The story behind Halloween's creepiest song 👻

+ GOP house dysfunction is all part of the plan US Edition - Today's top story: How Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor became Halloween's theme song [View in browser]( US Edition | 31 October 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Trump’s violent threats are more than mere bluster]( - [Managers who pick favorites hurt the productivity of employees – even those who benefit]( - [How language triggers an identity crisis for the kids of Latino immigrants]( Lead story Most everyone who celebrates Halloween will recognize the ominous opening chords. But far fewer probably know that the spooky organ piece is called Toccata and Fugue in D minor – and that heavyweight composer Johann Sebastian Bach penned the tune. Megan Sarno, a music professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, explains how Bach’s Toccata and Fugue is an example of what scholars call “sticky music” – songs not written with a specific meaning or use in mind, but which, over time, come to represent a specific holiday, ceremony or tradition. “Bach,” [she writes](, “could not have thought that his nearly 9-minute organ piece would become so strongly associated with haunted houses and sinister machinations.” Of course, the sound of an organ – always a bit creepy to today’s ears – certainly doesn’t hurt the cause. [ [Sign up for our weekly Global Economy & Business newsletter, with interesting perspectives from experts around the world](. ] Nick Lehr Arts + Culture Editor In Bach’s era, the pipe organ was one of the world’s most technologically advanced instruments. 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