It was released on June 26, 1979 through vocalist Glenn Danzig's own label, Plan 9 Records, and is commonly said to have been inspired by the unsolved murder of Nancy Spungen.

The single's cover artwork features a skeletal figure inspired by the titular character from the 1946 film serial The Crimson Ghost.

On October 12, 1978, the body of Nancy Spungen was discovered in the bathroom of her room at Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City.

[1] After learning of his death, Only helped Beverley collect Vicious's possessions,[6] and invited her to attend a Misfits recording session.

Studios in New York, where the band had recorded their proposed debut album Static Age a year prior.

[1] Writer and vocalist Glenn Danzig insisted that the band record as many tracks as possible during their allotted time in the studio in an effort to save money.

[8][1] However, the song's lyrics have also been noted as possible references to the 1960 film Psycho,[8][9] which features a scene involving a character being stabbed to death in a bathroom.

[10] The first pressing of the "Horror Business" single, issued by Danzig's own label Plan 9 Records on June 26, 1979, consisted of 25 sleeveless black 7" vinyl copies.

"[9]The songs "Horror Business", "Teenagers from Mars", and "Children in Heat" have been re-released multiple times since the single was first issued.

[15][18] "Teenagers from Mars" was also included on the album Static Age, which was part of the boxed set and which received a standalone release in 1997.

[19] The Misfits had first made use of the character's likeness in a flyer promoting one of their gigs on March 28, 1979 at Max's Kansas City, after Danzig and Only came across a picture of the Crimson Ghost while searching for images to silkscreen on T-shirts.

"[19] Dan Ozzi of Diffuser.fm ranked "Horror Business" #7 on his list of the 10 best Misfits songs, and noted the "vague" nature of the track's lyrics.