These Halloween-themed songs have been hits year-round.
Tame Impala Coachella in Indio, CA, USA on April 13, 2019.
Koury Angelo/Rolling Stone
“Dracula” by Tame Impala and JENNIE rebounds from No. 25 to No. 14 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 (dated June 6). That nearly equals its highest rank to date: No. 10. This makes it a springtime smash, even though it’s ghoulishly obvious it will be part of Halloween playlists forevermore. It has that in common with such other springtime hits as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (No. 4 in March 1984) and Justin Bieber’s “Ghost” (No. 5 in April 2022).
“Dracula” first entered the Hot 100 a few weeks before Halloween last year – on the chart dated Oct. 11, 2025 – and took its time becoming (not-just-a-graveyard) smash.
Some bewitching hits did peak on the Hot 100 during trick-or-treat season. Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers’ “Monster Mash” topped the Hot 100 on Oct. 20, 1962, or just 11 days before Halloween. Janet Jackson’s “Black Cat” topped the Hot 100 even closer to the target date: on Oct. 27, 1990.
Other songs that some might consider Halloween-appropriate that peaked on the Hot 100 in the weeks around Halloween include Eagles’ “Witchy Woman” (No. 9 on Nov. 18, 1972), Blue Öyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” (No. 12 on Nov. 6, 1976), D.J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s “A Nightmare on My Street” (No. 15 on Sept. 28, 1988) and Shakira’s “She Wolf” (No. 11 on Sept. 26, 2009).
Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” and Rihanna’s “Disturbia” both reached No. 1 in August (in 1984 and 2008, respectively), close enough to Spooky Season for radio stations to play them on Oct. 31 without them seeming like moldy oldies.
But many songs that we now consider Halloween perennials peaked months away from Fright Night. Here are 15 examples. They are listed in chronological order.
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Classics IV, “Spooky”
Hot 100 Peak: No. 3
Peak Date: Feb. 10, 1968
Notes: This sleek, sax-sparked hit was the pop group’s first top 10 hit. Most Halloween-appropriate lyric: “Just like a ghost you’ve been a-haunting my dreams/ So I propose on Halloween.” The song first made the Hot 100 in January 1967 as an instrumental by alto saxophonist Mike Sharpe. His recording reached No. 57 that March. Buddy Buie produced the Classics IV recording, on which Dennis Yost sang lead vocals.
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Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Bad Moon Rising”
Hot 100 Peak: No. 2
Peak Date: June 28, 1969
Notes: This song blends a deeply pessimistic lyric with a jaunty melody. Some confused listeners thought the band was singing “There’s a bathroom on the right.” (Real lyric: “There’s a bad moon on the rise.”) This was CCR’s second single to peak at No. 2, following “Proud Mary.” They would have three more No. 2 hits yet never reached No. 1. Yep, that’s a record for the most No. 2 hits without scaring up a No. 1.
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Santana, “Black Magic Woman”
Hot 100 Peak: No. 4
Peak Date: Jan. 9, 1971
Notes: British musician Peter Green wrote “Black Magic Woman” and recorded it with his band Fleetwood Mac in 1968. In 1970, the song was released as the first single from Santana’s album Abraxas. The song, as sung by Gregg Rolie, was Santana’s highest-charting hit for more than 28 years, until “Smooth” (featuring Rob Thomas) went to No. 1 in 1999.
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Stevie Wonder, “Superstition”
Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (one week)
Peak Date: Jan. 27, 1973
Notes: This smash became Wonder’s first No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 in nearly 10 years. It won Grammys for best rhythm & blues song and best R&B vocal performance, male. If you think it sounds funky today, just imagine how it sounded on pop radio at the time, sandwiched between hits by Helen Reddy and Bread.
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The Edgar Winter Group, “Frankenstein”
Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (one week)
Peak Date: May 26, 1973
Notes: This hard rock recording was the first instrumental hit of the 1970s to reach No. 1. (Isaac Hayes’ 1971 smash “Theme From Shaft” had a bit too much vocal shading to be considered an instrumental.) Winter composed the song, which was featured on the album They Only Come Out at Night. Rick Derringer produced both the album and this single. “Frankenstein” was nominated for two Grammy Awards: best instrumental composition and best pop instrumental performance.
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Cher, “Dark Lady”
Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (one week)
Peak Date: March 23, 1974
Notes: This campy, but spirited, track was Cher’s third No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 in less than three years, following “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves” and “Half-Breed.” Snuff Garrett produced all three hits.
