What K-pop song would be good for Halloween?
Last Updated: 22.06.2025 08:00
ੈ✩‧₊˚ it’s butterfly effect zone…
Now that SVT is apparently in their enlistment era (sorry Carats) and most likely going to go into more solo and sub-unit activities, I must know when Tiger Boy is giving us a follow-up to Spider. I’m honestly tempted to make a loose list of my favorite solo songs in kpop, and I’d likely put this on. It’s so smooth, Hoshi’s performance is stellar, and the guitar in the bridge is awesome.
…I’m falling into your kaleidoscope ੈ✩‧₊˚
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｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
My EXO choice was either going to be this or Obsession, both of which are iconic. While I prefer Obsession’s styling, aesthetics, and album, Monster is just legendary. This is the blueprint for most of the dark, edgy boy group comebacks that followed it, and there aren’t many that can match it.
Like I said with 28 Reasons, Monster is a more obvious pick but I like Feel Good so much more. (Besides, I’ve never been crazy about the production in Monster.) I’ve got a few femme-fatale tracks here, and the alluringly cruel theme of Feel Good is a great example. I adore the girls’ vocals here. I don’t trust SM to do much good, but if they gave the world another Seulrene comeback, I’d be pretty happy.
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Phantom- WayV (Phantom)
It would be a disservice to make a Halloween playlist and not include Dreamcatcher. Basically any of their title tracks would make sense here. I tend to go back and forth on my personal favorite, but I wanted You and I for this playlist because its chorus is absolutely amazing.
I think at this point, Accendio might be my favorite IVE song, either this or Off The Record. Something about it has always felt witchy to me in sort of a Disney Channel way, like Wizards of Waverly Place maybe? A good Halloween playlist needs intentionally dark, creepy moments, but it also needs some more playfully spooky, campy fun too.
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Dead Man Runnin’- Seulgi (28 Reasons)
Reboot is another one of the greatest albums in kpop, and this (along with Faded Love) is my favorite track. One Black Night feels like Accendio’s more retro-leaning older sister; wonderfully witchy, playfully spooky, and it would go OFF at a Halloween party.
When it comes to f(x) opuses, I prefer Red Light to Pink Tape, and obviously Butterfly is a huge part of that, but Dracula’s Halloween camp is too. Dracula is exactly what Halloween pop should be: a bit dramatic, a bit silly, incredibly catchy, and all-in-all pretty iconic, at least to me.
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While I have VIXX’s most iconic spooky song here too, I also had to include my personal favorite of their spooky songs (unless you count Error, because that song is legendary). The zombie choreography here is so campy, and “I need therapy, lalalalala therapy” is my favorite wonky English kpop lyric ever. They were so real for this.
Birth- ARTMS (DALL)
To me, this is the Halloween song in kpop, and VIXX are the Halloween group. I mean, Voodoo Doll’s initial choreography was so gory it got outright banned. The song itself is pretty brilliant, both scary and catchy as hell. I’ve wanted Ateez to cover this and mash it up with Wonderland for years.
One Black Night- The Wonder Girls (Reboot)
However, on a personal note, I’ll say that I haven’t listened to 127 at all since the news about Taeil dropped, so I don’t blame you for choosing to leave this one off your own Halloween playlists. Just because it’s Halloween doesn’t mean you have to listen to actual monsters.
Trick or Trick- Aespa (Drama)
On & On- VIXX (Single)
Favorite (Vampire)- NCT 127 (Favorite)
Youha is probably my favorite genuinely underrated soloist. Although her discography is small, it’s very consistent. Love You More is one of my favorite minis, and its title track is stellar. Her voice in the chorus is stunning, and this song has such a satisfying, creepy yet elegant allure.
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I made a post about this, but I was convinced for years that this song was just another sexy song that I didn’t need to care about, only to hear the full song and let it take over my life. Yeah, Taste is dark and sensual, but what really gets me is just how well this song uses dynamics- both the quiet moments and the explosions of passion are captivating. Amazing production, and DanceRacha’s performances are great too. This playlist has too many bangers for me to choose a favorite, but right now it’s probably this.
RBB- Red Velvet (RBB)
Girls- Nature (Nature World: Code M)
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Intro: Boy Meets Evil- J-Hope/BTS (Wings)
Feel Good- Irene & Seulgi (Monster)
Psycho- Baekhyun (City Lights)
Taste- Stray Kids (Maxident)
My goal is to get at least one of you to check out ONF, because their music really is fantastic. This one is a bit silly, in a way that definitely reminds me of SHINee’s classic Married to the Music (which OF COURSE will also be on this playlist.) The production’s also incredible, as it usually is with their music.
While I haven’t heard anything else from Nature that’s particularly caught my ear, Girls is one of my all-time favorite nugu tracks. What a deliciously eerie, yet surprisingly vulnerable coven of witches. Also I have no idea why I’ve always interpreted this song as incredibly sapphic-coded, but I have a feeling I’m not alone.
Bewitched is probably a more obviously spooky Pixy pick (and a song I also love), but just to mix things up, I’ll go for Moonlight instead. This feels fitting for a spooky dance party. It’s so good that I ignore the fact that “when you touch me, I can’t feel my legs” is a lyric in this song.
I still feel like considering Psycho to be my favorite song on City Lights is a bit of a wrong opinion (it sounds so unlike the rest of the album), but I stand by it because it’s great. It’s such an unsettling character study of an anti-heroic, unstable man, with some earth-shaking electro-bass and siren noises (is that a siren or is it just him?) establishing the atmosphere. Baek’s voice is so warm and golden, but he really sells the anger of the character here.
