"Welcome to My Nightmare" is the first track on the concept album of the same name, which marked Alice Cooper's first solo recording effort. Cooper performed his song as the opening number on episode 307 of The Muppet Show in a set that evoked a smoky, dilapidated crypt populated by bats and skeletons. In addition to wearing his traditional face make-up, Cooper was dressed as Dracula and began the number by rising from a coffin. He was joined partway through the song by the Vile Bunch (consisting of Chopped Liver, Silver Beak, Purple Heap, a guitarist, and a drummer), a back-up that materialized from thin air after the first verse.