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What to sing Halloween karaoke songs
On Halloween the costume sings half the song for you. Pick something that suits the outfit, or something where the act matters more than the voice.
Halloween is the one night the room wants a show more than a voice. Everyone is dressed up and a drink or two in, which is why Monster Mash and Time Warp beat anything that needs real singing. Commit to the bit and nobody is listening for the rough edges.
Two practical things. Sign up early: the obvious Halloween songs get taken fast, and some hosts won't run the same song twice in a night, so have a second choice ready. And take the mask off to sing — it muffles you, and it usually hides the lyrics screen too.
Performance first
Where the performance beats the voice
On Halloween nobody is grading the singing, and these reward whoever commits hardest to the act.
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Monster Mash
Bobby "Boris" PickettHalf-talked in a horror-movie accent from start to finish, so nobody can judge the singing — including you.
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Thriller
Michael JacksonThe verses sit comfortably, it runs long, and someone will start the dance before the first chorus is over.
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Werewolves of London
Warren ZevonDeadpan verses you can nearly speak, then a howl in the chorus that the whole bar does with you.
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I Put a Spell on You
Screamin' Jay HawkinsThe original is grunts, shrieks and growls, so commitment counts for far more than a clean voice.
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Sympathy for the Devil
The Rolling StonesOver six minutes, but Jagger mostly talks his way through it and the room brings the backing whoops.
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Psycho Killer
Talking HeadsTwitchy and half-spoken, with a French bit in the middle worth reading through once before your turn.
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Highway to Hell
AC/DCIt sits high and scratchy, so shout it rather than sing it — and it's over in under three and a half minutes.
Group costumes
Songs for a group in costume
Match the song to the outfits and the room gets the joke before anyone sings a word.
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Time Warp
The Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe chorus is the dance instructions, so half the bar is doing the steps by the second time round.
a group: one takes the narrator's lines, one takes the fast solo verse, everyone takes the chorus
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Ghostbusters
Ray Parker Jr.Four of you in jumpsuits are doing this one whether you planned to or not, and the room shouts every reply.
a group: one voice on the verses, everyone on the shouted answer
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Wannabe
Spice GirlsPick your Spice by the part you can manage — the lines pass around, and the fast talky bit goes to whoever practised.
up to five voices trading lines, all together on the chorus
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Y.M.C.A.
Village PeopleThe costumes are half the act and the arm letters are the other half; the singing barely matters.
one voice on the verses, everyone on the chorus and the arms
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Everybody (Backstreet's Back)
Backstreet BoysCounts as Halloween on a technicality — the video is a haunted house — and the bar knows the chorus cold.
a group: split the verses, everyone on the chorus
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This Is Halloween
The Nightmare Before ChristmasWritten as a parade of characters, so a table in costume can split it line by line and nobody carries it alone.
a group: pass the lines around, everyone on the title line
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Somebody's Watching Me
RockwellThe verses are nervous half-talking and the chorus sits much higher, which is exactly why it works as a pair.
two voices: one talks the verses, one takes the high chorus
Dark but easy
Dark songs that are easy to sing
Spooky enough to count, and gentle enough for anyone who would rather not shout.
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Bad Moon Rising
Creedence Clearwater RevivalA cheerful tune about doom, done in under two and a half minutes — short enough to try on your first drink.
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People Are Strange
The DoorsAbout two minutes, low and lazy; the costume can do the rest.
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Don't Fear the Reaper
Blue Öyster CultSoft and steady rather than loud, and the long guitar break in the middle is a rest — though someone will ask for more cowbell.
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Zombie
The CranberriesThe verses are easy; the chorus has those cracked, yelping breaks, and half-doing them sounds worse than going for it.
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Every Breath You Take
The PoliceSteady and never loud, and someone will point out that it's a stalker song, which tonight is the point.
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Black Magic Woman
SantanaMore guitar than singing: the verses are short and the band fills the long gaps between them.
Remember what worked next October
Halloween comes round once a year, which is just long enough to forget which song went well. So log it on the night: say whether it felt Too high, Just right or Too low, give it a star rating, and next October the answer is on your phone instead of in a hazy memory.
Most Halloween songs are Fun songs rather than Skill songs — the room enjoys them whether or not you really sang them — and KaraokeList keeps those two tags apart, so Monster Mash can be a triumph without pretending it proves anything. If one goes badly, mark it Not again and it wears that badge in your list, so you don't repeat it next year.
When you want something new, ask the crystal ball for a reading. It works from your ratings and those Too high and Too low answers, and suggests songs you don't already have, each with a line on why it should suit you.
Questions
What are good Halloween karaoke songs?
Monster Mash, Thriller, Ghostbusters and Time Warp are the ones every bar expects, and all of them reward acting more than singing. For something easier on the voice, Bad Moon Rising and People Are Strange are short, steady and dark enough to count.
What should a group sing for Halloween karaoke?
Match the song to the costume: Ghostbusters for a team in jumpsuits, Wannabe for a Spice Girls group, Time Warp for Rocky Horror. This Is Halloween has so many characters that a whole table can split it line by line.
What is the easiest Halloween song to sing at karaoke?
Monster Mash, because it is half-talked in a horror-movie voice and nobody expects real singing. People Are Strange is the other easy one: low, lazy and over in about two minutes.
Can you sing karaoke in a costume mask?
Take it off, or at least lift it. A mask muffles your voice and usually blocks the lyrics screen, and the rest of the costume still does its job without it.
Know what you’re singing before you’re called.
KaraokeList keeps every karaoke song you can actually pull off — and when the list runs dry, it finds you new ones, each with a reason.
