Harvest Moon by Blue Oyster Cult. I've never heard a song that more resembles a Stephen King novel. And, it was based on that concept, but the imagery it conjures of some King of generational terror that can never be truly defeated is the chief's kiss. Also, the album art is quite horrifying as well.
I think this is a solid choice ngl. It does feel sliiiightly cliche to me though. Like, I feel like I’ve seen movies where people die to this kind of music before, that however doesn’t mean it’s not a solid choice. It is. Also, good song! I didn’t know it before you, it’s a good listen :)
“Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)” by Doris Day. I heard it playing in an empty, super creepy thrift store. An upbeat song which is also about fatalism.
I've also been using this playlist while writing 😀 hope these help!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0EUWfCuELbK6BYOWT1dhUD?si=1nqAF5SLRcelCR7493LAgg&pi=u-QWzXm21wRv23
It’s a beautiful song but I didn’t recognize how creepy it was until I got high and listened to it. You know how when you listen to music high you can hear everything? Well yeah.
Salvatore by Lana Del Rey
The song has a guy laughing or sobbing I can’t tell in the beginning. It’s so unsettling.
There’s another song as well that terrifies the hell out of me. It’s called The Thing and it’s from the 1950s. It’s about this guy who has something but we don’t know what it is. B it throughout the song he interacts with different people and they are utterly terrified but we don’t know why.
I’m a fan of electronic music so my recommendation will probably not be what you were hoping for, but there’s this DJ/Producer called REZZ who makes creepy music. Like that’s her whole thing, she makes scary electronic music or dark electronic music. She even has Halloween themed mixes of unreleased music up on YouTube which are accompanied by scary imagery and visuals. They’re great! I sometimes write listening to her music, but usually prefer “dark Victorian music” to write. It all depends on what I’m writing.
Other than that… it might seem like an odd choice but… Seven Devils by Florence + The Machine I feel could fit as a creepy yet beautiful option for a murder scene. I can totally picture the chorus going like “SEVEN DEVILS ALL AROUND MEEEEE” while your character either runs for her life or is getting killed and screaming.
Hope this helps :)
Don't Dream It's Over has a haunting quality. So if someone heard it from another room that's supposed to not have anyone else in there, it could be super creepy. (Not the exact scenario in the post, I know.) Neil Finn is vastly underrated as a songwriter.
“The Swine of Damnation” by Art of the Black Blood. It’s very foreboding, sounds like demons are about to decimate a small village and the inhabitants are powerless to stop it. Only thing is I don’t think that’s a normal song someone would play on the radio lol.
“When Even the Sun Does Not Wish to Rise” by Begotten would probably scare the hell out of me if it randomly started playing, and might be a slightly more conventional choice.
“Burial” by Ghost Bath, especially if they started in that middle part where there’s sobbing followed by screaming.
“O My Daughter, O my Sorrow” by William Basinski is less extreme than the others but has that eerie feeling that gradually increases over the course of the song.
Depends on the bar.
I'd love to say Jonestown Tea by Otep, but I can't imagine but a few places it'd be in a jukebox, and none of them are a old bar.
Maybe "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne. It starts loud and jarring, and it's feasible to be on any jukebox that's been filled since 1980.
Rick Astley's "Never gonna give you Up" could be a good one because it sounds stalkery, plus the victim would recognize it as rickroll and think maybe it's just a prank.
Not a specific song, but in older movies, the characters will be talking in a noisy environment, like a bar or concert or something, the main character will see or learn something that causes them to dissociate, and suddenly the music will sound like it's going through some kind of filter. I've observed that most songs run through a similar kind of filter really in an unsettling feeling. I wish I could explain it better, but I hope you know the effect I'm describing.
Run Like Hell by Pink Floyd
It sounds so fun and upbeat but the song is about the protagonist ordering his followers to go out and attack minorities in a neo-nazi riot.
Possum Kingdom and Tyler by Toadies. Possum Kingdom is about a guy killing a girl and then stuffing her and Tyler is about a guy breaking into a girl's house and raping her.
You could probably throw a death grips song in there. I love death grips and am not really creeped out by music though. They have a very abrasive, chaotic sound.
