Across the last several years, we’ve made lists of obscure and offbeat Halloween songs for you to enjoy the holiday with. One of the reasons we’ve gone into that realm is because we figured you know some of the big ones like Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller” and Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me.” Those were pretty big songs, but if you’ve ever wondered what were the biggest Halloween songs of all time according to chart success, Billboard has you covered.
Billboard recently went through their archives and did a ranking for spooky songs based on where they were on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for what period of time. They assigned point values and then compiled a list of 25. The only real subjective part was deciding what qualified as a Halloween song. For example, “Frankenstein” by the Edgar Winter Group is on the list despite being an instrumental that’s less creepy and more funky.
Because they based this on chart position instead of overall radio play, songs that gained popularity post chart fall-off often times fall lower than what you might think. Perfect example of this is “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult. Billboard ranked it at number 24, the song only peaked at number 12 on the charts and gained more mainstream popularity on album oriented radio, classic rock stations, and appearances in popular culture.
What wound up at number one? Not surprisingly, it’s Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers with “Monster Mash.” That’s one of those songs that was massively popular on the Billboard charts and is also ubiquitous in popular culture. Right behind it is “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr..
See if some of your favorites made the top 25 list:
25. Eagles – “Witchy Woman”
24. Blue Oyster Cult – “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”
23. Golden Earring – “Twilight Zone”
22. Michael Jackson – “Thriller”
21. Elvis Presley – “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise
20. Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
19. Bobby Vee – “Devil or Angel”
18. Justin Bieber – “Ghost”
17. The Charlie Daniels Band – “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
16. Kodak Black – “Super Gremlin”
15. Santana – “Black Magic Woman”
14. Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Bad Moon Rising”
13. Cliff Richard – “Devil Woman”
12. Classics IV – “Spooky”
11. Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
10. INXS – “Devil Inside”
9. Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels – “Devil With a Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly”
8. Janet Jackson – “Black Cat”
7. Cher – “Dark Lady”
6. Rockwell – “Somebody’s Watching Me”
5. Bobby Brown – “On Our Own”
4. Eminem feat. Rihanna – “The Monster”
3. The Edgar Winter Group – “Frankenstein”
2. Ray Parker Jr. – “Ghostbusters“
1. Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers – “Monster Mash”
