Take a Halloween-Inspired Look Back at Taylor Swift's Spookiest Lyrics, from Ghosts and Graveyards to Haunted Houses

Mar. 15, 2025

Taylor Swift in the “Look What You Made Me Do” video.Photo:Taylor Swift/Youtube

Taylor Swift/Youtube

Taylor Swiftdeclared her reign over fall back in 2012 when she releasedRed.The album, while not inherently spooky, was emblematic of autumn. And over the course of 11 studio albums and four re-recorded albums, the 14-time Grammy winner has amplified her references to the spooky, creepy and haunting things in life.

From ghosts and monsters to witches and waking up in blood, here are the spookiest lyrics the pop superstar has conjured up, just in time for Halloween.

“Picture to Burn” fromTaylor Swift

“I’m just sitting here planning my revenge.”

“The Story of Us” fromFearless

“And I’m dying to know, is it killing you like it’s killing me, yeah.”

“Sparks Fly” fromSpeak Now

“Give me something that’ll haunt me when you’re not around.”

“Better Than Revenge” fromSpeak Now

“Time for a little revenge.”

“Haunted” fromSpeak Now

“Can’t breathe whenever you’re gone / Can’t go back, I’m haunted.”

“Last Kiss” fromSpeak Now

“I’ll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep.”

“Ours” fromSpeak Now

“Ghosts from your past gonna jump out at me, lurking in the shadows with their lip gloss smiles.”

“Innocent” fromSpeak Now

“Wasn’t it beautiful, running wild ‘til you fell asleep, before the monsters caught up to you?”

“And then the cold came, the dark days when fear crept into my mind.”

“I Knew You Were Trouble” fromRed

“And the saddest fear comes creepin’ in.”

“Ronan” fromRed

“And it’s about to be Halloween.”

“Treacherous” fromRed

“I’ll follow you, follow you home.”

“Blank Space” from1989 (Taylor’s Version)

“Darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream.”

“Bad Blood” from1989 (Taylor’s Version)

“Still got scars in my back from your knives.”

“How You Get the Girl” from1989 (Taylor’s Version)

“Stand there like a ghost, shaking from the rain."

“Wonderland” from1989 (Taylor’s Version)

“I should have slept with one eye open at night.”

“This Love” from1989 (Taylor’s Version)

“Your smile, my ghost, I fell to my knees.”

“Clean” from1989 (Taylor’s Version)

“I screamed so loud but no one heard a thing.”

“Out of the Woods” from1989 (Taylor’s Version)

“But the monsters turned out to be just trees.”

“I Did Something Bad” fromReputation

“They’re burning all the witches, even if you aren’t one. So light me up.”

“…Ready for It” fromReputation

“But if he’s a ghost, then I can be a phantom.”

“Getaway Car” fromReputation

“Well he was running after us, I was screaming, ‘Go, go, go!’”

“Cruel Summer” fromLover

“Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes.”

“The Archer” fromLover

“I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost.”

“Paper Rings” fromLover

“Now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe.”

“Daylight” fromLover

“Not the things that haunt me in the middle of the night.”

“My Tears Richochet” fromFolklore

“You know I didn’t want to have to haunt you, but what a ghostly scene.”

“Mirrorball” fromFolklore

“Hush, I know they said the end is near.”

“Seven” fromFolklore

“I’ve been meaning to tell you, I think your house is haunted.”

“This Is Me Trying” fromFolklore

“Could’ve followed my fears all the way down.”

“Invisible String” fromFolklore

“Cold was the steel of my axe to grind.”

“Mad Woman” fromFolklore

“And women like hunting witches, too.”

“Cardigan” fromFolklore

“You drew stars around my scars, but now I’m bleeding.”

“Gold Rush” fromEvermore

“I don’t like that falling feels like flying ‘til the bone crush.”

“No Body, No Crime” fromEvermore

“I wasn’t lettin’ up until the day he died.”

“Happiness” fromEvermore

“Past the blood and bruise, past the curses and cries.”

“Ivy” fromEvermore

“I’d meet you where the spirit meets the bones.”

“Marjorie” fromEvermore

“What died didn’t stay dead / You’re alive, you’re alive in my head.”

“Anti-Hero” fromMidnights

“When my depression works the graveyard shift, all of the people I’ve ghosted stand there in the room.”

“Glitch” fromMidnights

“And I’m not even sorry, nights are so starry, blood moonlit.”

“Vigilante S—” fromMidnights

“Draw the cat eye, sharp enough to kill a man.”

“Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” fromMidnights

“If clarity’s in death, then why won’t this die?”

“Dear Reader” fromMidnights

“Dear reader, if it feels like a trap, you’re already in one.”

“My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” fromThe Tortured Poets Department

“The voices in his head / Called the rain to end our days of wild”

“Down Bad” fromThe Tortured Poets Department

“Down bad, wakin' up in blood.”

“So Long, London” fromThe Tortured Poets Department

“Two graves one gun.”

“Florida!!!” fromThe Tortured Poets Department

“Well, me and my ghosts, wе had a hell of a time / Yes, I’m haunted, but I’m feeling just fine.”

“Guilty as Sin?” fromThe Tortured Poets Department

“I’m seeing visions / Am I bad or mad or wise?”

“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” fromThe Tortured Poets Department

“You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me.”

“loml” fromThe Tortured Poets Department

“Still alivе, killing time at the cemetery / Never quite buried.”

“The Black Dog” fromThe Tortured Poets Department

“And hire a priest to come and exorcise my demons / Even if I die screaming.”

“I remember you said don’t leave me here alone, but all that’s dead and gone and passed tonight.”

“Keep your aim locked, the night goes dark.”

“Beautiful Ghosts” from theCatsmovie soundtrack

“I feel so alive with these phantoms of night.”

“Only the Young” from theMiss Americanadocumentary

“You’re screaming inside and frozen in time.”

source: people.com