Chart Beat

The Top 10 Halloween Songs

10/27/2014

UPDATE: For the latest Halloween Top 25, head here.

Never mind those sugary sweets. Halloween brings some delectable ear candy, too. But which (witch?) Halloween songs are the most popular? As you prepare your Halloween party playlists, we're helping to make sure that you don't miss a single graveyard smash, as we present our creepy countdown of Billboard's Top Halloween Songs. Because when it comes to Halloween, these are the songs you wouldn't want to be caught ... dead ... without.

Titles ranked by a formula blending track sales, measured by Nielsen SoundScan, and radio airplay, monitored by Nielsen BDS, during the 2013 Halloween week.

Artist Mentioned

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10. “This Is Halloween” - Danny Elfman

Venerable composer Danny Elfman got a big assist from the citizens of Halloween Town for this Nightmare Before Christmas favorite, which was famously covered by Marilyn Manson in 2006.

9. “Highway to Hell” - AC/DC

Pitch-black metal from down under, AC/DC drove "Highway" to No. 47 on the Hot 100 in 1979.

8. “Don't Fear the Reaper” - Blue Oyster Cult

This mid-tempo rocker, which hit No. 12 on the Hot 100 in 1976 for Blue Oyster Cult, isn't spooky at all until you consider the lyrics told from the point of view of some death-friendly dude trying to induce his gal to join him and not "fear the reaper."

7. “Creep” - Radiohead

Though far from the creepiest-sounding dirge in Radiohead’s now-lengthy catalog, radio has always had a love for the band’s breakthrough hit, which is especially relevant when Halloween rolls around. It’s just too bad Radiohead’s career peaked here… kidding!

6. “Superstition” - Stevie Wonder

On one of his signature songs, Stevie Wonder pleads with his listeners to ignore talk of broken mirrors and walking under ladders. “Superstition ain't the way,” he preaches in this 1972 song, but there’s something about that funk that still sounds almost… spooky.

5. “Werewolves of London" - Warren Zevon

A perfect Halloween entry from the (late, great) Warren Zevon, who also famously sang "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead," is this howling Me Generation rocker that rose to No. 21 on the Hot 100 in 1978.

4. “Deal With the Devil” - Pop Evil

Here’s a recent entry to the list -- Pop Evil’s chugging, hard rock single “Deal With the Devil.” Coming from the band’s 2013 set Onyx, it topped Mainstream Rock Songs and peaked at No. 20 in Rock Airplay.

3. “Ghostbusters” - Ray Parker, Jr.

2. "Monster Mash" - Bobby "Boris" Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers

1. "Thriller" - Michael Jackson

By Gary Trust and Jessica Letkemann