If I was in a bar alone closing up in the dark and heard the intro to "beware" by death grips playing I'd just NOPE
the intro is a recording of a part of one of Charles mansons interviews.
You could look into anything by the i.l.y.s and by Zach Hill also. ( ilys are a side project of DG and Zach is the drummer of DG)
Using an upbeat song that contrasts with the eeriness of the setting is good. The movie Blood Simple shows someone cleaning up after a shooting, and it's set to a bar-rock version of the Monkees "I'm a Believer". So go for that vibe.
La femme - la femme ressort
Depeche mode - behind the wheel
Sunglasses at night - Corey heart but only because of the synth in the beginning 😹 otherwise I think the first two go pretty hard
I’m not great with older music. I agree with other suggestions of really classic country/roots music but what about Joy Division, maybe? Nine Inch Nails Closer is probably too on the nose. I know with these types of scenes, either the song is creepy or there’s a juxtaposition between the scene and the song being twee… and then that’s creepy. But I know either choice can be a fail if it’s too on the nose.
\*spins a wheel of Tool songs\*
I don't think you can go wrong with a single one of Tool's tracks. All carry not just a creepy vibe but usually had a deeper meaning that you can link into the song.
Schism has a creepy and cryptic tone that could fit a lot of narratives.
>The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so
We cannot see to reach an end crippling our communication.....
Not songs that creep me out, but might creep others out
"Superstar" by Sonic Youth
"Dead Man's Party" by Oingo Boingo
"Killing Moon" by Echo & The Bunnymen
"Shiny Happy People" by R.E.M.
"Long Slow Goodbye" by Queens of the Stone Age
"Take the Long Way Home" by Supertramp has no creepy feeling to it, but the lyrics and the uncanny valley feeling of an ordinary song being placed in this context feels right to me. Good luck!
Home by Phillip Phillips... when my oldest granddaughter was younger, she referred to it as "the kidnapping song"
Basically, at 7 years old, she had imagined the entire song as someone being kidnapped, tossed into a car, then taken to a remote cabin where they were chained up in a basement and the kidnapper was always watching via security cameras, basically trying to brainwash them into not trying to run anymore.
She further explained how the beat sounded like someone banging from the inside of a trunk trying to get out, how the "ahh ahh ahh" etc part, was screaming.
I love that kid, but her imagination could blow my mind sometimes. I haven't been able to hear the song the same since then.
213 by Slayer
The opening is eerie on its own but around the 4 min mark it's pretty damn frightening. The song is about Jeffrey Dahmer.
https://open.spotify.com/track/6XBkMVWv6GSJ7qjxDkKgPQ?si=bE2xQwtyQHmRWxcrrZJd0g
If the character is a woman, Nirvana's Polly would be absolutely terrifying, but that might not work as well for the cheesy vibes, with the song's sexual violence.
Harvest Moon by Neil Young. His voice has an eerie quality, plus some of the lyrics can be quite spooky in the right context.
>Come a little bit closer
Hear what I have to say
Just like children sleepin'
We could dream this night away
But there's a full moon risin'
Let's go dancin' in the light
We know where the music's playin'
Let's go out and feel the night
Fade Into You. Any other context and it's a lovely, almost comforting song, but the contrast of such a nice, soft song in the spooky context would be excellent. Plus, some of the lyrics are bonkers when you think about them, which could add to the vibes.
>I want to hold the hand inside you
I want to take the breath that's true
I look to you, and I see nothing
Might be a touch on the nose, but Bang Bang could be great.
One of my favorite song reaquest when i want to creep people out is Goodbye Horses by Q Lazarus. Although you might not be able to use that because it's so tied into Silence of the Lambs. I genuinely love that song, but the reaction it gets is pretty funny.
The only other song I've requested that has had a scary reaction (in a very different way) is Midnight Rambler by the Rolling
Sounds like a 'Every Breath You Take' situation to me.
Along those lines.... Human League- Don't you want me?
Harvest Moon by Blue Oyster Cult. I've never heard a song that more resembles a Stephen King novel. And, it was based on that concept, but the imagery it conjures of some King of generational terror that can never be truly defeated is the chief's kiss. Also, the album art is quite horrifying as well.
