty and part Victorian urban legend. Its vengeful narrator finds himself trapped in the belly of a whale with the prey he has been chasing since his youth: a rakish roustabout who once used and abused the narrator’s widowed mother before abandoning her as she succumbed to tuberculosis. After unraveling the sad and twisted tale that brought the pair to this murky prison, the track unravels into a relentless accordion solo (complemented by a tambourine rattling like bones) that reaches an increasingly chaotic pitch: it seems our narrator has tasted his revenge at last. He had some time to kill, indeed.
Bill Bodkin (Editor-in-Chief, The Pop Break)
Song: “Thriller”
Artist: Michael Jackson
The quintessential Halloween party song. Put “Thriller” on at a house party, bar, family gathering, seance or midnight mass and the Pavlovian response of people of all ages doing parts of the “Thriller Dance” is instantaneous. Why? Because it’s one of the most perfect songs ever created. The vocals are impeccable. The chorus is as anthemic as “Sweet Caroline” (but better). The groove is deep and soul-stirring. The inclusion of horror iconic Vincent Price, sheer perfection. And that music video. Hands down, the best music video ever made.
Amanda Rivas (Co-Host of The Socially Distanced Podcast & Anime x Pop Podcast)
Song: “Devil Inside”
Artist: INXS
It’s my favorite time of year where I get to jam out to my spooky favorites, and when the opportunity came up to contribute to Pop Break’s Halloween playlist, I knew what I would submit immediately. Being a long-time INXS fan, “Devil Inside” has to be on this list because the premise alone focuses on the struggle between good and evil, how chaotic life can be, and the urge to succumb to temptation, which all fit a dark, moody, spooky vibe. Even though the premise is intense, the beat is a whole vibe – INXS’s uplifting signature style that makes you want to dance. Plus, paired with the sultry, seductive, wickedly fun tones of Michael Hutchence’s vocals, why wouldn’t you want to jam out to this song, especially during this time of year? If you really want to treat yourself, watch the music video because it brings the ‘80s to life in the best possible way with flawless fashion, epic haircuts, and pool.
Bill Bodkin (Editor-in-Chief, The Pop Break)
Song: “American Psycho”
Artist: The Misfits
You can’t have a Halloween playlist and be from New Jersey without having the almighty Misfits on here. Now, some may call it sacrilegious not to have a Danzig-era Misfits song here, and if you’re going to be cross about it, add “Halloween” to your list; it’s clutch for the season. However, my introduction to The Misfits was the 1997 album American Psycho with Michale Graves on lead vocals. The gang vocals, the down-and-dirty bassline, the gritty vocals—all perfect for a punk rock Halloween.
Reviewer: Branden Vice (Co-Host: The Court of Bro’s & Spice)
Song: “Dead in Hollywood”
Band: Murderdolls
I love the Murderdolls. They are a horror-punk, shock rock, and glam-metal supergroup consisting of some of the bands and people I like, including: Slipknot, Scar the Martyr, Wednesday 13, Dope, and Static X. I’ve always identified with the goth/punk/emo culture look. This band’s look and sound can best be described as a diabolic and twisted combination of Alice Cooper, Mötley Crüe, and KISS meets the Misfits and Marilyn Manson.
I picked the song “Dead in Hollywood” because it pays homage to classic horror films, monsters, villains, and iconic characters of Hollywood that have preyed upon our screens over the years. The song has a high-energy, fast-paced tempo, with raw, aggressive, snarling vocals, catchy guitar hooks, and provocative but fun, tongue-in-cheek references. If you enjoyed “Dead in Hollywood” as I do, then I personally recommend checking out two other Murderdolls tracks: “White Wedding” and “Love at First Fright.” Both songs continue to showcase the band’s signature combination of dark, gothic imagery, rebellious punk-metal energy, depraved humor, and horror themes.
Bill Bodkin (Editor-in-Chief, The Pop Break)
Song: “The Number of the Beast”
Artist: Iron Maiden
“SIX SIX SIX … THE NUMBER OF THE BEAAAAAAST!” Come on, gang, if this legendary track from Iron Maiden isn’t on your Halloween playlist, and you call yourself a fan of heavy metal, you’re doing it all wrong.
