Now Hear This - Halloween 2026 The Reckoning

Now Hear This is coming to you a day early for reasons that will be apparent tomorrow (stay tuned!).

 

 

You know the drill: click on the album cover to go to its Bandcamp page where you can purchase it or listen for free.

 

The Goldstars contacted me through the blog to let me know about their latest release: The Halloween Album.! 13 tracks of garage rock dedicated to the most awesome holiday. This one isn't on Bandcamp but you can still listen to/grab it for free. 

 

 The Monster Mashup series comes back strong with the 22nd(!) compilation album of assorted artists giving their spin on maniacal mashups. Be sure to check out Volume 2, they're both FREE!

 

Halloween at High Noon rises from the grave for their annual October offering. This year's The Grim Dark features 22 different artists bringing you an assortment of electronic music. This one would be great for party background listening.

 

Speaking of rising from the grave, It Came From the Desert! is also back. Volume 4 is a compilation of 25 artists that plays like a Halloween night broadcast radio show complete with a host and listener call-ins.

 

Our final (?) audio treat for 2026 is reconthuse's 2023 Dark Voices in Strange Places, a Halloween/autumn themed mashup album bringing 13 tracks of pop, rock, EDM and more. You may recognize some of the songs but you've never heard them like this!

 

Be sure to check out all the Countdown bloggers by clicking the link below. 

 

Now Hear This - Halloween 2026 in 3D!

Every Tuesday, we'll be comin' at ya with a Now Hear This Halloween post featuring some spooky sounds to get your coffin rockin'. They may not all be new releases but hopefully they'll be new to you.

Click on the album cover to go to its Bandcamp page where you can purchase it or listen for free. I am not affiliated with Bandcamp or any of the artists, just spreading the word on good music.  

 

Minnie The Moocher At The Morgue is a 130 (!) track collection of eerie instrumentals, spooky swing, monster rock, jolting jazz, comedy skits, and more that is its own Halloween party playlist! It's got plenty of classics plus probably a few tunes you haven't heard before.

 

 If those 130 tracks weren't enough to satisfy your classic Halloween novelty itch, let Jack and the Lanterns take you for a spin with their 2023 album Killing Time. They do a great job of capturing the vibe of the Halloween novelty song era.

 

The Cadabra Tapes gathers together a trilogy of albums to bring you 22 sonic vignettes ranging from abstract, eldritch noise to compositions in the vein of classic horror movie scores. You might want to keep the lights on for this one!

 

Witch Haunt's The Believer's Guide to Hallows Eve promises within the aged pages of this guide, passed down from generations of costumed dreams and pumpkin spirits, you will be shown glimpses into the wondrously wicked worlds of many Halloweens gone by.

This collection of cozy pumpkin synth is perfect for waiting for the Great Pumpkin to arrive.

 

Throwing in a bonus for your audio treat bag this week!

 

 Growler Music has tons of albums featuring all sorts of samples for those of you that like to Frankenstein your own tracks. This particular collection has over 170 dialog lines from classic horror movies.

 

 Click the witch to see the list of participating Countdown blogs!

 

Now Hear This - Halloween 2026 Part II

Every Tuesday, we'll be comin' at ya with a Now Hear This Halloween post featuring some spooky sounds to get your coffin rockin'. They may not all be new releases but hopefully they'll be new to you.

Click on the album cover to go to its Bandcamp page where you can purchase it or listen for free. I am not affiliated with Bandcamp or any of the artists, just spreading the word on good music. 

  

 

Sean Keller is back with the fifth (final?) installment of his Killer Sounds of Halloween mixtape series. These are essential Halloween listening for me! The bands are fictional but they'll definitely sound familiar.

 

The Jazz Hop Cafe takes you on a retreat to a Cabin in the Woods with 27 of their closest friends. Don't let the chill lofi beats lull you to sleep. There's someone lurking out there waiting to strike.

 

 Submitted for your approval, Haunted House Party offers up 18 lofi tales perfect for any spooky gathering around a campfire.

  

Veil Witch conjures up Little Plastic Halloween, a compilation of their first three pumpkin synth EPs. This release includes a bonus track of a reel-to-reel tape rip of all three in a single, continuous track complete with audio hiss and warble to help set that classic Halloween mood.

 

 A "newly discovered" score to an unreleased Italian Halloween short film shot in 1979. This soundtrack was composed by the legendary Vincenzo Malsano, who experimented with analog synthesizers and degraded magnetic recording tape for truly unnerving soundscapes.

 

 Click the witch to see the list of participating Countdown blogs!

 

Now Hear This - Halloween 2026

Every Tuesday, we'll be comin' at ya with a Now Hear This Halloween post featuring some spooky sounds to get your coffin rockin'. They may not all be new releases but hopefully they'll be new to you.

 

Click on the album cover to go to its Bandcamp page where you can purchase it or listen for free. I am not affiliated with Bandcamp or any of the artists, just spreading the word on good music.

 

 Back with his 14th annual Halloween album, Sam Haynes offers up an amazing playlist all in one place! There's a great variety of tracks featuring influences from The Cramps, Depeche Mode, Siouxsie, and The Prodigy. The opening track, "It's Halloween" is destined to be a holiday classic.

 

  

 

I don't usually post singles but when a metal band covers "Spooky Scary Skeletons" I feel it's my sworn duty to let people know about it!

 

 Aurelio Voltaire has a new maxi single (when was the last time you heard that?) about getting trapped in a Michael's while shopping for Halloween decor. Along for this zany adventure are Mexico City's premier rockabilly band Rebel Cats and Jess-O-Lantern who was also on last year's Summerween album.

