Fear is a funny thing because it’s both something that can paralyze you and motivate you. Halloween and the spooky transitional season that it exists in (autumn in lay men’s terms) are a time to reflect on things that scare you, whether you’re going through a tough time or you’re screaming your head off at a haunted house that you chose to go to.

These songs have something haunting about them sonically but the lyrics are where the real struggle lies.

Highlights:
Cemetery by COIN — “Never had time for the family, but he is the richest man in the cemetery…” — Dying alone because you focused on work instead of relationships? Yikes. Be careful with that y’all.

bury a friend by Billie Eilish — ” Bury the hatchet or bury your friend right now…” — Billie said she wrote this song from the perspective of the monster under her bed, metaphorically. The production of this song is filled with distorted little kids’ toys. Dark and very cool.

Choke by I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME — ” If I could burn this town, I wouldn’t hesitate to smile while you suffocate and die…” — I love this song because it’s got that punky, creepy carnival vibe. Like, if I had the guts to actually go to a haunted carnival or something, I would love to see a sequence of this song while in a hall of mirrors.

Dead Inside by Younger Hunger — “You ask me what I want from life,
I said to make a lot of money and feel dead inside…” — I heard this song live once and it got stuck in my head right after. Oh, to be young and in love, to then reject that love for money so you can feel dead inside…it’s easier than opening up to someone right?

(Don’t Fear) The Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult — ”Seasons don’t fear the reaper, nor do the wind, the sun or the rain, we can be like they are…” — Yes, this is the song from “MORE COWBELL”. But its spooky vibes are on high. There’s been a lot of debate about what this song is about: from theories about the Black Plague, lost lovers, or growing up in general. Take it as you hear it, folks.