Spooky Scary Skeletons song paired with 1929 cartoon The Skeleton Dance.
"Spooky Scary Skeletons" is a popular Halloween song originally created in 1996 but that has been a viral sensation during the Halloween season since 2010. The song is about skeletons and how spooky and mischievous they are. The lyrics also mention that they are misunderstood and want to socialize, but the singer suggests that they should not.
Origin[]
Spooky Scary Skeletons was first released as one of the songs from the novelty Halloween album Halloween Howls: Fun and Scary Music, which was released on August 20, 1996. The song was written by the late song writer Andrew Gold (Who also sang the song). The music features a xylophone that is intended to sound as if the skeletons are using their bones as instruments.
In 1998, Disney added "Spooky Scary Skeletons" to their Halloween-themed Sing-Along Songs where they played the song over the 1929 Silly Symphony movie The Skeleton Dance. Specifically, Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Happy Haunting.
Internet popularity[]
In 2010, a YouTube user uploaded The Skeleton Dance with Spooky Scary Skeletons playing over it. The video went virial and became an internet meme, with many Youtubers putting the song in YTP's and meme compilations. On October 31, 2013, The YouTube band The Living Tombstones created and uploaded an electronic dance remix of "Spooky Scary Skeletons". The remix gained 98 million views at the time it was first uploaded and has over 102 million views to date.
Since becoming a viral hit, "Spooky Scary Skeletons" is often considered a tradition during the Halloween season, being a favorite song to play at Halloween parties alongside other Halloween favorites such as "Monster Mash" and "Thriller". Users on the social media platform TikTok often include the song in their Halloween themed videos, and the song was even covered by LVCRFT while used in commercials for the American television channel Freeform's 31 Days of Halloween movie month.
In 2021, the album where the song originated from Halloween Howls: Fun and Scary Music was released on vinyl records due to the popularity of "Spooky Scary Skeletons", with the vinyl even including remixes of the song.