Swedish rockers Ghost’s 2019 B-side “Mary On A Cross” has been experiencing a resurgence online, going viral on TikTok after being used in a fan-made video in July.
The track appeared in a clip on the platform that featured an edit of scenes from Stranger Things centered around characters Will Byers (played by Noah Schnapp) and Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard).
The video has since been viewed more than 2.2 million times on TikTok and inspired many other users to soundtrack their videos with the song. Although there is no one trend associated with the track, creators have been setting it to videos of them transitioning between looks, celebrating Ghost’s unexpected popularity on TikTok, live clips of the band, and more.
As a result of “Mary On A Cross”’s resurgence on the app, the song is now also experiencing a fresh surge in streams on both Spotify and Apple Music. The track is now Ghost’s most-streamed song on Spotify with over 47 million streams, while it is also at No.9 in the Viral 50 Global Chart.
“Mary On A Cross” was released in 2019 as part of the Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic EP, and served as the B-side to “Kiss The Go-Goat.” “You go down just like Holy Mary, Mary on a, Mary on a cross,” Tobias Forge sings in the chorus. “Not just another Bloody Mary, Mary on a, Mary on a cross/If you choose to run away with me, I will tickle you internally/And I see nothing wrong with that.”
During the Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic era of Ghost, Forge adopted the character of Papa Nihil. In “Mary On A Cross,” the frontman’s alter ego is said to be singing to Sister Imperator, the head of the clergy in the band’s extended universe.
Ghost isn’t the first act to boast a viral hit or streaming surge thanks to Stranger Things. With the latest season, Metallica’s “Master Of Puppets” benefitted from being on the show’s soundtrack, experiencing a big streaming boost from it.
The band shared a statement about the show’s usage of the track after the episodes premiered, writing: “The way the Duffer Brothers have incorporated music into Stranger Things has always been next level, so we were beyond psyched for them to not only include ‘Master of Puppets’ in the show but to have such a pivotal scene built around it.
“We were all stoked to see the final result, and when we did, we were totally blown away… it’s so extremely well done, so much so that some folks were able to guess the song just by seeing a few seconds of Joseph Quinn’s hands in the trailer!! How crazy cool is that?”
