Shawn Patrick’s 6 Favorite Halloween Songs

From the American New Wave band Oingo Boingo and released as the third single from their fifth studio album Dead Man's Party. The lyric "I hear the chauffeur coming to my door/Says there's room for maybe just one more" is a reference to the "The Bus-Conductor," a short story involving a hearse driver by E. F. Benson, published in The Pall Mall Magazine in 1906. The story has been adapted several times and spawned an urban legend, with each version using the catchphrase, "Room for one more." The song is perhaps best known for its appearance in the 1986 film Back to School and its accompanying soundtrack; Oingo Boingo appears in the film performing the song.

Composed by LeRoy Marinell, Waddy Wachtel, and Warren Zevon and performed by Zevon. Included on Zevon's 1978 album Excitable Boy, it featured accompaniment by bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac. The song is memorable for its humorous and macabre lyrics — e.g. "I saw a werewolf drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic's, his hair was perfect!" — and the refrain featuring a howled "ah-ooo!!" This song was the only solo success by Warren Zevon that made the American Top 40 charts (AT40), scoring a respectable position of number 21, during mid-1978. The song entered the AT40 on 22 April 1978, peaked at number 21, and remained in the AT40 for only 6 weeks.

The 1956 song written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, whose recording was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also ranked #320 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Although Hawkins' version did not make any charts, several later cover versions have done so. Nina Simone's version reached # 23 in the US Billboard R&B chart in 1965; it also reached # 49 in the UK singles chart that year, and # 28 when it was reissued in 1969. The version by The Alan Price Set reached # 9 in the UK in 1966, and # 80 on the Billboard Hot 100. Creedence Clearwater Revival's version reached # 58 on the US Hot 100 in 1968.

The theme to the film of the same name starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11 in 1984, and stayed there for three weeks. It also peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart on 16 September 1984, where it stayed for three weeks. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song, but lost to Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You".

It is the seventh and final single from his sixth studio album Thriller. It was released on January 23, 1984 by Epic Records. It was written by Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones. The song, which has a voice-over from actor Vincent Price, had originally been titled "Starlight". "Thriller" received positive reviews from critics, though the song was outshone by its music video. "Thriller" became Jackson's seventh top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart from the album, while reaching the top of the charts in France and Belgium and the top ten in other countries.

The 1962 novelty song and the best-known song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett, Monster Mash, was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes. The "Monster Mash" single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 20 of that year, just in time for Halloween. It has been a perennial holiday favorite ever since.