Helter Skelter - The Beatles

Halloween special - Song for the Week

With today being Halloween, this week’s song had to be a spooky tune.

I toyed with the idea of some Dusty Springfield, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins or even go rogue and whack on McFly’s Transylvania but then it dawned on me… what’s scarier than a song that inspired a murderous cult?

So, it had to be Helter Skelter, a seemingly innocent song that Charles Manson and his ‘family’ adopted as their inspiration for a murder spree and plan to incite a race war.

Paul McCartney wrote in Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now “I was using the symbol of a helter skelter (a playground slide) as a ride from the top to the bottom -the rise and fall of the Roman Empire…. This was the demise, the going down. You could have thought of it as a rather cute title but it’s since taken on all sorts of ominous overtones because Manson picked it up as an anthem.”

It’s hard to imagine The Beatles could have envisioned the song’s title being written in blood on Leno LaBianca’s fridge following his and his wife’s brutal murder.

Manson is said to have believed the song carried a subliminal message, that the words helter and skelter separately meant little but together meant chaos. Despite his apparent charisma and ability to manipulate, Manson was a failed musician with a chip on his shoulder. Add on top that the song was on The White Album, which Manson used to reinforce his racist beliefs and what do you get? A cult intent on inciting a race war, committing gruesome murders that the world would have to take note of.

I often talk about the power music can have on your mindset, but Charles Manson took that to a level I hope isn’t replicated in the future.