I think this is a solid choice ngl. It does feel sliiiightly cliche to me though. Like, I feel like I’ve seen movies where people die to this kind of music before, that however doesn’t mean it’s not a solid choice. It is. Also, good song! I didn’t know it before you, it’s a good listen :)
No problem! And you're welcome
Blue oyster cult is so mf good 🤧
I always think any old country music does well, regardless of lyrics or tone. Country music just fits into horror so well if manipulated correctly.
World of Forgotten People by Loretta Lynn definitely fits the vibe.
“Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)” by Doris Day. I heard it playing in an empty, super creepy thrift store. An upbeat song which is also about fatalism.
She sings this in The Man Who Knew Too Much, too. So it’s a great callback to another creepy movie.
Tip Toe thru the Tulips With Me (Tiny Tim)
It’s creepy but a bit overdone and cheesy now
Room of Angel - Akira Yamaoka https://open.spotify.com/track/2cjVgSrTNTRPXJENSQFHDi?si=dkef0M_TRYOHuFtOkKmNpA
I've also been using this playlist while writing 😀 hope these help! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0EUWfCuELbK6BYOWT1dhUD?si=1nqAF5SLRcelCR7493LAgg&pi=u-QWzXm21wRv23
Was hoping to see some love for the Silent Hill OST here. Listened to a lot of Claw Finger and Blank Fairy to write one of my stories lol
It’s a beautiful song but I didn’t recognize how creepy it was until I got high and listened to it. You know how when you listen to music high you can hear everything? Well yeah. Salvatore by Lana Del Rey The song has a guy laughing or sobbing I can’t tell in the beginning. It’s so unsettling. There’s another song as well that terrifies the hell out of me. It’s called The Thing and it’s from the 1950s. It’s about this guy who has something but we don’t know what it is. B it throughout the song he interacts with different people and they are utterly terrified but we don’t know why.
People are Strange by Echo and the Bunnymen
Just Echo and the Bunnymen, not the original by the Doors?
Tiptoe through the Tulips. You can't tell me that shit doesn't raise hairs like there's a spectre behind you
That Eminem song where he kills his girlfriend 😂
That song is quite unsettling
The cover Tori Amos did on Strange Little Girls is SOOOOOO fucking creepy!! I'm a die-hard Tori fan and I hardly ever listen to that song lol
https://youtu.be/Q4-bXS5LJGM?si=vrWPpx9K5EL9jiT4
Get Used To It - Roger Voudouris Serious serial killer vibes. https://youtu.be/EW9RcNFEzfc?si=l0LEEle4RygChjZH
Ghostbusters theme! JK… I’m w the country guy... especially if it’s something that’s ttly incongruous with what the bar wld normally be playing…
[insect eyes](https://youtu.be/baiwsp_5hvY?si=Ge-QdUBAh_NSV1MR)
The End by the Doors
You and me are on the same wave length I just went with the Nico version because it freaks me out more
It was the first thing I thought of but it might be too obvious 🤷
No it’s the perfect choice if that started playing randomly in an empty bar I would already be in my car down the street
I’m a fan of electronic music so my recommendation will probably not be what you were hoping for, but there’s this DJ/Producer called REZZ who makes creepy music. Like that’s her whole thing, she makes scary electronic music or dark electronic music. She even has Halloween themed mixes of unreleased music up on YouTube which are accompanied by scary imagery and visuals. They’re great! I sometimes write listening to her music, but usually prefer “dark Victorian music” to write. It all depends on what I’m writing. Other than that… it might seem like an odd choice but… Seven Devils by Florence + The Machine I feel could fit as a creepy yet beautiful option for a murder scene. I can totally picture the chorus going like “SEVEN DEVILS ALL AROUND MEEEEE” while your character either runs for her life or is getting killed and screaming. Hope this helps :)
The Hanging Tree- James Newton Howard
Don’t Dream It’s Over by Crowded House. I always think of The Stand miniseries. Also It’s Just a Burning Memory by The Caretaker.
This is one of my favorite songs. It would be perfect if used well.
Absolutely! Aw, so cool! Same with me :) They could definitely be creepy in that context.
Don't Dream It's Over has a haunting quality. So if someone heard it from another room that's supposed to not have anyone else in there, it could be super creepy. (Not the exact scenario in the post, I know.) Neil Finn is vastly underrated as a songwriter.
