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5. “Boris the Spider” by The Who
John Entwistle, the band’s now deceased bass player, didn’t get the opportunity to write too many songs. But for their second album, the record company gave each member of the Who a bonus if he would write a song. So Entwistle wrote this as a joke, based on his fear of spiders as a kid: “Look, he’s crawling up my wall. Black and hairy, very small. Now he’s up above my head. Hanging from a little thread.” The song definitely has a creepy-crawly feel to it, which endeared it to the band’s fans. It became a big favorite in concerts, and Entwistle began wearing a spider medallion because of it. “Boris the Spider” has a sad ending, however, as the title character gets squished. Oh, well. How many insects could say they were immortalized in song by one of the greatest rock bands ever? (Suggested costume: Put on a pair of coveralls, carry a small tank of insecticide with a squirt nozzle at the end of a hose, and you can be John Goodman from “Arachnophobia.”)

6. “Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon
The title was suggested to Zevon by Phil Everly. Warren and guitarist pal Waddy Wachtel were goofing around and starting throwing out lyrics: “He’s the hairy-handed gent who ran amok in Kent. Lately he’s been overheard in Mayfair. You better stay away from him. He’ll rip your lungs out, Jim. I’d like to meet his tailor.” (Note: In the realm of misheard lyrics, some knuckleheads think he says, “I’d like to meet Liz Taylor.”) Then they would howl like wolves. This became Zevon’s only top 40 hit, rising to No. 21 in 1978. BBC Radio2 listeners voted, “I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand” as the greatest opening line of all time. Warren died in September, 2003, and his first wife Tule, mother of his son Jordan, passed away earlier this year. Pay heed to Warren’s parting advice: “Enjoy every sandwich.” (Suggested costume: A werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand. Make sure his hair is perfect.)

7. “Sympathy for the Devil” by the Rolling Stones
Talk about scary. The band performed this at the infamous Altamont outdoor rock festival. Shortly after that song, a fan was stabbed to death by Hell’s Angels hired to provide security. The Stones did not play this live for seven years after that because of the bad publicity. The song, which appeared on the 1968 “Beggar’s Banquet” album, was believed to be an attempt to establish themselves as the bad-boy alternative to the Beatles. “Sympathy” portrays the devil as a “man of wealth and taste” and makes references to some of his handiwork throughout the years, including the Holocaust and the Kennedy assassinations. Mick Jagger insisted he wasn’t glorifying Satan, but merely pointing out that we all have a little of him in us: “Just as every cop is a criminal, and all the sinners saints …” Right before the live version of “Sympathy” from “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out,” a young girl pleads, “Paint It Black! Paint It Black! Paint It Black, you Devil!” (Suggested costume: Devil’s horns and a T-shirt with a big red tongue insignia on the front.)

8. “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick has a way with words. And his voice makes Tom Waits sound like Charlotte Church. But on this cut, one of his best, he’s dark, sinister, chilling and wild. He’s talking about the Devil, even if he doesn’t come out and admit it: “He’s a ghost, he’s a god, he’s a man, he’s a guru. You’re one microscopic cog in his catastrophic plan. Designed and directed by his red right hand.” The term “red right hand” appears in John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”: “What if the breath that kindled those grim fires. Awakened should blow them into sevenfold rage. And plunge us into flames? Or from above. Should intermitted vengeance arm again. His red right hand to plague us?” This song has appeared as a secret cut on the “X Files” soundtrack, as well as the soundtracks of “Scream” (which makes sense) and “Dumb and Dumber” (which does not). (Suggested costume: Dress up like Mick Jagger. Or the political candidate you envision in Hades, with no term limits.)

9. “Thriller” by Michael Jackson
In 1983, when this song was released, Michael was one of the least frightening people on the planet. Now he’s one of the most frightening. But I digress. “Thriller” featured narration by Vincent Price, a horror movie icon who was a personal friend of Jackson: “Darkness falls across the land. The midnight hour is close at hand. Creatures crawl in search of blood. To terrorize y’all’s neighborhood.” Price reportedly had his choice of royalties or $20,000, and he foolishly chose the 20K. He should have gotten more simply for saying “y’all’s neighborhood.” The song would have been popular in and of itself; the album has sold more than 56 million copies. But the video, directed by Jon Landis (“An American Werewolf in London”), sent it through the roof. In the video, Michael’s face has a hideous, unnatural look in keeping with the theme of the undead. Fill in your own joke here. (Suggested costume: A sequined jumpsuit, a single white glove, lots of makeup and, if possible, a couple of high-profile attorneys.)

10. “The End” by The Doors
Legend has it that this was the last song Jim Morrison listened to before he died. It could be true, considering that it was Morrison. Or it could be death-wishful thinking. Either way, “The End” is synonymous with graveyards, untimely demises and the blackness of men’s souls. It was originally performed at famed L.A. nightclub the Whisky-A-Go-Go in 1966. Because they had to fill up two sets, the Doors extended the song, which deals with Oedipal themes of eliminating the father and pleasing the mother: “Father? Yes son. I want to kill you. Mother? I want to …”  In fact, Morrison and the band got fired from the club for taking the lyrics to a naughty extreme that did not fly with club management and record companies at the time.  “The End” later gained added fame when Francis Ford Coppola used it over the eerie opening sequence in his Vietnam epic, “Apocalypse Now.” Jim would have been proud. (Suggested costume: The Grim Reaper with a guitar instead of a sickle.)

Michael Ventre lives in Los Angeles and is a regular contributor to MSNBC.com.

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