Jason Kelce has a Taylor Swift pick for Halloween: Folklore. He brought up the album while discussing which songs belong on the holiday’s soundtrack.
The Oct. 14 episode of New Heights included a conversation about “Thriller,” “Monster Mash” and the Ghostbusters theme before the brothers turned to Swift’s catalog, according to PEOPLE.
“Has Taylor ever made a Halloween song?” Jason asked Travis. His brother and cohost said he didn’t believe she had.
The album Jason suggested actually arrived in midsummer. Swift released her eighth studio album on July 24, 2020, just 16 hours after announcing it, Pitchfork reported at the time.
Jason Pointed to the Woods, and His Producer Agreed
Jason described the record as having a “kind of in the woods” feel. Producer Brandon Borders, known to listeners as Intern Brandon, agreed, calling it “very Fall coded.”
The black-and-white cover places Swift among towering trees, with the singer occupying only a small part of the photograph. Her official store identifies that version of the album as the “in the trees” edition.
Swift had a specific character in mind when developing the artwork with photographer Beth Garrabrant. In a December 2020 interview with Entertainment Weekly, she described imagining a “girl sleepwalking through the forest in a nightgown in 1830.” She sent Garrabrant a mood board before the two headed out with bags of film to take the photographs.
During a July 2024 concert in Hamburg, Swift explained how she found the location. Pandemic restrictions had left her arranging her own wardrobe, hair and makeup, and she contacted a friend who had woods behind her house. Swift ordered nightgowns online and brought them to the shoot, according to Entertainment Tonight.
The ‘Cardigan’ Video Built Its Forest Inside a Soundstage
Swift directed the album’s “Cardigan” video, which sends her through a glowing piano into a forest before leaving her clinging to the instrument in a stormy sea. She eventually returns to the cabin where the story began.
Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto told Vanity Fair that all three settings were created on a Los Angeles soundstage. Filming indoors accommodated the effects and helped prevent photographs from revealing the project before its release.
Swift had mapped the visuals to specific moments in the song beforehand. The crew filmed without playing the track aloud, with some members working on the elaborate scenes without having heard the music.
‘Willow’ Continued the Story on ‘Evermore’
“Willow” belongs to Evermore, the companion album Swift released on Dec. 11, 2020. Its video begins where “Cardigan” leaves off, returning to the cabin and piano before sending Swift on another journey.
This time, she follows a golden thread toward a love interest played by Taeok Lee. The video includes a nighttime woodland gathering with cloaked figures, an image Swift later carried into her Eras Tour performance through hooded costumes and glowing orbs.
She also gave the song several explicitly witch-themed versions. Swedish producer Elvira Anderfjärd remixed the “Dancing Witch” edition, while subsequent releases included “Lonely Witch” and “Moonlit Witch.”
Announcing the quieter “Lonely Witch” version in December 2020, Swift joked about witches wanting music for pining, sulking and staring out of windows, according to uDiscover Music. “It’s me. I’m witches,” she wrote.