Voodoo Doll- VIXX (Voodoo)
I said this was going to be here months ago! Nightwalker isn’t quite my favorite song of the year, but it is almost certainly the Halloweeniest kpop release of 2024. That beat is just incredibly cool, and I love how dynamic and versatile Ten’s performance is.
Moonlight- Pixy (Fairyforest: Temptation)
Dune- Ateez (The World EP.2- Outlaw)
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I kinda forgot about this one until Spotify autosuggested it and I thought it would fit. I think Gain (and to an extent, Brown Eyed Girls as a whole) tend to get overlooked by current fans, but this song is super compelling in how dark it is. I’d recommend it to people who love 28 Reasons by Seulgi- I actually think Seulgi would do an amazing cover of it.
Nightwalker- Ten (TEN)
You and I- Dreamcatcher (Nightmare: Escape the Era)
Married To The Music- SHINee (Married To The Music)
I feel bad that I’m not as familiar with WayV’s discography as I should be, but I feel like a lot of their songs would be fantastic choices for Halloween. Phantom adds some dark, opulent elegance to this playlist, and the vocals in the chorus are fantastic.
On the other hand, this one embodies the genuine darkness that’s central to Halloween. The musical arrangement here is absolutely fantastic (the orchestral elements and of course the guitar solo, all hail), and I love Bibi’s performance. It’s so sophisticated, yet undeniably angry.
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Goosebumps- ONF (Goosebumps)
Dracula- f(x) (Red Light)
I put Welcome To The Show on my autumn playlist, here’s another reminder that I adore this album. I actually found this song from mera, my favorite k-YouTuber (who I miss dearly); it was the first song I heard from this album/him. A little bit later, I got into the album as a whole and I’ve loved it ever since.
Spider- Hoshi (Single)
Paradise Lost- Gain (Hawwah)
Howlin’ 404- Dean (Single)
As a Reveluv, this is to Halloween what Red Flavor is to summer- like it or not, I’m basically obligated to include it. I will say that the chorus’s melody being so one-note means this isn’t one of my favorite RV title tracks, but I won’t ever slander that bridge, or the wonderfully campy-spooky feeling of the entire song. Also this mini is one of my favorites from Red Velvet. All hail So Good.
Initially, my plan was to only include 30 songs, but I ended up with 32 and I didn’t want to cut any of them.
Accendio- IVE (IVE Switch)
I Got Love- Taeyeon (My Voice)
Scaredy Cat- DPR Ian (Moodswings in This Order)
I don’t often listen to intros outside of their accompanying album or treat them like full songs, but Boy Meets Evil is the biggest exception. The song is so compelling and captivating, although you need the music video to get the full experience. Watching Hobi do that choreography fundamentally altered my brain chemistry- it may be the purest display of raw skill and talent in kpop.
I have to include this, the title said so. I’ve described this “walking the line between playful and dark really well,” so that makes it a great choice for spooky season. The beat is so cool. Aespa’s production is usually pretty top-tier.
Ateez has plenty of solid contenders for this playlist- I mean Wonderland and Black Cat Nero basically say it all- but I chose something more occult from them today. If someone wanted to argue for Dune as Ateez’s best song, I’d totally hear them out. That bridge gives me chills every time. A lot of the time, I genuinely believe Outlaw is the best album to ever come out of kpop. Someday I’ll finish writing about it.
Psytrance might be the spookiest subgenre of EDM in kpop, so I had to include at least one psytrance track, and I chose this one. A few of my friends are pretty into BewhY, and I haven’t gone too far into his work, but this production is next-level. It’s also an OST for Sweet Home, an apocalyptic horror series, so of course it makes sense for Halloween.
Animal Farm- Bibi (Lowlife Princess: Noir)
Last Dance- Youha (love you more,)
Again, Halloween’s as good a time as ever for some femme-fatale vibes. I Got Love’s structure is captivating. The contrast between the heavenly, surreal pre-chorus and the creaky, sinister anti-drop is always a thrill. While Taeyeon can always nail a power ballad like the best of them, I love how she’s willing to experiment and go outside the power-vocal niche.
I had to give this song a mention because I do think it’s fantastic and the Vampire Haechan meme is one of my favorites:
28 Reasons is a more obvious choice, and I do like it of course, but I prefer roughly half the album to the title track, and I wanted this to be its representative. The melody is cool and I love that Seulgi pushed herself and wrote the lyrics, but what really makes this a gem is her vocal performance. I love her dark lower range just as much as her more powerful anguish in the chorus.
Hi! Halloween is coming up, so here’s a playlist of some season-appropriate songs you can listen to as you celebrate the spookiest holiday!
Probably one of the most effective uses of horror elements in kpop. In comparison to the rest of this album, I’m less into it because it feels more like a series of ideas rather than a consistent song, but those ideas are really cool and executed really well, so it had to get a mention. And, obviously, I’m going to be obnoxious about my love for this album for a long, long time.
While I wish Purple Kiss was more consistent in terms of concept and title track quality, they are a consistent kpop source for good Halloween jams, and I especially loved Zombie back in 2021. It wraps up this playlist in a campy, spooky, but incredibly fun way.
Monster- EXO (Ex’Act)
Zombie- Purple Kiss (Hide & Seek)
This is one of those songs that would kill on a night drive, but a pitch-black depth instead of a neon-lit cityscape. Dean’s voice is one of the most purely satisfying in all of k-music, and the production he’s on top of here is so creepy and cool. I wish I knew more stuff from him- this is cool, and Instagram and Come Over (with Yerin Baek) are two of my favorite songs.
Side by Side- BewhY (Sweet Home OST)
Honestly I can’t remember the last time I listened to this before now. I was always going to include it in this playlist, thanks to its Halloween-themed music video, but I think SHINee has so many amazing songs that this one sometimes tends to pass me by. For shame. Nobody in kpop does funky music quite like SHINee.