Spooky Tunes

“Gloomy Sunday” is the popular modern musical counterpart to Goethe's Werther. Just hearing the original version “Szomorú vasárnap” by Rezső Seress said to have triggered a wave of suicides in the first half of the 20th century, which is why it was banned by many radio stations. To be on the safe side, we're sticking with the English language version by Billie Holiday…

What does a crossover of the “Wild Hunt”, , an ancient European legend of supernatural hunters sweeping across the sky, and the Wild West sound like? Just like the greatly-covered western classic “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky”, originally sung by Burl Ives and originally written by Death Valley ranger Stan Jones.

Now for a true Halloween classic, Bobby “Boris” Pickett's Monster Mash from 1962. Beginning with the creaky sound of a coffin opening slowly, and boasting a dance of its own, adapted from the “Mashed Potato” dance popularised by James Brown, the scary swing song quickly became a No.1 hit in the US! Exactly 20 years later, another dance of its own leads to the success of what is probably the greatest pop horror classic of all time...

We jump forwards to 1970 when the world, or at least a part of it, seemed to have had enough of the friendly, jovial Beatles sound, and a counter-movement began to emerge. The song “Black Sabbath” by the band of the same name is considered to be the beginning of the heavy metal era. A spooky album cover and an upside down cross were enough to forge a raging path of fire into a whole new scene.

The song „The Ripper“ by Judas Priest, which is about none other than the famous London serial killer Jack the Ripper, is peppered with scary details such as ominous screams, “...you're in for a shock!”, and the musical accent for the presentation of the Ripper's knife, “...I'll attack!...” The song is a rock version of the Bertolt Brecht classic Mackie Messer, which became a world hit through Kurt Weill’s music.

Never turn your back on the ripper!

In AC/DC's “Hells Bells” (from Back in Black) we hear Satan scouring thunderstorms in search of lost souls to take to Hell, which is musically very convincing!

It's a short way from “The Ripper” and “Hells Bells” to ”Halloween” by the band Helloween, founded in Hamburg in 1984, who defined an entire genre with their power metal!

A trip into the world of musicals leads us to the Rocky Horror Show, where the music to “Sweet Transvestite” is so pleasant, that the conservative audiences of the 1970s were not afraid to sing-along with the flirtatious transvestite.

Let's move on to what is probably the greatest scary pop song of all time Michael Jackson's Thriller. Here, he got everything just right, and the video, which is over 13 minutes long, has become a milestone in the history of music videos. Howling wolves, elaborate scary make-up and costumes, a spooky cemetery in the fog of many smoke machines, creaking doors, the terrifying voice of horror actor Vincent Price, and a bloodcurdling laugh at the end... the absolute highlight, however, remains the genius zombie dance, which is still popular at parties today.