Ghost release the alternative version of Mary On A Cross that everyone on TikTok can't get enough of

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By ( Metal Hammer ) published

After an alternative version of Ghost's Mary On A Cross surged in popularity on TikTok, it's now been given an official release... and it's all somehow thanks to Stranger Things

Ghost's Tobias Forge with his arms spread apart on stage
(Image credit: Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty Images)

Ghost have shared an alternative version of their track Mary On A Cross, the original of which was released in 2019 on the Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic single.

The new reimagining of the song - which has been slowed down with added reverb - was first posted by TikTok user @editingtherapy, who used it as a soundtrack for a video edit about the latest series of the sci-fi/horror show Stranger Things.

The Stranger Things fan community on the video-sharing platform is vast; its hashtag has over 100 billion views, which gives any video related to the series an added chance to hit the viral stratosphere.

Following the inclusion of Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill and Metallica's Master Of Puppets on the show, both songs have rocketed in popularity. Now, it looks like Ghost's Mary On The Cross is having its very own Stranger Things moment... without even having been featured on the series.

On TikTok, the Mary On A Cross hashtag has over 260 million views, and has been used to soundtrack a variety of different clips (some are even strangely of pets). Most of the creations focus around the concept of finding beauty in stereotypically "unconventional" things, centred around the lyric 'Your beauty never ever scared me'.

Since the TikTok surge, Mary On A Cross has received a major influx in streams on Spotify (now at 57 million) and Apple Music (4 million), and, at the time of writing, it's currently at number 33 in Spotify's Viral Hits chart.

Ghost fans have mixed feelings about the song's new viral status; some wish to gatekeep the tune, fearing that it'll be under-appreciated by those without a historical appreciation for the band, while some are happy that its popularity will in turn attract more fans.  Others are simply amused by the fact that TikTokkers are finding profound meaning within the song when in reality, it's supposedly about engaging in oral sex with someone.

Check out some reactions and listen to the new version below:

Liz Scarlett
Liz Scarlett
Content Editor

Liz manages Louder's social media channels and works on keeping the sites up to date with the latest news from the world of rock and metal. Prior to joining Louder as a full time staff writer, she completed a Diploma with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and received a First Class Honours Degree in Popular Music Journalism. She enjoys writing about anything from neo-glam rock to stoner, doom and progressive metal, and loves celebrating women in music.