“Monster Mash” was once banned from being played on the radio, but why? The history is more morbid than the song itself.

In 1962, Bobby “Boris” Pickett wrote one of the most well-known Halloween songs to this day: “Monster Mash.” Pickett wrote this song in less than an hour.
Throughout this song, Pickett impersonates legendary horror film actor Boris Karloff. He was also called “Boris” as a stage name.
This song is full of ghoulish fun, but when it first came out, the British Broadcasting Corporation, (BBC), believed it was just too spooky for Halloween.  This comment made many, including Pickett, feeling confused.
Halloween is supposed to be about spooks, right? Well, the BBC had missed the fun side to this song and focused on the negative side — a ghastly song that was simply just not going to make it on the radio.
Pickett’s original intention for this song was to create a spine-chilling, but funny, Halloween hit. In addition to this song, Pickett also created dances like “The Twist” and “The Mashed Potato.”
Although this song is full of playful lyrics like “He did the monster mash/It was a graveyard smash,” BBC thought this song should be banned from the radio for being “too morbid.”
BBC suspected other lyrics such as “The zombies were having fun/The party had just begun/The guests included Wolfman, Dracula and his son” showed way too much horror imagery, especially for younger children.
Despite the BBC’s commands to be banned, “Monster Mash” danced its way to topping North America’s Billboard chart in 1962, with just enough time for Halloween.
In 1973, the BBC continued to stand its ground, refusing to believe that this chilling song should be played.
However, Bobby Pickett and his band pushed back again, and this time, it ended up spiking to No. 3 in the United Kingdom.
“Monster Mash” was so popular and topped so many charts that it made Pickett one of the most famous pop music one-hit-wonders.
This song is still a beacon of haunting history as many remember Bobby Pickett and his morbid, yet spookily awesome, song.