When you think of songs associated with a special event on the calendar, you’ll probably think of Christmas most of all, and maybe some patriotic offerings around the Fourth of July. But there are also a number of tunes referencing the macabre that you’re liable to hear often around Halloween. Such songs aren’t necessarily about Halloween, it should be noted, but they do deal with subjects associated with the holiday.
To determine the most popular Halloween-themed songs of all time, 24/7 Tempo reviewed song performance data from the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Songs were ranked based on an inverse scoring system wherein a week at No. 1 is worth 100 points, a week at No. 2 is worth 99 points, and so on, up to a week at No. 100 worth one point. Chart data is current through Sept. 23, 2023.
Besides simply appearing in the Billboard Hot 100, eight of these songs topped the charts – among them Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” “Ghostbusters” from Ray Parker Jr., and of course, “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers. The latter song was one of 29 tunes on our list that were released in the 20th century.
Our list includes songs about spells (“Castin’ My Spell,” by The Johnny Otis Show; “I Put A Spell On You” by Creedence Clearwater Revival), magic (“Black Magic Woman,” by Santanta; “Black Magic” by Little Mix), and witches (“Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead,” by the Fifth Estate; “Witchy Woman,” by Eagles), among other subjects. (If ghosts are your thing, these are the 20 most haunted cities in America.)
The top three songs on our list had real staying power, each remaining in the Hot 100 for more than 30 weeks. “Demons,” from Imagine Dragons, had by far the greatest longevity, remaining on the chart for 61 weeks. (Here’s a list of the 40 songs that stayed in the Top 100 for the longest time.)
35. Little Mix, “Black Magic”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 67 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 8 weeks
> Debut date: Aug. 29, 2015
34. The Johnny Otis Show, “Castin’ My Spell”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 52 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 5 weeks
> Debut date: April 27, 1959
33. Bow Wow Wow, “I Want Candy”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 62 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 7 weeks
> Debut date: May 29, 1982
32. Five Man Electrical Band, “Werewolf”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 64 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 8 weeks
> Debut date: March 30, 1974
31. Kanye West feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver & Nicki Minaj, “Monster”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 18 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 10 weeks
> Debut date: Nov. 6, 2010
30. Creedence Clearwater Revival, “I Put a Spell on You”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 58 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 9 weeks
> Debut date: Nov. 9, 1968
29. AC/DC, “Highway To Hell”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 47 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 10 weeks
> Debut date: Oct. 13, 1979
28. Adam Lambert, “Ghost Town”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 64 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 17 weeks
> Debut date: July 4, 2015
27. The Doors, “People Are Strange”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 12 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 9 weeks
> Debut date: Sept. 23, 1967
26. The Fifth Estate, “Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 11 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 10 weeks
> Debut date: May 20, 1967
25. Warren Zevon, “Werewolves of London”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 21 (for 2 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 12 weeks
> Debut date: March 25, 1978
24. The Strangeloves, “I Want Candy”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 11 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 10 weeks
> Debut date: June 26, 1965
23. Radiohead, “Creep”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 34 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 20 weeks
> Debut date: June 26, 1993
22. D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, “A Nightmare on My Street”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 15 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 16 weeks
> Debut date: July 30, 1988
21. Eagles, “Witchy Woman”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 9 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 13 weeks
> Debut date: Sept. 9, 1972
20. Redbone, “The Witch Queen of New Orleans”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 21 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 17 weeks
> Debut date: Nov. 20, 1971
19. Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs, “Lil’ Red Riding Hood”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 2 (for 2 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 14 weeks
> Debut date: June 11, 1966
18. The Searchers, “Love Potion Number Nine”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 3 (for 2 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 14 weeks
> Debut date: Nov. 28, 1964
17. Santana, “Black Magic Woman”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 4 (for 2 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 13 weeks
> Debut date: Nov. 14, 1970
16. M.C. Hammer, “Addams Groove”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 7 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 20 weeks
> Debut date: Dec. 7, 1991
15. Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Bad Moon Rising”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 2 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 14 weeks
> Debut date: May 3, 1969
14. Classics IV, “Spooky”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 3 (for 3 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 15 weeks
> Debut date: Dec. 23, 1967
13. The Charlie Daniels Band, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 3 (for 2 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 18 weeks
> Debut date: June 23, 1979
12. Stevie Wonder, “Superstition”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 1 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 16 weeks
> Debut date: Nov. 18, 1972
11. Blue Öyster Cult, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 12 (for 2 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 20 weeks
> Debut date: July 31, 1976
10. Edgar Winter Group, “Frankenstein”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 1 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 20 weeks
> Debut date: March 10, 1973
9. Michael Jackson, “Thriller”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 4 (for 2 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 22 weeks
> Debut date: Feb. 11, 1984
8. Rockwell, “Somebody’s Watching Me”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 2 (for 3 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 20 weeks
> Debut date: Jan. 28, 1984
7. KC And The Sunshine Band, “I’m Your Boogie Man”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 1 (for 1 week)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 23 weeks
> Debut date: Feb. 26, 1977
6. Ray Parker Jr., “Ghostbusters”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 1 (for 3 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 23 weeks
> Debut date: June 16, 1984
5. The Steve Miller Band, “Abracadabra”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 1 (for 2 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 25 weeks
> Debut date: May 29, 1982
4. Eminem feat. Rihanna, “The Monster”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 1 (for 4 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 29 weeks
> Debut date: Nov. 16, 2013
3. Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers, “Monster Mash”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 1 (for 2 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 39 weeks
> Debut date: Sept. 8, 1962
2. Rihanna, “Disturbia”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 1 (for 2 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 37 weeks
> Debut date: July 5, 2008
1. Imagine Dragons, “Demons”
> Peak position on Hot 100: No. 6 (for 4 weeks)
> Total time spent on Hot 100: 61 weeks
> Debut date: Jan. 26, 2013