‘Thriller,’ ‘Monster Mash’ & ‘Ghostbusters’ Return to Hot 100 After Halloween

Halloween hits are back on the latest Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated Nov. 11) thanks to annual gains for spooky songs around the Oct. 31 holiday.

Among such ear candy, Michael Jackson’s classic “Thriller” is the highest Halloween-sparked reentry at No. 21 with 14.5 million U.S. streams (up 163%), 10.9 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 464%) and 5,000 downloads (up 102%) for Oct. 27-Nov. 2, according to Luminate. This is the sixth consecutive year in which “Thriller” has reentered the Hot 100. It peaked at No. 4 during its initial chart run in 1984.

Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers’ “Monster Mash” follows at No. 38 with 11.9 million streams (up 213%), 4.4 million radio impressions (up 1,923%) and 4,000 sold (up 82%). This is the third consecutive season that the graveyard smash has revisited the chart. It spent two weeks at No. 1 during its original run in 1962. It’s the sixth time that “Monster Mash” has ranked on the Hot 100 overall; it debuted in September 1962 and, zombielike, reappeared in 1970 and 1973, and has now returned in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The Citizens of Halloween’s “This Is Halloween” from Tim Burton’s classic 1993 stop-motion animated film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, debuts at No. 41 on the Hot 100. It’s the first Hot 100 appearance for the act and the first song from the soundtrack to reach the Hot 100. The song debuts with 12.4 million streams (up 152%), 511,000 in airplay audience (up 815%) and 3,000 sold (up 58%).

Meanwhile, The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack jumps from No. 54 to No. 25 on the Billboard 200 with 25,000 equivalent album units (up 61%). The collection reached No. 22 last year, a new high. On the Soundtracks chart, the set rebounds for a fourth total week at No. 1.

Finally, Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” reenters the Hot 100 at No. 45 with 11.1 million streams (up 168%), 5.9 million radio impressions (up 1,484%) and 4,000 sold (up 97%). This is the third consecutive year that the song has returned to the survey, thanks to Halloween gains. The theme to the 1984 blockbuster film of the same name spent three weeks at No. 1 during its original chart run that year.