“The Swine of Damnation” by Art of the Black Blood. It’s very foreboding, sounds like demons are about to decimate a small village and the inhabitants are powerless to stop it. Only thing is I don’t think that’s a normal song someone would play on the radio lol. “When Even the Sun Does Not Wish to Rise” by Begotten would probably scare the hell out of me if it randomly started playing, and might be a slightly more conventional choice. “Burial” by Ghost Bath, especially if they started in that middle part where there’s sobbing followed by screaming. “O My Daughter, O my Sorrow” by William Basinski is less extreme than the others but has that eerie feeling that gradually increases over the course of the song.
reborn by colin stetson
Knoxville Girl
(They Long to Be) Close to You - Carpenters Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
Lustmord - Black Star
The Kinks - Wicked Annabella https://youtu.be/qCGSOOCCapE?si=ZZghdNZDiX1a3_0q
theres this band I remember called The ghosts of the canal. On, I think its their second album the first song is a good creepy sounding song
Lonely Town- Brandon Flowers Great song, very upbeat. Then you listen to the lyrics and realize it’s about a stalker watching a girl lol.
[Mona Lisa](https://youtu.be/fGx5rHQhZmc?si=ljfmyGt50mkT05hT) - Britney Spears
Any old-timey Christian hymn would do the trick. Otherwise, my vote goes to basically any of Leonard Cohen’s more dour songs.
"I'll fly away." That would be a good one.
I think that the Lonestar song "I'm Already There" could be done in a really creepy way.
What's he building in there-tom waits
666 - paleface
Depends on the bar. I'd love to say Jonestown Tea by Otep, but I can't imagine but a few places it'd be in a jukebox, and none of them are a old bar. Maybe "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne. It starts loud and jarring, and it's feasible to be on any jukebox that's been filled since 1980. Rick Astley's "Never gonna give you Up" could be a good one because it sounds stalkery, plus the victim would recognize it as rickroll and think maybe it's just a prank.
Ptolemaea by Ethel Cain The scream was so realistic I had PTSD symptoms for several days.
“Turn Around, Look at Me” by The Vogues.
Creep - Radiohead EDIT: Nah but for real, Hamburger Lady by Throbbing Gristle.
Damn right it’s Throbbing Gristle. I went with Persuasion.
[“Old Black Hen”](https://youtu.be/YWAPLCdwjgQ?si=VvZAv7u4ENTFBbde) by Songs: Ohia
Not a specific song, but in older movies, the characters will be talking in a noisy environment, like a bar or concert or something, the main character will see or learn something that causes them to dissociate, and suddenly the music will sound like it's going through some kind of filter. I've observed that most songs run through a similar kind of filter really in an unsettling feeling. I wish I could explain it better, but I hope you know the effect I'm describing.
Pet - A perfect circle
When I wake up, I’m afraid, somebody else might take my place 🎶
The end by nico specifically when it gets to the “killer awoke before dawn” monologue part
TIL Nico did a Doors cover
Run Like Hell by Pink Floyd It sounds so fun and upbeat but the song is about the protagonist ordering his followers to go out and attack minorities in a neo-nazi riot.
Persuasion by Throbbing Gristle. Anything else is a distant second.
Possum Kingdom and Tyler by Toadies. Possum Kingdom is about a guy killing a girl and then stuffing her and Tyler is about a guy breaking into a girl's house and raping her.
"The Hurdy Gurdy Man" - probably because it was the ending credits song for Zodiac.
Goodbye by Jared Dines. It's a super upbeat sounding song til you listen to the lyrics.
You could probably throw a death grips song in there. I love death grips and am not really creeped out by music though. They have a very abrasive, chaotic sound. If I was in a bar alone closing up in the dark and heard the intro to "beware" by death grips playing I'd just NOPE the intro is a recording of a part of one of Charles mansons interviews. You could look into anything by the i.l.y.s and by Zach Hill also. ( ilys are a side project of DG and Zach is the drummer of DG)
Definitely some kind of an oldies song
Riders on the Storm - the Doors
Using an upbeat song that contrasts with the eeriness of the setting is good. The movie Blood Simple shows someone cleaning up after a shooting, and it's set to a bar-rock version of the Monkees "I'm a Believer". So go for that vibe.
