“When witches go riding
Author Unknown
And black cats are seen,
The moon laughs and whispers
‘Tis near Halloween”
It’s (finally) getting to the colder weather we usually associate with October and as the month draws to a close, we’re getting in the spooky Halloween mood in the office. Have a listen to our choices (from Backstreet Boys to Saint-Saens) for a spine-tingling, sugar-coma-inducing ‘Hallow’s Eve’…
ALEX: What an absolute banger to start us off. This has a hidden bit of Bach Toccata and Fugue in the opening…
You make me feel like it’s Halloween by Muse starts with an organ and heavy rock beat, team that with a spooky Halloween themed music video and you’ve got a winner!
ANNE: As a teenager in the 90s it has got to be Backstreet Boys’ Everybody for me. It’s Scooby-doo meets Thriller, and impossible to listen to without wanting to bust out some spooky moves.
In the video, the boy band’s tour bus breaks down near a spooky mansion where they are forced to spend a harrowing night. Variously transforming the boys into Dracula, The Wolfman, Phantom of the Opera, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and The Mummy, they chase around the house in Scooby-doo like escapades, finally converging in the ball room for the iconic dance scene. In the morning, they are relieved to discover it was all just a dream – or was it??!!
DONNA: As Diwali, the festival of light, approaches, Donna has chosen a spooky piece of indian classical music, called The Himalayas.
The eerie sounds of the sitar depict the cold, snowy and mysterious Himalayas.
KIRSTIE: Two notes. That’s all John Williams needed to create one of the most iconic and well-known film scores ever. When director Steven Spielberg was presented with this theme for his film, he thought John Williams was having a laugh.
You don’t have to have watched Jaws to know what’s coming when you hear that low semi-tone ostinato as it repeats and gets faster and faster until… well, let’s leave the suspense hanging there, just makes it more intimidating!
LAURA: Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr.
Every year Laura tries to watch a Halloween based film but that’s quite tricky when you find all Horror films far too scary. A regular choice is the original Ghostbusters for its goofy comedy, spooky theme and of course it’s fantastic theme song!
RACHEL: Not a fan of ghosts and ghouls, Rachel has gone for this beautiful piece Allerseelen by Richard Strauss for All Soul’s Day as a commemorative piece for all departed souls.
The lyrics are set from a poem of the same name by Austrian poet Hermann von Gilm.
SU: ‘Danse Macabre‘ This ghoulish piece was originally written for voice and piano, but the composer then re-wrote it for violin and full orchestra, giving us the piece we recognise today.
In this video, you can see the legend behind the poem brought to life in cartoon form of Death appearing at midnight on Halloween and calling forth the skeletons to dance to his fiddle until dawn when they must return to their graves until next year.
EXTRA: How to make a nursery rhyme creepy… include it in a scary film called Nightmare on Elm Street. Based on the rhyme ‘1, 2, Buckle my shoe’, this music is the theme for main character Freddy Krueger, a murderer who invades teenagers dreams in the film. The nightmarish sounds of synthesizers under the chant builds up the intense feeling for the full horror film effect.
If you want to keep awake at night, this is what you should be listening to!
“One, Two, Freddy’s coming for you…“