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Warren Zevon, “Werewolves of London”
Hot 100 peak: No. 21
Peak date: May 13, 1978
Notes: Zevon co-wrote this song, taken from his third album, Excitable Boy, with LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel. Jackson Browne co-produced the song with Wachtel. The track also features Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood on drums and John McVie on bass. This was Zevon’s only top 40 hit on the Hot 100 as an artist, though he also wrote Linda Ronstadt’s top 40 hit “Poor Poor Pitiful Me.”
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Golden Earring, “Twilight Zone”
Hot 100 Peak: No. 10
Peak Date: March 26, 1983
Notes: This was the Dutch rock band’s only top 10 hit. The song was written by the band’s guitarist, George Kooymans, who drew inspiration from the 1980 spy thriller book The Bourne Identity, rather than, as many assumed, the 1960s mystery television series The Twilight Zone.
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Duran Duran, “Hungry Like the Wolf”
Hot 100 peak: No. 3
Peak date: March 26, 1983
Notes: This became the group’s first Hot 100 hit. Russell Mulcahy directed the song’s music video, which was filmed in Sri Lanka. In 1984, the clip won the first Grammy Award for best short form music video.
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Michael Jackson, “Thriller”
Hot 100 Peak: No. 4
Peak date: March 3, 1984
Notes: This was the seventh top 10 hit from Thriller; the fifth to make the top five. Both achievements set records at the time. “Thriller” (which returned to the Hot 100’s top 10 for a week following Halloween in 2025) features a synthesizer bassline and sound effects evoking horror films. It includes a spoken-word section performed by horror film star Vincent Price. The “Thriller” music video, directed by John Landis, depicts Jackson dancing with a horde of zombies.
Rod Temperton, who wrote the song, also wrote Jackson’s 1980 smashes “Rock With You” and “Off the Wall.” The full-length video, Making Michael Jackson’s Thriller, won a Grammy for best video album at the 1985 ceremony, one year after MJ made history by sweeping an unprecedented eight awards in one night.
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Rockwell, “Somebody’s Watching Me”
Hot 100 Peak: No. 2
Peak Date: March 24, 1984
Notes: This classic of creeping paranoia was the only big hit for Rockwell (real name: Kennedy Gordy), the son of Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. Michael Jackson provided the uncredited (but unmistakable) backing vocal. Jermaine Jackson provided additional backing vocals. This song and “Thriller” were in the top 10 together for three weeks in March 1984.
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Billie Eilish, “Bury a Friend”
Hot 100 peak: No. 14
Peak date: Feb. 16, 2019
Notes: “Bury a Friend” was the third single from Eilish’s Grammy-winning debut studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?. (A line in the song inspired the album’s title.) Eilish sings from the perspective of a monster under someone’s bed. Michael Chaves directed the horror-infused music video, which depicts Eilish singing under the bed of British rapper Mehki Raine (known as Crooks at the time), who provides uncredited vocals on the song.
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Kodak Black, “Super Gremlin”
Hot 100 Peak: No. 3
Peak Date: March 19, 2022
Notes: This song was released on Oct. 30, 2021, but didn’t reach its No. 3 peak on the Hot 100 until the following March. It was featured on the Sniper Gang label compilation Sniper Gang Presents Syko Bob & Snapkatt: Nightmare Babies, a Halloween-themed project. It was Kodak Black’s third top 10 hit on the Hot 100 as a lead artist, following “Tunnel Vision” and “ZEZE.”
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Justin Bieber, “Ghost”
Hot 100 Peak: No. 5
Peak date: April 2, 2022
Notes: This was Bieber’s sixth and last single from his 2022 album Justice. All six made the top 20 on the Hot 100; three of them, including “Ghost,” made the top five. Bieber wrote the song with Jon Bellion and the Monsters & Strangerz (Jordan K. Johnson and Stefan Johnson), alongside Michael Pollack.
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Olivia Rodrigo, “Vampire”
Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 (two weeks)
Peak date: July 15, 2023
Notes: This was Rodrigo’s third hit to enter the Hot 100 at No. 1, following “Drivers License” and “Good 4 U.” “Vampire,” which has elements of EDM, gothic rock and symphonic rock, was nominated for three Grammys: record of the year, song of the year and best pop solo performance.
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