   

 LVCRFT recently released their latest album, Skeleton Sam's Deadtime Stories. And it's absolutely packed with guest appearances like Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, John Kassir, Bruce Campbell, and Ernie Hudson just to name a few. It's a late-night horror broadcast with songs, skits, and trailers for films nobody can watch yet, all hosted by Roger L. Jackson, the voice of Ghostface.

 

Be sure to check out all the Countdown bloggers by clicking the link below. 

 

Countdown to Halloween 2026

 Welcome to the 2026 Countdown to Halloween!

 

 For the next 30 days, this blog is going into full on spooky mode!

 

Every day this month, I'll have a new post celebrating the most wonderful time of the year. There's a whole gang of us that celebrate this way. Head on over to the Countdown to Halloween blog to see the list of this year's crypt keepers.

 

For now, sit back, relax, and let Zacherle usher you into this most haunted of holidays. And if you have time, give the whole album a listen, it's great! This is one of those "change your life" albums for me. It's what really got me to dive into horror themed music. Of course, I was familiar with Rob Zombie, but I just had no idea there was so much more monstrous music out there.

 

It also introduced me to artists like The Bomboras, The Ghastly Ones, and The Dead Elvi. 

 

 

Be sure to check out all the Countdown bloggers by clicking the link below. 

 

Now Hear This - Halloween 2025: The Final Chapter

 We might be only three days away from Halloween, but that's still plenty of time to inject some spooky tunes to your holiday playlist!

 

 

 

Click on the album cover to go to its Bandcamp page where you can purchase it or listen for free. I am not affiliated with Bandcamp or any of the artists, just spreading the word on good music.

 

 Monster Mashup rises from the grave once more to deliver their 2-disc, 21st Monster Mashup compilation. Each year they put out a call to the mashup community for submissions and put it all together for the low price of free! There's a link on their page where you can grab previous year releases.

 

 The Monster Mashup series is where I first encountered Mr Fab & His Bag O' Heads and I was surprised to see he released a greatest hits album in August. If you're looking for something different to add to your playlist, start here. I highly recommend Cannibal Zombie Mom and Skeleton Crew on the Graveyard Shift. 

 

 If you like dubstep and bass (or even if you don't!) give WiddFam's 2024 Halloween compilation a spin. You might think dubstep isn't for you but if you're reading this blog in October, it's worth a listen!

 

 You don't stumble on to "Sounds from the Haunted Bathroom" and NOT share it with people. Put this on, close your eyes, and you'll be taken on an audio journey that may remind you of a certain Haunted Mansion..just with a few more water sounds. This is probably my favorite discovery this year. I've played it several times.

 

 Castle Mummula from 2017 is a 5 track love letter to the films of William Castle. Somehow this 2017 release never hit my radar. If you're a hardcore Castle fan, you should be able to identify some of the movies represented on the cover.

 

Saturday Night Satan is an occult rock duo with some killer songs. It may not be for everyone's playlist but they've got a great 70s/80s inspired heavy metal sound. 

 

Be sure to check out all the Countdown bloggers by clicking the link below.

 

Now Hear This - Halloween 2025 in 3D

Ok, the post isn't really in 3D but I think it's mandatory since this is the third Now Hear This Halloween post. 

 

 

Click on the album cover to go to its Bandcamp page where you can purchase it or listen for free. I am not affiliated with Bandcamp or any of the artists, just spreading the word on good music.

 

  This one is something a little different. Tales of Terror is an anthology horror comic with an accompanying soundtrack. You can get just the digital album and comic PDF or you can get a physical CD and comic book! There's also a second issue but there doesn't seem to be an option to get the comic with that one.

 

 Are you brave enough to call the Hauntline? If so, you'll get a compilation of dark ambient and spooky synth in your ear.

 

 Maybe you like your spooky synth with an 80s scifi vibe? If so, you'll want to check out the soundtrack to Alien Terrors...a movie that never existed! Buying the digital album also gets you a 10 page PDF booklet featuring production notes, film stills and artwork along with a digital reproduction of the movie poster.

  

And speaking of synth, Halloween at High Noon has a new compilation of darkwave synth that's absolutely fang-tastic!

 

 Count Bojo returns with another edition of his holiday mixtape. There's a couple songs you may be familiar with but most of them I hadn't heard before. This is a good one for party ambiance and it's free!

 Click below to visit the other Countdown blogs!

 

Now Hear This - Son of Halloween 2025

Keep your radio tuned to KRPT for more spooky sounds of the season!

 

Click on the album cover to go to its Bandcamp page where you can purchase it or listen for free. I am not affiliated with Bandcamp or any of the artists, just spreading the word on good music.

Every horror fan knows you can't keep a good slasher down! Slasher Dave recently dropped his Halloween Store EP with art designed by Chad Savage. The EP draws on 80s/90s mom & pop Halloween shop vibes, Halloween masks, and spooky sounds cassettes. He's got a few new things since I wrote this post, so be sure to check it all out!

  

Creeping all the way back to 2014, the debut album from goth rock duo The Long Losts is worth unearthing. The music is suitably spooky and the vocals have a ghostly, ethereal quality.

 

 Horror rocker duo Bloody Hammers have a new acoustic album appropriately called The Acoustic Halloween Special. They describe it as dark folk or gothic blues. It's different from a lot of stuff you might encounter on a Halloween playlist. 

 

 Wrapping up this week is not an album but a Trick or Treat LoFi Spotify playlist. I've really taken to this genre over the past couple years and while it may not all be horror-centric, the LoFi aesthetic really vibes with Halloween for me. 

 Click the image to see the full list of Countdown to Halloween blogs!