Songs About Ghosts For Halloween

Post

Subscribe

We come to the second of my Halloween music lists, following one about graveyards and cemeteries . This was suggested by the daughter of a friend, and so I bring you songs about ghosts!


Ghosts are a standard and a rather simple Halloween costume for trick or treating, and it does seem that the concept of Halloween started with the belief of a night when the ghosts of the otherworld had entry into ours (according to some traditions). Ghosts are also the most commonly believed in a supernatural entity, according to polls going back decades. So, it is only logical that there be a number of songs about ghosts.

The problem is, there are not a lot of ghost songs I actually like. Many are dirges or don't hit it for me. So, I extended this column out to songs about spirits and being haunted, including haunted houses and ghost towns. I had to be careful to make sure the spirit being sung about was not religious in nature, and 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' gets its name from deodorant. Also, no songs from or about The Phantom Of the Opera. So, with that in mind, the usual rules apply – one song per artist, one version of each song, and I need to like the song.

Songs about ghosts!
'Ghost Train' by Bert Wheedon (1961)

An instrumental track, one that Wheedon hoped would capture the feeling of going through the sideshow ride of the same name. I am not sure it works on that level, but as a piece of music, it is really good.
'Ghost Riders In The Sky' by The Outlaws (1980)

This was a tough call – which version did I use? I ended up going with this one, 1980s country music because I really like the guitar sound of it. This is a classic country song, and even made a bizarre appearance in the film Blues Brothers 2000.
'Ghost Town' by The Specials (1981)

This has an eerie feeling about it, and yet it is really a protest song about the state of the United Kingdom at the time. It was all over the radio at the time, and is probably still relevant today.
'Spirit Got Lost' by Mental As Anything (1983)

Mental As Anything had a string of hit songs in the 1980s, and this was just one of many great ones . There are a lot of allusions to things about the dead, and yet it passed by at the time with barely a ripple of complaint.
'Ghostbusters' by Ray Parke Jr (1984)

You knew this one would be here. The theme song from the film of the same name, later in some legal trouble because of similarities to another song, this is an all-time classic 1980s pop tune. Oh, and if you can find it, there is a live version that goes for 16 minutes on YouTube!
'Ghost Ships' by the Saints (1984)

One of the lesser-known songs from The Saints' canon, this is still a strong song, one of the band's tracks I really like , with that slow build-up to a louder chorus.
'Ghost Of A Texas Ladies' Man' by Concrete Blonde (1992)

A strong single from Concrete Blonde, this one mixed country and rock perfectly. I remember when this song came out and it was hard to reconcile this with their previous Australian hit 'Joey'. Still, I have liked this song ever since.
'Ghost Radio' by Brian Setzer Orchestra (1996)

Early BSO, when they were not completely into the big band jazz stylings and still combined that with rockabilly, this is a great song that sounds like it could have come from an earlier era, about a radio that keeps on playing.
'Ghost Of You And Me' by BBMak (2000)

This is a boy band I know little about, but I have somehow received an album of theirs. They are not bad, truthfully, and this is one of their better songs. A mix of acoustic and mainstream pop, it works.
'Ghost Love Score' by Nightwish (2004)

A long song, this is symphonic rock at its finest. Amazing musicianship, wonderful singing and all of it couched in the veneer of a modern musical hybrid.
'Ghost Towns Along The Highway' by John Mellencamp (2007)

I don't think Mellencamp has got his due for his lyrics nor for his later albums. He writes some strong images into his words, and his depictions of the USA iare honest and not always flattering. This is one such song, and it is really good.
'Ghost Division' by Sabaton (2008)

The song is war-themed, coming from a concept album about war (as far as I can tell), this is heavy metal done well, melodic while still keeping to what makes the genre so distinctive.
'Ghosts' by Neil & Liam Finn (2018)

When I reviewed Light Sleeper , I said this was one of the standout tracks on that album. It still sounds wonderful, with those different sonic flourishes and some interesting lyrics.
'Ghosts' by Bruce Springsteen (2020)

From Letter To You , this is a song of hope: those ghosts living in the memory can be a comfort as one gets older. A strong song.
'Living In A Ghost Town' by The Rolling Stones (2020)

This was one of my favourite songs of 2020 , showing that Jagger & Co. were back in fine form. While it was about the world under a pandemic, it is still a strong track and it still sounds great.
'Yes, I Have Ghosts' by David Gilmour with Romany Gilmour (2021)

And we finish this list with one of my favourite songs of 2021 . A beautiful, haunting track, with beautiful guitar and harp playing.
There we are – 16 songs about ghosts in their myriad forms. A mix here, and probably a more accessible list than last time. Looking at it, weird that the songs seem to be split between the 1980s and the twenty-first century, with only a couple of outliers, but that's the way things sometimes fall.

One more Halloween list to come. Hope you found something here to enjoy.
via GIPHY

#halloween
#lists
#music
#performing_arts
#pop_culture
#quirky
%wneverywhere