Billboard has officially named Eminem’s “The Monster” featuring Rihanna the 4th biggest Halloween song of all time on the Hot 100. The 2013 hit continues to find new life every spooky season.

Released in 2013, “The Monster” originally peaked at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 21, 2013. Obviously, Em never wrote it as a Halloween track. Yet, as Billboard staff noted, a Halloween favourite can be just as profitable as a Christmas hit, and audiences clearly agreed.

Billboard did not just rely on opinions to build its list. Editors looked at songs that are Halloween-themed or have “spooky” words in the title, checking their chart positions. They then ranked them by overall performance on the Hot 100. That’s how “The Monster,” a song that never was for Halloween, ended up in the Top 5 spooky hits of all time.

According to Billboard, these are The Top 5 Halloween Hits:

1. Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers, “Monster Mash”
2. Ray Parker Jr., “Ghostbusters”
3. The Edgar Winter Group, “Frankenstein”
4. Eminem feat. Rihanna, “The Monster
5. Bobby Brown, “On Our Own (From ‘Ghostbusters II’)”

From No.1 Hit to Spooky Anthem

Over time, fans adopted “The Monster” as a seasonal anthem. Its dark production, haunting lyrics, and Eminem’s introspective verses about inner demons fit perfectly with Halloween’s eerie vibe. Year after year, the track finds its way back into playlists filled with ghosts, pumpkins, and flashing lights.

Moreover, it is not just streaming numbers driving the buzz. Several years ago, one creative fan turned “The Monster” into a full-blown Halloween light show.

California resident Tom BetGeorge stages elaborate Halloween displays every year to raise money for charity. In the 2020 season, he used “The Monster” as the soundtrack for his synchronised animated pumpkin show. Naturally, this community favourite drew in big crowds.

He shared the video online, writing: “I made this show as a free event for the community and as a fundraiser for the McHenry House, a local family shelter here in Tracy, California”.

With no initial intention, “The Monster” has become a song that lights up Halloween nights across America.

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