Haunting film scores to soundtrack your Halloween dinner party

Halloween is the ideal time to embrace your darker creative impulses — particularly if you're playing host for the evening. So, instead of streaming "Monster Mash" on a loop, why not take things to the next level this year with a unique and haunting musical selection that'll turn your event into an elevated affair?

These gorgeous — and sometimes truly frightening — film and television scores will help you set a perfectly eerie scene. While they don't all come from the horror genre, they're guaranteed to heighten the atmosphere and maybe even coax a few spirits to drop in for a quick boo.

Candyman by Philip Glass

Transport your guests to a world of American gothic horrors with this beautiful conversation starter from composer Philip Glass. Perhaps best known for avant-garde operas such as Einstein on the Beach and 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, Glass approached the score for 1992's Candyman with the same minimalist, artsy flair.

While the film itself concerns a violent urban legend and is often regarded as a traditional slasher, this gorgeous soundtrack is anything but typical. From the haunting tinkering of music boxes to its heart-rattling choral performances, the Candyman album is a guaranteed vibe-infuser for any classy October affair. 

Jackie by Mica Levi

While Jackie — Pablo Larraín's 2016 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis biopic — is not itself a horror film, the sounds composer Mica Levi crafted to accompany it seemingly disagree. 

Echoing the disarming and downright scary score the musician (also known as Micachu) provided for 2013's Under the Skin, Levi's music veers toward the strange and moody here. Swelling strings and aching loneliness rise in and out of the tracks, creating an atmosphere that feels both intimate and surreal. So, if you're looking to add a little drama to your Halloween festivities without frightening your guests completely out of your home, this ghostly record, which earned an Oscar nomination for best original score, is one to reach for. 

Twin Peaks by Angelo Badalamenti 

Channel the cerebral madness of director David Lynch for your October function by spinning the score from his bizarre and intensely beautiful television series Twin Peaks. Composed by musical legend Angelo Badalamenti, this unforgettable album will transport you straight to the titular foggy mountain town in all its romantic, oddball glory.

Interested in taking a longer stroll through the 1950s-tinged noir avenues of Badalamenti, Lynch and Twin Peaks? Check out the companion album Floating Into the Night by regular Lynch collaborator and pop singer Julee Cruise. Her vocals paint a glossy, surreal varnish across Badalamenti's compositions, and with original lyrics provided by David Lynch himself, your guests will be listening along with equal parts bewilderment and fascination as they tuck into dessert — some "damn fine" cherry pie, of course. 

Sleepy Hollow by Danny Elfman

Danny Elfman's blood-soaked score for the 1999 film Sleepy Hollow can make you feel lost in the woods, regardless of where you are. A satisfying red cloak of Victorian horrors, pressing play on Elfman's foray into historical frights will help set your soirée apart from the other, average affairs being thrown this year. 

Bob for apples, read palms and waltz around the living room as this album teleports you and your guests to a rural 1700s estate. You might even want to consider taking the group outdoors — with the touch of a Bluetooth, this music will transform any backyard into a haunted forest.

Halloween (2018) by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies

It wouldn't really be a Halloween dinner party without a little John Carpenter. The director of the original 1978 film, Halloween, is also responsible for crafting its simple and iconic score, and when Blumhouse and David Gordon Green revived the franchise in 2018, they were smart enough to tap Carpenter once again for producing and musical duties. Together with Daniel Davies and son Cody, Carpenter's 2018 Michael Myers reboot score went harder than it had any right to.

While this particular modern investigation of adult Laurie Strode and her masked assailant doesn't carry the same weight as the original, its modernized synthy soundtrack is still an ideal way to enhance the vibe of any Halloween party. An instantly-recognizable piano motif blazes throughout, ensuring the spirit of the season engulfs your living room. It's definitely a crowd-pleaser. 

Dracula by Kronos Quartet and Philip Glass

Philip Glass's score for the 1931 horror classic Dracula was commissioned retroactively by Universal Pictures in 1998 to help breathe new life into their Monster canon. This highly ambitious musical project, which happens to be my favourite from this list, is as stunning as it is frightening. 

Speaking with the Los Angeles Times in 1999, Glass said: "I felt the score needed to evoke the feeling of the world of the 19th century. For that reason, I decided a string quartet would be the most evocative and effective." And evocative is right. Give this soundtrack a spin if you're organising an especially high-brow haunted house affair this October. 

Donnie Darko by Michael Andrews 

The score for Richard Kelly's 2001 metaphysical sleeper hit Donnie Darko is as strange and lovely as the film itself, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal as the titular troubled teen, who finds himself obsessed with time travel and an imaginary friend in a bunny suit named Frank.

Composed by musician Michael Andrews, the Darko soundtrack is slinky, scary and charming in all the right ways. Use this album to set a surreal scene this Halloween. It's perfect for a smaller crowd of tipsy adults who are getting ready for a game of truth or dare.

The Haunting of Bly Manor by the Newton Brothers

The second season of Mike Flanagan's Netflix Haunting series tackled a ghost story like no other in adapting author Henry James' gothic novella The Turn of the Screw. Composed by the Newton Brothers, the music has an undeniable romantic quality, while sharing the jarring edge of the preceding season's soundtrack.

Perfect for those looking to give their guests a real scare this Halloween, The Haunting of Bly Manor score achieves a delicate hybrid of sweeping horrors and quiet tragedy. Pair this selection with the music from The Haunting of Hill House, and you'll have created the perfect ambiance to serve ghost stories with your after-dinner cocktails.

The Virgin Suicides by Air

This dreamy, femme and all-together hearthbreaking adAPtation of Jeffrey Egenides' The Virgin Suicides was Sofia Coppola's directorial debut. To provide the film its equally moody music, Coppola tapped French electronica duo Air, who had recently hit the mainstream with their outlandish 1998 pop fantasia Moon Safari. Air followed that breakthrough with this grim and progressive film score, ranked by Pitchfork as the fourth best ever made.

While this album is less frightening than some of the other recommendations on this list, it still packs a ghostly punch that will elevate your dinner party into a high-drama event. Just watch out: The film's theme song "Highschool Lover" is also bound to make you bitterly nostalgic for the tenth grade — whether you like it or not. 

Midsommar by Bobby Krlic 

Bobby Krlic's score to Ari Aster's 2019 psychological shocker Midsommar is capable of striking fear into the soul of even the bravest party guest. A story of cults, family tragedy and floral dresses, the film utterly disturbed audiences upon release — and its otherworldly score had a hand in that. There's an ancient quality to Krlic's music; it can make you feel like the earth is about to open its hungry maw and gobble you up like a handful of candy corn.

With that in mind, the Midsommar score is perhaps best paired with a spooky party activity, like a round of hide and seek or a turn at the Ouija board. Terrify your friends by shutting out the lights and playing a round of Bodies Bodies Bodies or murder wink. Better yet, punish them by actually watching Midsommar together. They'll never forget it. 

Josh Korngut is a writer and filmmaker based in Toronto, Canada. He's also the managing editor of Dread Central, a web publication which covers all things horror. Check out his podcast Development Hell wherever you listen, and say hi to him on socials via @joshkorngut.