Vinessa Shaw, who starred as Allison in the 1993 cult classic “Hocus Pocus,” has joined forces with indie folk-pop duo Freedom Fry for a haunting new cover of “Come Little Children.”
The reimagined track serves as the lead single for Freedom Fry’s upcoming acoustic EP, “Haunts,” dropping Oct. 9. The five-track project trades campy Halloween novelty for stripped-down, whispery arrangements, covering iconic horror and Halloween songs.
“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,” Freedom Fry said in a statement. “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.’ Vinessa has an awesome voice with a huge range, and we love what she brought to the song.”
For Shaw, the collaboration grew out of a mutual admiration for the duo’s music.
“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,” Shaw said. “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,” Shaw added. “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.”
To celebrate the release, Shaw and Freedom Fry are dropping a limited-edition 7-inch vinyl featuring “Come Little Children” on Side A and an exclusive a cappella version on Side B. Three vinyl variants, including signed copies, are currently available for pre-order.
The single follows Freedom Fry’s recent acoustic cover of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
“Haunts” EP Tracklist:
- “Come Little Children” (feat. Vinessa Shaw)
- “Red Right Hand”
- “Thriller”
- “Halloween Theme”
- “Zombie Love (Acoustic)”
“Haunts” arrives Oct. 9 on all major streaming platforms.
