Cambridge seems like a city made for things that are eerie and beautiful. This Halloween, we’ve curated a playlist that is haunting, kind of unsettling, yet still mesmerising. Together, these songs form a soundtrack for the Halloween season, and invite you to a game of trick or treat (mostly treats)

Daisy: ‘A Forest’ by The Cure is a song that exudes the moody, mesmerising character of the season. A big time miss from Lynch and Frost, supposedly Robert Smith wrote the song for Twin Peaks (a tv show best digested around Halloween). That creeping bassline coupled with the shifting synths and snares, makes it a tune that always goes down well at a goth night. It’s one that I’ll be listening to this term “again and again and again (and again)!”

“That creeping bassline coupled with the shifting synths and snares, makes it a tune that always goes down well at a goth night”

Seun: ′Call My Bluff’ by Pusha T has synths that you might find in a sci-fi thriller, where something absolutely ridiculously scary is going to appear behind that equally scary door. Except, the scary moments in this film are when you did not run Pusha’s errands for him quick enough, and some guys are going to be sent “round there right now” to do some, presumably scary stuff to you. He even almost begs threatens you to “call my bluff” wrapped around ghostly tones, with his chillingly calm delivery.

It is also sickening to know that a song as beautiful as ‘Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)’ by Irma Thomas will forever haunt me. This is because it has been one of the reoccurring songs in the ‘Black Mirror’ franchise, being tied to moments which can scar you for life, and some terribly bleak endings.

Caitlin: Seeing as Halloween is often lovingly known in the LGBTQ+ community as “Gay Christmas”, Elliotly’s queer cannibal romance in ‘he’s a cannibal! ’ feels extremely apt for a Halloween playlist. The saccharine staccato synths carry an 80s-pop-meets-Tumblr-trend feel, arguably the only appropriate underscore to such a narrative. This track is especially perfect for any couples preparing joint costumes this year; maybe this says something about me, but there’s a Twilight-esque romanticism in Elliotly’s lover restraining their man-eating tendencies for him…

“Halloween is often lovingly known in the LGBTQ+ community as “Gay Christmas””

For a somewhat more traditional Halloween track, Dark Divine’s ‘Halloweentown’ is a staple spooky metal banger. The verses place you in a perfectly seasonal (if not slightly clichéd) setting, at the heart of a Halloween party beyond the cemetery. Frontman Anthony Martinez has also cemented himself as one of my recent favourite rock vocalists; the clean verses are simple yet tantalisingly smooth, whilst his screams and grit command full vocal control.

Francis: From the first few piano chords, you know you’re in for a chilling emotional ride, when listening to ‘Videotape’ by Radiohead. This song, to me, captures the apotheosis of Yorke’s vocal ability. His words are tortured and constrained as he viscerally captures the feelings of grief and loss, layered over the creepily returning sound of rolling film reel that grows organically, haunting the entirety of the song.

Contrastingly here, with ‘Bloom’ by Radiohead, Yorke’s lyrics are lost in the mechanical whirl of the drum machine. The refracted echo of instruments across the five minutes of this song are hypnotic and yet natural: whispers float out from just beyond hearing.

“Whispers float out from just beyond hearing”

During ‘Inside the Old I Dying’, Harvey’s phantasmal voice conjures before your very eyes. Figurations appear from the skin-crawling folklore tales of the Dorset countryside. The light, pared back guitar with drums, only contribute to the mesmerism of her lyrics; listening to this as you walk, your autumn exhales throw up small plumes of smoke, and you start thinking about nature breathing back.

Millie: The cover of the classic Rolling Stones track, ‘Sister Morphine’ by Ren Harvieu is perhaps most haunting, thanks to her eerie vocals. One of the most spell-binding acts of the current alternative circuit, this B-side to her outstanding debut EP ‘Open Up Your Arms’ stands as testament to her creativity and originality as an artist.