Nothing can kill the Monster Mash
If you went to a Halloween party this week, I will bet you a marble gravestone that the band or DJ played the “Monster Mash”. I went to two spooky parties last week and the “Monster Mash” rang out from both of them -in one case performed by an Americana-Folk band.
It seems that nothing — not a wooden stake, not a golden cross, not a bucket of holy water– can kill the “Monster Mash”. It has been around for 63 years – your grandparents played it at their Halloween parties, and here we are in 2025 still rocking out to the 1962 graveyard smash.
Why is the “Monster Mash” as immortal as a vampire? Gaze into my crystal ball.
“The Monster Mash” was written by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and Leonard Capizzi in 1962 as a playful homage to popular dance crazes of that era, like the Mashed Potato and The Twist. Pickett was fronting a band called The Cordials and was beloved for his impression of horror film star Boris Karloff, which you hear in the song. The single was recorded with producer Gary S. Paxton and released on Garpax Records in August 1962. Credited to Bobby “Boris” Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers, the tune rocketed to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart just before Halloween that year.
Pickett and Capizzi crafted “Monster Mash” in a single afternoon, blending Pickett’s Karloff-inspired vocals with tongue-in-cheek lyrics featuring famous movie monsters like Dracula, the Wolfman, and Frankenstein’s monster. The recording session included a lineup of studio musicians (Leon Russell was on the B-side, not the main single) and Gary Paxton himself, as well as backing vocalists dubbed “The Crypt-Kicker Five”.
Released August 25, 1962, “Monster Mash” has dominated the airwaves every Halloween since then. To date, it has sold 1million records and 500 million streams, has been on the Billboard Top 100 six times, the latest being in 2021. It still generates a million dollars a year in royalties. Not bad for an afternoon’s work.
But why did the Monster Master achieve immortality when so many other novelty Halloween songs are long forgotten – including ones by Bobby “Boris” Pickett?
Well, first, you can dance to it.
Musically, “Monster Mash” subverts typical expectations for Halloween songs. Rather than employing a menacing minor key or haunting diminished chords or ponderous church organ, it uses an upbeat chord progression known in the 1950s as the “ice cream” progression found in cheerful classics like “Duke of Earl” and “Earth Angel”. This progression lends the song a friendly, inviting quality, more akin to “Casper the Friendly Ghost” than “Dracula.” The arrangement is simple, which further enhances accessibility and sing-along charm. The song is played in a standard 4/4 time signature, with a tempo around 70 beats per minute in its original version – not too fast to shake off a costume, and not too slow to be boring. The overall groove is simple and repetitive, supporting a spoken-word vocal delivery and catchy, novelty hooks. The record’s sound effects, such as imitated coffin lids and bubbling cauldrons, add a layer of theatrical fun without overshadowing the playful groove. Pickett really nailed it,
But there is more. “Monster Mash” is a mix of nostalgia (for some), seasonal relevance, and comedic charm. The song’s playful tone, memorable characters, and catchy chorus create a family-friendly celebration of spooky – not horror – culture that appeals to multiple generations.
Given all of that, it is no wonder that on Halloween, one out of every 100 streamed songs is the “Monster Mash’ – and why we all heard it at our Halloween parties.
Patrick O’Heffernan
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