By Brooke Trower, Staff Writer
It’s that time of year when stores are filled with Halloween-related products. People are watching Halloween movies, wearing Halloween clothing and throwing Halloween parties. So why is it that, despite Halloween being a beloved holiday, the number of Halloween songs people can play is practically zero?
Other holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day seem to have millions of songs. Yet, when it comes to Halloween, everyone either plays the same two songs or the same soundtrack from a spooky movie. Now, I get that Halloween will never be as popular as Christmas. But you can not tell me people are more hyped for Valentine’s Day than Halloween. Is the lack of Halloween songs because singers have an easier time writing love songs for holidays like Christmas or Valentine’s Day? Maybe it has something to do with Halloween not having a central figure like Christmas does.
It’s true that love songs sell. That’s why the majority of songs are about relationships. Even though songs can be about other topics as well, it doesn’t change that fact. I could somewhat understand if it were impossible to write a romantic song about Halloween. However, that’s just not the case. There are plenty of Halloween activities that could be put into a romantic context, such as watching spooky movies. It is not only a popular date trope in the media, but also a common activity in October. Haunted houses, couple costumes and Halloween parties are also things you could write a love song about.
Maybe it has to do with the fact that some holidays have one central figure. Even though Halloween doesn’t have that, it doesn’t mean there isn’t anyone you can write about. You can always make a song about Dracula or Frankenstein’s Monster. If you don’t wanna make a song about any specific named figure, you can always make a song about an unnamed monster. These monsters, along with being able to dress up, get candy, carve pumpkins, and more, made Halloween magical as a kid. This magic persisted despite the holiday being focused on terror. It’s a shame that there are not many songs about this unforgettable holiday.
Clearly, more Halloween songs need to be made to fill this drought. There isn’t any good reason as to why there are not many Halloween specific songs other than that they just haven’t been made yet. Halloween, obviously, isn’t the only holiday with this problem. In general, more love needs to be shown for multiple holidays in music. Halloween is just one of the more egregious examples of this deficit due to how much people adore it.