What’s That Quirky, Spooky Music I Always Hear In Movies?

The latest stories from www.wqxr.org · Oct 26, 2026

This article was originally published in 2022.

According to the guy who wrote it, your favorite spooky Halloween music reeks of cow poo. Edvard Grieg, the composer behind “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” had no idea his two-minute ditty would become an on-screen sensation, a holiday classic on par with Jingle Bell Rock. He was just – slowly and painstakingly – completing an assignment.

In January 1874 Grieg received a letter out of the blue from his fellow countryman the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. “Dear Mr. Grieg,” it read, “it is my intention to arrange [my play] Peer Gynt [...]…