10 Albums Perfect for Your Spooky Season
by Mortician Joseph K.
It’s October, which means it’s everyone in The Mortuary’s favorite holiday season! Yes, the spooky season is upon us - Halloween time.
Halloween, is of course rooted in the pagan tradition of Samhain. Pagan traditions are something I’ve spent extensive time celebrating on the show, and I think it’s important to remember that Halloween isn’t just about the candy, the drunk parties, and the questionable decisions that they result in. It’s rooted in something with legitimate religious significance.
That said, for me, this time of year has always been my favorite for mostly superficial reasons - mainly, the sheer beauty of nature at this time. The leaves changing color, the crisp morning air, the way it gets to the perfect temperature during the day for my leather jacket. It’s the most beautiful time of year. It’s also the social aspects of it - the bonfires, the spooky stories, the haunted houses, hay rides… it’s all wonderful, and it all deserves to be celebrated.
And so, with that in mind, I wanted to give you a list of what I see as 10 essential albums for this year’s fall frights. This album list has some that are more traditionally spooky, and some that are more personally meaningful at this time of year. Because what would a Mortuary list be without my personal feelings getting way too involved, am I right?
Anyway, let’s start with an obvious one - coming in at number 10:
10. Ministry - With Sympathy (1983)
This album is here for one reason, and one reason only. “Everyday is Halloween’s” original release was on this album. There it is - the Goth National Anthem, ladies and gentlemen. I aired this song in The Industrial Center in Episode 1 of my show for exactly that reason (I think I called it the Industrial Wing - the show was only half-baked at the time). The album itself is, of course, classic early Ministry. Much more Synthpop than Industrial, truthfully, but Ministry’s shift in sound would happen later in the decade, and they would eventually become one of the defining acts of the Industrial genre. Other notable songs on this album are “Effigy,” “Revenge,” and “Work for Love” (all of which have also been featured in different Mortuary episodes). It’s a great album, an historic one, and one I would definitely recommend to any Baby Bats working to understand the origins of the subculture.
9. The 69 Eyes - Wasting The Dawn (1999)
This was the debut album for The 69 Eyes. It came out during an era where Goth was dying in a lot of places. But while it was dying in many areas, it was thriving in Scandinavia. And, The 69 Eyes were a big part of that. Their appearance on the scene, along with bands like HIM, was a big part of what kept the subculture alive and well in Europe while it was on death’s door in the U.S. following the Columbine tragedy. The album itself kicks ass - it’s dark, heavy, and still manages to be smooth and melodic at the same time, in a style that would come to define The 69 Eyes’ “Helsinki Vampire” music. The track most would recognize off of this one is the title track, and the only one featured so far in The Mortuary, but other killer tracks include “Lay Down Your Arms, Girl,” and “Next Stop Paradise.”
8. DECEITS - If There’s No Heaven… (2023)
DECEITS are a Los Angeles Goth band that I’ve featured in a couple episodes - most recently episode 34 “Panic! At the Goth Night” - and the track I led off the episode with,”Drowning in an Empty Sea,” was from this album. It’s an album written to give you the chills and anxiety simultaneously. The music is dark and shrill at times in a way that makes it feel like the backing score to a really twisted slasher flick, and the lyrics to several tracks make reference to some of the most common insecurities we experience as humans. “Failures,” “A Burial of Dreams,” “Drowning in an Empty Sea” are all references to some of humanity’s biggest stress inducers. So, if you want an album to help you reflect on your life this fall, this is a good one for you. If you want to make questionable decisions on Halloween? Maybe get a good night’s sleep after listening.
7. Creeper - Sanguivore (2023)
This band has become a personal favorite of mine this year. They’re theatrical, they’re unusual, they’ve got a great, weirdly diverse sound (there’s times they’ll honestly sound like Meat Loaf, times more like Blink-182, and other times they sound like nothing you’ve ever heard), and it all adds up to a perfect storm for spooky season. Sanguivore contains some of their darkest lyrics, their sickest riffs, and some of their most spine-chilling melodies. My personal favorite, off this one is “Cry to Heaven,” but you can’t go wrong with “Lovers Led Astray,” “Black Heaven,” or “Teenage Sacrifice” either. A strong album from a band that defines what spooky season is all about.
