If you are a Millennial, you know this theme song by heart. The maestro of the macabre, strumming the strings of our haunted souls. A dreadful treat for your ears, tickling the ivories while tip-toeing through dark rooms and hallways. The theme to nightmares itself: Goosebumps. This theme song is ingrained in our minds forever more, bearing the power to possess our psyche and bring us back to a time of nostalgia and fright. It is the one. Viewer beware, you’re in for a scare!
Created by composer John Frederick “Jack” Lenz in 1995 for the Goosebumps television series, the Goosebumps theme song starts with a rolling piano tune over the sounds of wind blowing in the distance. Immediately you are brought in to listen. It’s mysterious and spooky, and we all want more. Ears now wide open, the beat drops and we hear those five “duh duh — duh duh — duh!” notes that would instantly be stuck in our heads. A funky bass tune plays and a dog barks before we get the glorious “Viewer beware” whispered in a slimy, sneaky voice. I don’t know how to explain it, but the Goosebumps theme sounds exactly how I picture the “G” logo would sound.
And if that wasn’t enough, the song was paired with a video intro that — to this day — I instantly get pumped for. Shoulders rocking and everything!
A mysterious man, thought to be representing Goosebumps author R. L. Stine, walks along with a briefcase before its paper contents spill out and fly away. Following the floating papers, we come across a billboard of a beautiful woman that turns sad and ugly, the dog whose eyes begin to glow a ghastly yellow, and clips from the show we are about to watch. The shadow of the famous Goosebumps “G” glides along and guides out little-kid brains to the most terrifying circumstances we could imaging — y’know, like our dad turning into a plant or a dummy come to life. This intro is so famous, there are memes made about it, so many that I’ve lost count.
There are plenty of songs that express the spirit of Halloween, but the Goosebumps theme is more than that; this song is our collective childhoods. It’s the time when kids would spend all night out getting candy. It’s when kids had adventures and learned lessons along the way. It’s 90s to the tee. The Goosebumps theme song represents a simpler time that is pure Halloween and pure good. It’s not just the theme song to a televised book series — it’s my life. And boy do I love it so!
What do you think of this Boo-tiful Banger? Let us know in the comments!
