Music you’ll want to play at a Halloween party: perfect for BGM or dancing!
Halloween has become a staple event in Japan.
Many people host or attend parties to enjoy the occasion.
One thing that often stumps us is choosing the right BGM.
In this article, we’ve gathered perfect Halloween songs and party tunes for anyone looking for music to color their Halloween.
They’re great not only as event background music, but also for dances performed at parties.
Let’s liven up this once-a-year event with music that’s perfect for Halloween-themed vibes!
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Music you’ll want to hear at a Halloween party: perfect for BGM and dancing! (41–50)
Symphonic Poem “Water Spirit,” Op. 107Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvořák, the Czech master whose talent was recognized by the famed composer Brahms.
This time, let’s introduce a symphonic poem from Dvořák’s late works, based on a folk tale.
The piece depicts a truly terrifying story: a water sprite who drags a young girl beneath the surface and brutally murders the child she bears.
Isn’t it perfect for creating a chilling Halloween night that’s more than just fun? At the time of its composition in 1896, some critics even called it “ugly and horrifying,” and its shocking content still feels thrilling today.
The acclaimed album “Symphonic Poems,” featuring performances conducted by Charles Mackerras, won the German Record Critics’ Award.
If you listen while imagining the story, it’s sure to deepen the Halloween mood.
Suite ‘Masquerade’: WaltzAram Il’yich Khachaturian
From the suite Masquerade by Aram Khachaturian, a composer emblematic of the former Soviet Union, I’d like to introduce the opening piece, Waltz.
Originally written as incidental music for a play staged in 1941, it has a tragic story swirling beneath the splendor of a masquerade ball.
Though the waltz is elegant and glittering, its melody casts a somewhat plaintive, mysterious shadow, as if reflecting the hearts hidden behind the masks.
This interplay of light and darkness makes it perfect for creating a slightly more mature Halloween atmosphere—one that isn’t just fun and cheerful.
Play it at a costume party, and it will instantly transport your guests into the beguiling world of a grand ball.
The Carnival of the Animals: AquariumCamille Saint-Saëns
The suite The Carnival of the Animals by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns is known for its humorous depiction of a festival of animals.
One of its pieces adds a mysterious shimmer to Halloween night.
Rippling, wave-like piano arpeggios are overlaid with the glass harmonica’s transparent timbre, creating a fantastical, slightly eerie atmosphere—as if you’ve wandered into an otherworldly realm underwater.
There’s also a mysterious anecdote: at the composer’s request, the work was scarcely made public during his lifetime and was first performed publicly only in February 1922.
It has been praised as music that beautifully enhances visuals, even being used before official screenings at the Cannes Film Festival.
It’s the perfect piece when you want to stage a quiet, beautiful Halloween that still sends a little shiver down the spine.
Lyric Pieces, Book V, Op. 54 – No. 3: March of the DwarfsEdvard Grieg
This piece, with its creeping opening melody and a rhythm that’s both playful and sprightly, is a perfect fit for Halloween, and it’s a piano miniature by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.
Depicting a procession of elves in a Nordic forest, its staccato passages laced with dissonance sound just like the mischievous footsteps of little goblins.
In the middle section, the music briefly transforms into a shimmering, beautiful melody, but its dramatic appeal lies in how it returns to the raucous march.
The piece was included in the collection Lyric Pieces, Book V, Op.
54, published around 1891.
It’s ideal for creating that fun yet slightly spooky Halloween mood! If you perform it on the piano, it’s sure to liven up any party, so try playing with crisp rhythms and a strong contrast of tone colors.
Hedwig’s Theme: Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsJohn Williams
When you think of the Harry Potter films, this is the song that surely makes everyone nod in agreement.
Composed by John Williams, this piece brims with a mysterious allure that whisks listeners into a magical world in an instant.
The melody, opening with the sparkling timbre of the celesta, is perfect for heightening Halloween’s spooky-yet-festive mood.
It first debuted on the album Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and went on to color the story in the soundtrack for the sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (released in November 2002).
Incidentally, it’s such an emblematic piece of the series that it’s even quoted in the spin-offs.
Play it on Halloween night, and you’ll feel as if you’ve stepped right into a school of witchcraft and wizardry!
“Ma mère l’Oye” Scene 3: Dialogue of Beauty and the BeastMaurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel, the French composer renowned for his masterful portrayals of fairy-tale worlds.
A passage from his suite Ma mère l’Oye brilliantly renders the story of Beauty and the Beast in sound.
Set to an elegant waltz, a sweet woodwind melody representing Beauty and the heavy, ominous timbre of the contrabassoon embodying the Beast unfold like a dialogue, drawing listeners into the story’s realm.
Originally premiered in 1910 as a piano four-hands piece and later orchestrated, the work was memorably used in the 2021 film The Worst Person in the World.
Interweaving unease and beauty, it’s perfect for creating a slightly grown-up, mysterious Halloween mood.
If you listen while imagining how the tale concludes, you’ll enjoy it all the more.
Night on Bald MountainModest Mussorgsky
From the thrilling opening melody that feels like being chased to the frenzied climax where monsters run wild, this dramatic musical progression is perfect for creating a Halloween that’s not only fun but a little scary, too! Composed by the Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, this piece depicts a midnight sabbath where witches gather.
It was also used in Disney’s classic film Fantasia, so many will remember its striking impact.
Since the premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov’s arrangement in October 1886, it has been widely beloved.
The structure culminating in the quiet arrival of morning with the tolling of bells is superb as well, making it an excellent choice as BGM to signal the end of a Halloween night.