Don’t mind the strange noises coming from the basement, the shadows moving in the corner of your eye, or that song you swear you’ve heard in a nightmare. It’s just our latest Spotify playlist creeping in for Halloween.
If you’re looking for something a little darker than the usual “Monster Mash,” you’re in the right place. This month, we’re digging through the crates for cult classics, eerie deep cuts, and songs that sound like they belong in the closing scene of a horror movie. Consider this your soundtrack for a spooky night out (or in—you crypt keeper, you).
Introducing Spire’s October Spotify playlist, Vol. 68: Deep Cut. It’s a little grunge, a little industrial, a little trip-hop, and a whole lot of beautifully unsettling noise. From Smashing Pumpkins and Toadies to Tricky, Massive Attack, and Disturbed, these tracks bring the creepy atmosphere without relying on the usual Halloween greatest hits. Turn the lights down, press play, and let things get weird.
Alex, what is the name of your album?
The name of this playlist is Deep Cut. The idea was to get past the usual Halloween rotation and find songs that have a little more grit, atmosphere, and mystery to them. Some are cult classics, some are a bit more under the radar, but they all have that eerie quality that makes you feel like something isn’t quite right. It’s less “haunted house soundtrack” and more “strange movie you stumble across at 2 a.m. and can’t stop watching.”
How would you describe this mix?
This mix is dark, moody, and a little unsettling—in the best way. There’s grunge, industrial rock, trip-hop, and heavy alternative, with tracks that build tension instead of handing you an obvious jump scare. It’s a good fit for a Halloween hangout, a late-night drive, or anyone who prefers their spooky season with a little edge.
“In this room, we can’t touch the floor.”
– “Knife Prty” by Deftones
What was your inspiration behind it?
The inspiration was the kind of music that makes a scene feel ominous before anything even happens. Think shadowy alleys, flickering streetlights, grainy horror movie footage, and the feeling that you probably shouldn’t go down that hallway—but you do anyway. I wanted to pull together songs with that same tension and atmosphere, mixing familiar cult favorites with a few deeper cuts that might be new to listeners. Halloween doesn’t always need a monster or a ghost; sometimes a bassline and the right guitar riff will do the trick.
What is your favorite song, and why?
My favorite track on the playlist is HEALTH’s cover of “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away).” They take a Deftones favorite and give it this cold, heavy, almost otherworldly feeling that makes the song feel brand new while keeping the emotion of the original. It has that perfect mix of beauty and unease—like driving through an empty city at night with nowhere in particular to go. It’s the kind of cover that doesn’t just revisit a song; it pulls it into a completely different atmosphere.
If your playlist was a brand, what would it be and why?
This playlist would be an independent horror film studio with a taste for the strange and unconventional. Not the kind that relies on a big-budget jump scare every ten minutes, but the kind that builds a world through mood, sound, and the things it leaves just outside the frame. It would be a little gritty, a little mysterious, and probably have a very good soundtrack.
“And in your darkest hour, I hold secret’s flame. We can watch the world devoured in its pain.”
– “The Beginning is the End is the Beginning” by Smashing Pumpkins
Any specific memory that comes to mind when you listen?
A lot of these songs take me back to the alternative and rock sounds that always seemed to find their way into movies, late-night radio, and the playlists people passed around before every song was one click away. There’s something nostalgic about hearing a track you haven’t thought about in years, especially when it still has the power to make the room feel a little darker. Halloween just gives that feeling the perfect excuse to come back around.
What makes your playlist unique?
There are plenty of Halloween staples that show up every October, and they’re classics for a reason. But Deep Cut takes a different route. You’ll find tracks like “Down with the Sickness” and “Possum Kingdom” alongside the darker, more atmospheric sounds of “Excess” and “Angel,” plus a few choices that may be less familiar. It’s a mix of cult classics and lesser-known songs that feel spooky without being made specifically for Halloween. The goal is to give listeners a few familiar favorites, a few new discoveries, and a reason to keep the lights on.
Thanks for taking us down the rabbit hole, Alex. Stay tuned to the Spire Blog and Spotify Channel for our next agency playlist.
Alex Flores is a Senior Designer at Spire, and an Ad 2 Dallas “32 Under 32” recipient.
