It is officially the Halloween season, at least in my head. For the past four days, a very specific, incredibly bouncy 1930s novelty track has been playing on a 24/7 loop in my mind.
Yes, I am talking about Andrew Gold's "Spooky Scary Skeletons."
“Spooky, scary skeletons send shivers down your spine / Shrieking skulls will shock your soul, seal your doom tonight…”
It hits right when I open my eyes in the morning. It keeps time with the beat of my footsteps while I walk down the street. It even forms the background music while I am trying to focus on serious work emails. I don't know why it chose this exact week to strike, but it's there. It won't leave. And it turns out, there is actual science behind why our brains decide to hold our thoughts hostage with cheesy holiday loops.
The Anatomy of an "Earworm"
What I am experiencing is what scientists officially call Involuntary Musical Imagery, but the rest of the world knows it simply as an earworm. The term actually comes from the German word ohrwurm, which paints a delightfully creepy and highly appropriate for October picture of a musical insect crawling into your ear to nest. According to experts, nearly 90% of people experience an earworm at least once a week. Our brains don't usually trap entire symphonies, instead, they lock onto a 15 to 30 second fragment usually a highly repetitive hook or chorus.
Why "Spooky Scary Skeletons" is the Perfect Mental Trap
When you look at the data, "Spooky Scary Skeletons" is practically engineered to become an earworm. Psychologists note that songs with a tempo of around 124 beats per minute are the most likely to get stuck because that speed matches the natural pace at which humans like to move and dance. The original version of Gold's track sits right in that sweet spot, and the famous electronic remixes utilized across social media push it into an even snappier, hyper driven tempo. Add in a simple, rising and falling xylophone melody that mimics a literal skeleton dancing, and your brain stands absolutely no chance.
How to Evict the Ghost in the Machine
If you are currently suffering through your own loops of Halloween novelty music, science does offer a few escape hatches to break the cycle:
- Listen to the full song: Give your brain the closure it wants. Go to YouTube or Spotify, play the track from the very first second to the absolute end, and force your brain to acknowledge the "task" is finished.
- Chew some gum: It sounds bizarre, but studies suggest that the motor action of chewing gum interferes with the target brain regions we use for internal singing and subvocalization.
- Engage in a complex puzzle: Give your working memory something hard to do. A heavy math problem, an intense crossword, or a demanding video game can successfully override the background track.
As for me? I think I might just let the skeletons dance for a few more days!
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