6. blood.twin - (demus) (2025)
Let’s start with the name of the artist. Hard to get a more appropriate name than blood.twin for spooky season. Secondly - this guy absolutely rips. His music is twisted, and I mean that in the best way. There’s something truly haunting about the music, his lyrics are pointed and powerful, and, he’s going to be a guest on The Mortuary in November (shameless plug achieved). Favorite off of this one is “Not Sure” and it was featured in episode 33 “Boys Don’t Cry, But Men (Including Your Mortician) Do,” but it’s hard to go wrong on this one - he’s got a lot to say about the state of the subculture, too, and I think this album is perfect for anyone who wants to creep themselves out while making themselves feel things simultaneously - in other words, perfect for fall.
5. Dead On A Sunday - In Memoriam (2025)
Speaking of Mortuary favorites, guests, shameless plugs, etc., let me introduce you to Dead on a Sunday. He’s been featured on my show more than any other recent artist to this point, he’s coming on for a guest interview later this month, and this album, In Memoriam, could not be more perfect for spooky season if it tried. So many great tracks, from “Anyone,” to “Headphuck,” to “Dance Like Hell,” but, let’s talk about “Slasher.” It’s literally a track inspired by slasher flicks, horror imagery, and the desire to shout at the screen when the stupid girl in a horror movie opens the door we know she shouldn’t open. I could not recommend this album more highly for play this month. Do yourself a favor and listen to his dedicated cover album too - you’ll never hear “…Baby One More Time,” the same way again.
4. Drab Majesty - The Demonstration (2017)
Now, this album is here for so many reasons - both personal and spooky. The spooky reasons are obvious - this album is pure atmosphere. Every song is ethereal and cold and makes you feel all the chills. Whether it’s the cold vibes and narrative of songs like “Not Just a Name” or “39 by Design” or just the genuinely creepy feeling some may get from their alien-esque stage personas, Drab Majesty’s The Demonstration checks all the important boxes for this season perfectly.
The personal reasons are far more varied. I saw Drab Majesty open for AFI in Cleveland, OH in 2022 - and was one of the few people there to see them (I was also the only person in their merch line at the end of the night). It’s a band that was a huge part of my re-introduction into the subculture. I went “normie” for several years in the mid-2010s - dressed in less black, listened to less terminally thoughtful music, and spent life doing more traditionally normal things. And Drab Majesty’s The Demonstration was the album that got me hooked on revival Goth music, and brought me back to what I had always been at heart. The album itself, while cold and distant in tone, is also very personally tinged - there’s a lot of heartbreak, alienation, and loneliness contained in this album. It’s one that will, if you listen carefully enough, make you feel all the feels, too. So many powerful songs that are really about something, not just songs that express emotion, but actually tell stories. So if you want an album that hits all the notes this season? Give Drab Majesty a try.
3. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile (1999)
Nine Inch Nails is a band that is perfect for spooky season regardless of the album. Most of what Trent Reznor does musically is crafted to raise the blood pressure. The reasons I chose The Fragile, in particular though, are many, and I’ll go into some of them one by one:
It is his most musically complex album - he uses so many different layers and types of sounds in every song that your ear can’t help but try to pick out everything it’s hearing. It’s the type of album that makes your brain feel tension just by it’s musical composition.
Lyrically, there are several songs, like “Somewhat Damaged” - the opening track, that embrace violent and painful imagery, the likes of which would make even Wes Craven blush. So much of this album was centered on seriously twisted thoughts and feelings. You could easily take this album, not changing anything, and use it as the soundtrack for a Psychological Thriller.
There’s a real story behind the pain in this album - the lyrics and music are truly telling a modern horror epic. It’s written like it’s coming from the perspective of a broken man, and, well, that’s because it is. Trent Reznor went through several painful personal losses while he was writing this album, and was also suffering through the worst years of his heroin addiction.
Most importantly, and most personally - this album is the musical embodiment of emotional trauma. Everything here is about suffering, and the twisting shame spiral that so many go through after we’ve dealt with emotional trauma. Trent lived this pain as he wrote it, and I think there’s something tragically beautiful about that. It puts us in the mind of a trauma victim as the trauma happens, and we get to see life as he sees it. That’s absolutely terrifying.
So, if you want to truly frighten yourself this spooky season? Pick up The Fragile and then read/learn about what Trent went through as he created this album. It’s worth it.