Justin Mancini (Co-host of Podelay)
Song: “The Call of Ktulu”
Artist: Metallica
Don’t get me wrong, I love my ghosts and ghoulies when it comes to Halloween. But nothing quite unnerves me like cosmic horror, with its morbid entities so old and terrible that they defy human comprehension and even challenge our sanity. Trying to capture that feeling would be ambitious for a band of any genre, but Metallica were hungry to do so—and in their early days, they had nothing to lose.
Their Lovecraft-inspired instrumental begins almost plaintively, with clean arpeggios on guitar, but an ominous wind blows coldly. It’s all about patience on this track, whetting the appetite without telegraphing the next moment. And so it waits…before the chuggy guitars appear (courtesy of James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett) and Cliff Burton’s massive bass tone materializes, like the sound of a giant’s maw opening and closing.
The song advances like a menacing procession, steady but inexorable. The momentum keeps going, the riffs keep building. Something wicked this way comes, heaving its weight out of a fathomless sea, and it comes heedless of mercy or restraint. Hammett’s guitar solo, with its full exploration of the guitar neck, strains to provide a description—assaulting the imagination with terrifying visions but never settling on a single one.
And that’s what I love here: the lack of catharsis. We’re fully immersed in the uncertainty and dread, exactly where the darkest forms of horror come from. Metallica have had their ups and downs as a band, but “The Call of Ktulu” reminds us of their power to truly disturb, artistically and existentially.
Bill Bodkin (Editor-in-Chief, The Pop Break)
Song: “Spooky Scary Skeleton (Undead Tombstone Remix)”
Artist: Andrew Gold
Not every song on my list is for the adults in the room. “Spooky, Scary Skeletons” is a 30-year-old song and more of a traditional Halloween tune, but the Undead Tombstone Remix is the one you want on your playlist. It’s a high-energy, big-beat banger that is great for the little ones to enjoy while they’re out on their candy hunt.
Tyler Bishop (Co-Host of The Court of Bros & Spice Podcast and Self Certified “Smut Scholar)
Song: “Lost Boys”
Artist: The 69 Eyes
I proudly call myself someone who listens to everything, so when suggesting a song for Pop Break’s Halloween playlist, I’ll do my best to keep it not too far out in left field. Funny enough I first heard this song my freshman year of high school at the local goth kid’s Halloween party, and it has stayed with me ever since. “Lost Boys” is exactly that: a tribute to 1987’s The Lost Boys. The track mixes ’80s hard rock and glam within a dark gothic atmosphere.
Lead singer Jyrki 69 (nice) described the track’s vibe as a dream of what Billy Idol, Guns N’ Roses, and Mötley Crüe collaborating might sound like. Along with that delicious mix of hook-heavy rhythms, you’ve got Jyrki’s baritone voice, which makes you feel like you’re listening to a gothic Elvis that stays with you long after the song is over. Finally, my favorite piece of this song that helps to bridge the gap between the ’80s and my generation would be the music video to this song that features iconic Viva La Bam/Jackass appearances, including Steve-O, Ryan Dunn, Jimmy Pop, and just happened to be directed by Bam Margera himself. This song, if not most of The 69 Eyes discography, should be sprinkled throughout your Halloween playlist; better yet, make it a video playlist and have your party guests get a double decade of Goth-drenched nostalgia with the music video.
Bill Bodkin (Editor-in-Chief, The Pop Break)
Song: “Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All”
Artist: Type O Negative
Calling all goths! When you think of Halloween, this New York-born gothic metal might not be the first one that comes to mind, but you should probably change that. The late Peter Steele’s gigantic, haunting vocals play in perfect juxtaposition throughout. At first, it’s a near whisper as he tries to seduce the woman he’s singing to, then it explodes into the chorus of “Loving You is Like Loving the Dead.” If that’s not some Halloween goodness, I don’t know what is.
