Misfits’s Halloween feature by John M. Ellison IV

Where do I start with the Misfits? From lyrics that take influence from 50’s and 60’s horror movies and EC Comics fusing with rockabilly, rock and roll and injected with the adrenaline of ‘77 punk rock. When all of this was put together, the Misfits became not just a band, but the punk rock equivalent of Frankenstien’s monster. Although they’re tons of songs I could focus on. Songs such as Last Caress, Hybrid Moments, Bullet and countless others that are fun to play along to music wise, I’m going to focus on their song “Halloween.”

Originally released as a single on October 31,1981 “Halloween” is the fifth single by the horror punk mavens the Misfits. This song was the last to include guitar player Bobby Steele before being replaced by Jerry Only’s brother Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein joined the band. Doyle recorded his own guitar tracks and overdubs in addition to Steele’s.

“Halloween” is a balance of warp speed guitar and drums of Bobby Steele and Arthur Googy respectively (Doyle included on overdubs) and the crooning tenor of Glenn Danzig. The lyrics aren’t exactly metaphorical they’re straight to the point by painting a murky picture about the Halloweens of the past. Since this was released back in ‘81, some could relate this to as a precursor to “This is Halloween” from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” soundtrack.

In closing, enjoy and feel free to check out the second single “Halloween II” which was sang in Latin.