2. She Wants Revenge - She Wants Revenge (2006)
She Wants Revenge’s 2006 self-titled album has to be pretty special if I’m going to rank it above The Fragile… and it really, really is. I will, once again go through my reasoning step by step:
This is the album that brought Goth music back in the United States. There, I said it. Goth music, especially of the post-punk/darkwave variety in the States, was on death’s door before this album hit the airwaves. “Tear You Apart” became the anthem for a whole new generation of Baby Bats.
Much like The Fragile, there’s so much of this album that SCREAMS psychological thriller - “These Things,” in particular is a dark descent into sexual trauma.
There’s a lot here that also, more directly screams modern Halloween. Lots of songs about bad decisions. - Check out “Red Flags and Long Nights” if you want a song that basically describes every 20-something’s Halloween dating experience.
Personally, for me, this album hits every mark. Songs about love loss, songs about sexual desire, songs about repeated bad decisions, songs about sexual trauma, songs about pain and tragedy and general sorrow, all with a beat you can dance to… and, really, no album ever felt like it was more about my life than this one.
So, while I love The Fragile, She Wants Revenge sits just narrowly above it. If you want an album that feels more like the modern Halloween experience, this is the one for you.
But, it sits at #2 for a reason. There is one album, that in spite of how perfectly this album fits, actually fits more perfectly, and also somehow feels more personal for yours truly. And that’s…
10. Type O Negative - October Rust (1996)
Type O Negative is the band that defines Gothic Metal. They built a sound that largely changed the way Goth music sounded in the 90s, and changed the way many people saw the subculture. That alone is enough to give them consideration for the top spot on any Mortuary list, but let’s keep digging.
The album title is October Rust - hard to get more appropriate for a spooky season list than that. But, besides that, the songs on this album are dark and disturbed, heavy and slow with ominous guitar and Peter Steele’s infamous stand up bass that he often wore around his neck with a metal chain strap (he was 6’6” 250lbs of solid muscle). Every song on this album is psychologically twisted - several come from a place of deep sadness. But there’s also several tracks that dig into pagan mythology and horror imagery. So, there’s something for the psychological horror fan and the monster flick fan alike.
Besides all of that, here’s the personal connection - I got into Goth, as many of us do, in my high school years. I was 15 years old when I bought my first Nine Inch Nails’ album - The Downward Spiral. But, the album that truly first connected me to the subculture, was Type O Negative’s October Rust. I was 16, I was in a Best Buy™, and a (now former) friend of mine had messaged me on AIM™ earlier that day with a list of albums to look into. October Rust was the first one that immediately stood out to me in the store. I bought it, I put it in my car CD player, and I was instantly entranced. I listened to it on repeat for weeks after that. “Love You to Death” was my early favorite, but that quickly switched to “Die With Me” - I would say these days it’s probably “Red Water (Christmas Mourning)” but, that’s the amazing thing about music - as you grow as a person and have new experiences your favorite songs and bands often change.
The point is, this album is the album that made me understand what it meant to be Goth - it was sad, it was dark, but there was always a hint of a smile. It was like Peter Steele would feel all these awful, tragic feelings, and then he’d look at his life and say, “Yeah, this happened, and it sucks, but, did you see this Rubber Chicken in my hand? It’s hilarious, right?”
That’s what Goth is, in a nutshell - it’s the ability to look at the pain, and the sadness, and the horrors of the world, and say, “Yeah, this sucks, and it’s going to keep sucking, but at least we can laugh at it, and at least we have each other.”
And, I think that’s the ultimate lesson to learn this spooky season. The world sucks - it’s a scary, tragic place. And, barring some immediate changes, it will continue to be. But if we can lean into each other, and lean into the comedy in the tragedy, the world looks less like a Crime Scene Re-Creation and more like a Steven Wright routine.
And, speaking of finding comedy in tragedy, I have one more album for you this season…
Chapel Annex Honorable Mention - The Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack (1975)
First of all, RIP Tim Curry - his death was one of the hardest parts of my year. But, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a happy place for me. It’s one of the places in my life I have found community and friendship, and the music from it is hilarious and incredible. It’s not “scary” in any sense of the word, but Rocky Horror is still one of those films that defines this season. So, if you’ve never listened, or watched - do yourself an immediate favor and do so. If you’re a Rocky Horror fanatic like myself? Spread the good word, and listen to the album (and rewatch the film) as often as you can this season.
Goodnight, and good grief. 😉
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