This Halloween, indie folk-pop duo Freedom Fry teamed with actress Vinessa Shaw, who starred as Allison in the 1993 classic Hocus Pocus, on a reimagining of “Come Little Children,” featured in the film.
The haunting lullaby is sung by witch Sarah Sanderson (Sarah Jessica Parker), who uses it to lure children to the Sanderson cottage. It was written by James Horner.
The slowed-down cover track is featured on the new EP Haunts, a collection of five acoustic Halloween reimaginings that’s available now.
Vinessa Shaw and Freedom Fry released a limited edition 7” vinyl that features “Come Little Children” on Side A, with an exclusive a cappella version on Side B. The vinyl is available in three different editions, including signed versions, and can be ordered here.
Freedom Fry says, “Halloween is our favorite holiday, and the mood of the music and subject matter of the lyrics are way more exciting to us than typical pop songs. We started thinking about songs from some of our favorite horror and horror-comedy films like ‘Scream,’ ‘Halloween,’ and of course ‘Come Little Children’ from ‘Hocus Pocus.’ It felt good to keep everything acoustic and whispery, and really lean into the spookiness.
“Vinessa has an awesome voice with a huge range, and we love what she brought to the song. We hope these become songs that people want to put on when they’re looking for that Halloween mood but want something a little different and fresh,” the duo continues.
Vinessa Shaw adds, “I was a fan of Freedom Fry’s music before I ever met them in person. While they were working on their ‘Haunts’ project, they found out that I was creating my own music and contacted me to see if I wanted to collaborate. When they gave me the rough cut of the song, I freaked out. It sounded perfectly eerie, but in a classy, Mamas and the Papas kind of way. Coming from a barbershop quartet background, I had all these ideas about adding more harmonies to make it even eerier, and I even thought I’d risk doing a spoken-word part. I’m so happy we found each other and had the opportunity to create this unique take on a Halloween classic. And I love that this song happens to come from everyone’s favorite Halloween movie, one that shaped so many people’s childhoods, including my own.”
Haunts EP Tracklist:
1. Come Little Children (ft. Vinessa Shaw)
2. Red Right Hand
3. Thriller
4. Halloween Theme
5. Zombie Love (Acoustic)
