We’ve covered the scarier shades of Halloween songs in our best Halloween songs and our scariest songs; now here is a playlist for the kids, one that hopefully hits the sweet spot between fun and educational. Yes, this is our carefully curated list of… the best Halloween songs for children. Check it out and see if you think we’ve missed out any major contenders.
Best Halloween songs for children
1. Five Little Pumpkins
Not a lot happens to these five little pumpkins, which simply go rolling off into the sunset. And that’s the point. Far from being intended to scare children, the song is designed to teach them the joys of counting, and co-opting pumpkins for the purpose seems a pretty surefire way to do that. Popular in the US, the song owes much of its fame to Raffi, a Canadian singer and composer of children’s folk songs, who published it in one of his albums.
2. Monster Mash
Written by the American singer and actor Bobby Pickett in 1962, this song tells of a mad scientist whose monster, late one evening, rises from his slab to perform a new dance. The dance then becomes ‘the hit of the land’ when the scientist throws a party for other monsters, among them classic 1940s horror film icons such as the Wolfman, Igor, Count Dracula, and his son.
Inspired by Mashed Potato, a popular dance of the early 1960s, the song quickly became a best-seller and has been a perennial Halloween favourite ever since. One of the very best Halloween songs for children.
3. This is Halloween – The Nightmare Before Christmas
It’s quite unbelievable to think that Tim Burton’s 1993 stop-motion masterpiece The Nightmare Before Christmas is now over 30 years old! By our reckoning, that makes the film’s signature song, ‘This Is Halloween’ a bonafide classic. Written by frequent Burton collaborator Danny Elfman (who composed all the film’s music), the song acts as an introduction to the dark and creepy Halloween Town, populated by fantastic monsters, ghouls and ghosts. Yet underneath his dark exterior, the film’s protagonist Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, yearns for something brighter and more sparkling in the form of Christmas Town… What might at first seem quite a creepy film has genuine warmth of heart.
4. There was an old witch
The beauty of this old traditional American tune is its versatility: I’ve even heard it set in a rock style, in both major and minor keys. But it’s also an ideal melody for using, in its simplest, most unadorned form, as a teaching aid for young children, who will love trying out different percussion effects to portray its vivid lyrics:(‘She tapped on the windows, and she ran, ran, ran/Cornstalks flying from the old witch’s hair/‘Swish,’ goes the broomstick, ‘Meow,’ goes the cat. ‘Plop!’ goes the hophead sitting on her lap.’).
5. In the hairy, scary castle
This sensory story takes children on a tour round ‘The Hairy Scary Castle’, encouraging them to revel in a host of spooky sound effects: ‘Where the rats go SQUEAK, And the bats go FLAP! And the skeletons RATTLE, And the ghosts go BOO!.’ It’s also a great memory-training exercise, with two new lines being added in each verse. Try singing it while creeping around the room with a squeaky dog toy or a plastic garden chain.
6. Have you seen the ghost of John?
Some say this children’s rhyme is about a man who was hanged for murdering children and whose body was left hanging from a tree by the villagers so that his soul would never rest in peace. Yikes. Whatever its origin, though, it is certainly one of the creepier Halloween songs for children.
Among its many musical interpretations over the years, the most gruesome must come from the American singer Kirsten Lawrence, who lingers on extra details, such as John’s wobbly jaw, lack of eyes, and missing skull. Somewhat chilling – nonetheless, one of the best Halloween songs for children, by our reckoning.
More best Halloween songs for children
7. Dry Bones
Written in the early 1900s by the African-American author and composer, James Weldon Johnson, this popular spiritual is based on a passage from the Biblical Book of Ezekial where the Prophet Ezekial visits the Valley of Dry Bones and prophesies that the dead will one day rise again at the command of the Lord.
Possibly the best known version of it was recorded by American vocal group The Delta Rhythm Boys, who were popular for over 50 years in the 20th century, but it has been interpreted by many artists, not least Fats Waller, The Four Lads, Mills Brothers, Shirley Caesar and Rosemary Clooney.
8. Remains of the Day – Corpse Bride
The second Tim Burton-Danny Elfman collaboration on our list comes from Burton’s 2005 stop-motion follow-up to The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride. ‘Remains of the Day’ is one of four main songs in the movie. The character Bonejangles (voiced by Elfman) introduces the song with the lyrics: ‘What a story it is; a tragic tale of romance, passion and a murder most foul.’ Then, Bonejangles and his fellow skeletons and corpses from the Land of the Dead launch into the song, accompanied by an up-tempo, jazz-infused melody. The lyrics explain how Emily (Helena Bonham Carter), the film’s protagonist, died. Lots of fun, but perhaps a film to save for slightly older children.
9. Witches’ Night
Written by Ambroise Thomas in 1924, ‘Witches’ Night’ isn’t as widely known as some Halloween songs, which is a shame, because the lyrics are beautifully evocative: ‘Out where the autumn night winds blow, Hark! There’s a footfall, stealthy slow. Hush! Do you hear that soft tip-tap? Oh, such a ghostly rap.’
10. Peter Peter Pumpkin eater
The first surviving published version of the rhyme ‘Peter, Peter pumpkin eater’ dates back to 1797, but the origins could be older. According to one theory, it’s a song about female infidelity, in which ‘pumpkin shell’ is actually code for ‘chastity belt’, making rather sinister work out of the lines, ‘He put her in a pumpkin shell / And there he kept her very well.’ For the purposes of this article, though, let’s go with a more literal, child-friendly interpretation.
11. Jack O’Lantern
Sharing their name with the reported phenomenon of strange lights flickering over peat bogs, Jack O Lanterns have been an iconic part of Halloween since the 19th century. And this bouncy little song is a straightforward celebration of them.
12. Ray Parker: Ghostbusters theme song
Loved by adults and children alike, Ray Parker 1984 song to the film of the same name had a bit of comeback this side of the millennium, re-entering the UK Top 75 in 2008, and then again in 2021. By now everyone knows the answer to that timeless question: ‘Who you gonna call?’ But that will never stop us from asking it.