Halloween is a holiday that people either love to participate in for the sheer fun of getting dressed up or loathe to acknowledge due to its roots in paganism. Either way, there’s no reason why you can’t ring in the season with a good ghoul all in good fun, right?
If your plan is to skip out on trick-or-treating or attending the countless costume parties happening across the country, staying home is both a respectable choice and one that could prove to be a smart one given the pre-Hallows Eve tradition of buffoonery on Mischief Night. Horror movie marathons are a go-to option of course, but have you ever thought about spending the holiday watching a spooky selection of music videos?
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Although visual components to the Billboard hits we know and love aren’t intended to scare us silly, many musicians over the years have used their artistic expression to create some of the most hair-raising videos ever seen. Gritty graphics, dark cinematography and even cameos by literal demons are all elements we’ve seen make it into music videos. From death defying makeup and prosthetics that can even make the undead look lively, to real-life horror situations that many who grew up navigating through inner-city neighborhoods can relate to, we put together a list of music videos that we think will truly give you goosebumps.
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Featured concepts range from scary sisters like Janet Jackson and FKA twigs getting back at ex-lovers to the horrorcore hip-hop of Ice Cube, Tyler The Creator and Eminem amongst others. See if you can stand to get through the 10 clips featured here, and be sure to let us know which ones you know of that we missed out on.
Grab your blankets and check under the bed before peeping our list of the 10 scariest music videos to watch for the Halloween season:
Who knew ghouls and goblins knew how to throw down on the dance floor?
2. "Stan" – Eminem
Literal chills.
3. "Mind Playin' Tricks On Me" – Geto Boys
The life of a gangsta is a complicated one indeed.
4. "Hail Mary" – 2Pac
The video dropping a week after the murder of his rap rival Biggie makes this one even more eerie.
5. "Video Girl" – FKA twigs
Dancing and death row do not mix!
6. "Diary of a Mad Man" – Gravediggaz
Well, the New York City subway system can feel like the pits of hell sometimes…
7. "Sasquatch" – Ice Cube
You know what? A horror film with Ice Cube as the slasher wouldn’t be too horrible right about now.
8. "Yonkers" – Tyler, The Creator
Tyler’s signature eclecticism began with this video, but it also almost scared audiences away based on how disturbed and demonic he comes off as.
9. "Son Of A Gun" – Janet Jackson (feat. Missy Elliott)
Janet put her sweet-as-pie persona on the back-burner for a second in order to prove why she’s the wrong witch to cheat on. Lesson learned!
10. "Tha Crossroads" – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Scary for more real reasons than fake, the legendary hip-hop crooning collective was dropping messages while also putting the fear of God and mortality in us.
