Duppies and Vampires: A Haunted Reggae Top 10 For Halloween

Words by Eddie STATS Houghton and Jesse Serwer—

We first compiled a Toppa Top 10 list of spooky reggae jams back in 2010, when LargeUp was just getting ready for our first Halloween. (We went as the Best Dressed Chicken in Town, naturally). Considering the darkness that descended on dancehall a year ago and the time that’s elapsed since that last countdown, we thought we’d dig up the casket of reggae classics dealing with duppies, ghosts, vampires, zombies and other undead creatures, and see if we couldn’t give the corpse some new life.

As former LargeUp editor (and current Okayplayer honch0) Eddie STATS Houghton put it back then:

The truly scary thing was how many classic reggae tunes there are that fall into this ghoulish category once you start um, digging. Maybe there are heaps of spooky soca and merengue jams we just don’t know about but it certainly seems like the supernatural is a recurring theme in Kingston, a town that has produced crews called Monster Shack and Scare Dem–not to mention Ghost!

Click here to begin your journey into reggae’s dark side!

10. Monster Shack Crew, “Scream” (1996)

Um, they’re a group called Monster Shack Crew, with a member named Ghost. And the tune is called “Scream”–what more do you need to make the already ominous Playground riddim into a playground from hell? A chorus of Die, die, diiie? Ok, then. You got it.

9. Tommy Lee Sparta, “Psycho” + “Shook (Uncle Demon)” (2012)

Dancehall got extra haunted in 2012, when the artist originally known as Tommy Lee (he later added the Sparta for copyright reasons) took over the scene with his gothic style. Not only did the Montego Bay native devise an alter ego based on the Grim Reaper (“Grimrim”), but he made facepaint and creepy masks his visual hallmarks. While it was the chart-topping “Psycho” that introduced us to his dark vision of the world, his gothic style—and dancehall as a whole—reached its darkest point with the follow-up single “Uncle Demon” and its terrifying video.

8. Demarco, “Duppy Know Who Fi Frighten” (2007)

While Tommy Lee might be the first (or last, depending on your viewpoint) of the current crop of Jamaican artists you’d think of to invite to a Halloween party, Demarco lewould have to get one too. While his music tends to the pop-y side of dancehall, he scored a hit with “Duppy Know Who Fi Frighten” on the Shootout riddim in 2007, and later followed with “Duppy Haffi Mek.” Honorebel mention to Busy Signal too, for voicing the equally scary “No Escape” on this fright night of a riddim.

7. Lee “Scratch” Perry, “Ketch Vampire”

You can’t talk reggae and Halloween without bringing Lee Perry belongs into the discussion— Scratch be the ultimate reggae Halloween costume. We’d tip our medallion-covered hat to anyone who could pull off something resembling his elaborate daily attire.

The Upsetter’s also got his share of tunes dealing with the undead, from 1970’s “Haunted House” to “Ghost Dance,” a 1967 track he cut for Prince Buster.. We’re not sure when “Ketch Vampire” was recorded, but we were put onto it via the appropriately titled 2002 Heartbeat Records release Baffling Smoke Signal.

6. Sancho, “Chase Vampire” (1988)

This one’s a New York dancehall classic! Guaranteed to rock a regular party as well as a Halloween party, it demands to be included on the strength of the intro alone: “This one…is like a horra movie!”

5. Peter Tosh, “Vampire (Dracula Version)” (1987)

“Vampires” was about figurative sort of bloodsuckers—politicians—not the literal kind, but the original Blackheart Mon definitely got into character with ghostly vocalizations on the intro.

4. Junior Reid, “One Blood” (1990)

The blood in the title really refers to racial harmony, but Junior Reid opens this classic pro-unity jam with the soul chilling acapella wail: Modern vampires of the city / huntin’ blood, blooooooooooood, blooo-hudd! –thereby giving Halloween party DJs an easy out for all eternity. No less of a Halloween-friendly group than Vampire Weekend took the name of their most recent album from the line.

3. Bob Marley, “Duppy Conqueror” (1973)

No overview of duppy tunes would be complete without this, the original. Of course Bob is talking about getting out of jail but the dub version will make you believe in duppies for real. Bob’s “Mr. Brown” also mentions duppies and has the crazy phantom of the go-go organ underneath spooky vocal effects.

2. Scientist, Rids The World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires (1981)

With a full LP of tunes like “Your Teeth In My Neck,” “Ghost of Frankenstein” (does that even make sense?) and “Plague of Zombies,” you could pretty much just let Scientist’s 1981 dub opus—a frontrunner for best dub album ever, in fact— play straight through at any Halloween party.

1. Ernie Smith/Inner Circle/Yellowman, “Duppy Gunman” (1974, 1982)

Image: JamminJASounds

Originally written and recorded by Ernie Smith, this lighthearted Jamaican ghost story has been re-cut by some of the island’s biggest acts, including Inner Circle and Yellowman. Each differs significantly one another. Horns (and the trombone in particular) figure prominently into Smith’s original, the inspiration and soundtrack for one of the most loved episodes of Jamaican TV show, Oliver at Large, while Inner Circle’s version (stream it over on Spotify) had more of a twangy, country flavor. And, with its foundation dancehall drum section, Yellowman’s 1982 version is sure to mash up your monster mash effectively.

Honorable Mention: Major Lazer, “Zumbi” feat. Andy Milonakis (2009)

Major Lazer’s zombie-killing has to get a mention and how can a song with an autotuned voice warbling “I eat out your brain” over a bashment rhythm not get some play on Halloween? And a big honorebel mention goes out to Major Lazer’s video for “Hold the Line” with Mr. Lexx and Santigold. While the song’s lyrics don’t deal

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Honorable Mention: Easy Star All-Stars feat. Spragga Benz and Mikey General, “Thriller”

The Easy Star All-Stars, the session band behind the Pink Floyd cover album Dub Side of the Moon, paid tribute to Michael Jackson’s Thriller last year with reggae versions of each of the classic MJ album’s cuts. For their version of the horror-movie-inspired title cut, the group enlisted singer Mikey General and, in the role of Vincent Price, Spragga Benz.