I love Halloween. It may well be my favorite holiday. I love the decorations, the candy, and most of all, the costumes. Now that I'm older, though, trick-or-treating is out and masked bashes are in. I'm not hosting one this year, but I do have some music advice for those of you who are. Some of these are poppy, some are slow, and some are downright creepy. Happy haunting.

Monsters!

1. "Monster Hospital" by Metric
This is easily the loudest song on this list. Metric is a classic synthpop band, but "Monster Hospital" edges on rock, with a definite late October edge. Admittedly, the monster is nothing more ferocious than tiny little vocalist Emily Haines, but her voice is anything but meek.

2. "They are Neighbors!! They are Night Zombies!! They've Come Back From the Dead! Ah!!!" by Sufjan Stevens
"We are awakened with the ax,/ Night of the Living Dead at last./ They have begun to shake the dirt/ wiping their shoulders from the earth." This song is creepy enough without the fact that it's set in "I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S." Yikes.

3. "Werewolf" by Cat Power
This is kind of a slow-down song. If you plan on a dance party, here's your big romantic number … insofar as Halloween is ever romantic. In short, it's pretty.

4. "Skeleton Song" by Kate Nash
So, this is the only real upbeat song on the list, but I couldn't not include it. It's cute, slightly ironic, and kind of poppy. But a girl who's best friends with a skeleton seems fairly seasonally appropriate.

5. "Is There a Ghost" by Band of Horses
"Is there a ghost — is there a ghost in my house? Is there a ghost? Is there a ghost in my house?" Etc.

Murderers!

6. "Helter Skelter" by The Beatles
Charles Manson listened to this song, and then … enough said.

7. "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." by Sufjan Stevens
This song is just plain sad. Almost enough to make you pity the serial killer. Well, I did say almost. It's pretty cute, actually … until you start listening to the words. "Look beneath the floorboards for the secrets I have hid …"

8. "Son of Sam" by Elliott Smith
Couldn't be a complete Halloween playlist without a third mass murderer. Actually, I adore Elliott Smith, but this song is just … wow. Son of Sam is the creepiest murderer I can think of, ever. And this song, without any incredibly explicit messages, gets that point across pretty well. Yikes.

Mayhem!

9. "Thriller" by Michael Jackson
An obvious but justifiable choice from the best-selling album of all time. Extra points if you can do the dance.

10. "Doctor Blind" by Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton
Hmm. I can't pinpoint exactly why this is Halloween, but it's creepy. I mean, it's written about a phobia of late-night drug stores and pharmacies. If that's not scary, I don't know what is.

11. "Girl with One Eye" by Florence and the Machine
Known for her haunting and bluesy vocals, Florence Welch is an incredibly talented singer, and this is probably my favorite of her songs. In truth, though, it belongs more with murderers than mayhem: "Hey! You! Girl with one eye … I'll cut your little heart out, 'cause you made me cry."

12. "Great Gig in the Sky" by Pink Floyd
If you haven't heard this song … wow. Aside from featuring the best female vocal performance of ALL TIME, it's purely haunting. The fact that its working title was "The Mortality Song" only adds to this.

13. "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" by Johannes Sebastian Bach
If you don't recognize the title, think Dracula. Yeah.