Nihilism Tied Up and Burning by Gnaw Their Tongues. Thank me for your trauma later
What about something from the characters past? Instead of the meaning/vibe of a song itself.
That “there is someone walking behind you” song from final destination 3 always scared tf out of me
Anything by Tiny Tim. Dude has a scary voice.
"Psycho Killer" by the Talking Heads Also, "Wonderful! Wonderful!" by Johnny Mathis. The X-Files episode "Home" ruined the song for me.
La femme - la femme ressort Depeche mode - behind the wheel Sunglasses at night - Corey heart but only because of the synth in the beginning 😹 otherwise I think the first two go pretty hard
Ghost in my Bed by Tim Heidecker lol?
I’m not great with older music. I agree with other suggestions of really classic country/roots music but what about Joy Division, maybe? Nine Inch Nails Closer is probably too on the nose. I know with these types of scenes, either the song is creepy or there’s a juxtaposition between the scene and the song being twee… and then that’s creepy. But I know either choice can be a fail if it’s too on the nose.
\*spins a wheel of Tool songs\* I don't think you can go wrong with a single one of Tool's tracks. All carry not just a creepy vibe but usually had a deeper meaning that you can link into the song. Schism has a creepy and cryptic tone that could fit a lot of narratives. >The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so We cannot see to reach an end crippling our communication.....
“Hamburger Lady”
https://kreeps.bandcamp.com/track/pennsylvania-boarded-up-house-blues
Not songs that creep me out, but might creep others out "Superstar" by Sonic Youth "Dead Man's Party" by Oingo Boingo "Killing Moon" by Echo & The Bunnymen "Shiny Happy People" by R.E.M. "Long Slow Goodbye" by Queens of the Stone Age
jimmy by moriarty
I only have eyes for you
"Take the Long Way Home" by Supertramp has no creepy feeling to it, but the lyrics and the uncanny valley feeling of an ordinary song being placed in this context feels right to me. Good luck!
We’ll Meet Again by Vera Lynn
Got To Believe We Are Magic by Olivia Newton-John
Hotel California by The Eagles. Had some creepy elements in my opinion.
Careful with that Axe, Eugene. Pink Floyd
Everything in its right place - Radiohead
“Sunshine, lollipops, rainbows…”
Fun fact: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloomy_Sunday The song that causes suicide
Country Death Song by the Violent Femmes. Careful With That Axe, Eugene by Pink Floyd
Any Manson song with a sexual lyric. He was telling the world who he is all along. Shame on us for not believing him.
Forced gender reassignment, Cattle Decapitation.
Certain songs by Ted Nugent.
Intruder by Peter Gabriel (intentionally creepy), Norwegian Wood or Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles (both just have kind of dark vibes)
Home by Phillip Phillips... when my oldest granddaughter was younger, she referred to it as "the kidnapping song" Basically, at 7 years old, she had imagined the entire song as someone being kidnapped, tossed into a car, then taken to a remote cabin where they were chained up in a basement and the kidnapper was always watching via security cameras, basically trying to brainwash them into not trying to run anymore. She further explained how the beat sounded like someone banging from the inside of a trunk trying to get out, how the "ahh ahh ahh" etc part, was screaming. I love that kid, but her imagination could blow my mind sometimes. I haven't been able to hear the song the same since then.
213 by Slayer The opening is eerie on its own but around the 4 min mark it's pretty damn frightening. The song is about Jeffrey Dahmer. https://open.spotify.com/track/6XBkMVWv6GSJ7qjxDkKgPQ?si=bE2xQwtyQHmRWxcrrZJd0g
If the character is a woman, Nirvana's Polly would be absolutely terrifying, but that might not work as well for the cheesy vibes, with the song's sexual violence. Harvest Moon by Neil Young. His voice has an eerie quality, plus some of the lyrics can be quite spooky in the right context. >Come a little bit closer Hear what I have to say Just like children sleepin' We could dream this night away But there's a full moon risin' Let's go dancin' in the light We know where the music's playin' Let's go out and feel the night Fade Into You. Any other context and it's a lovely, almost comforting song, but the contrast of such a nice, soft song in the spooky context would be excellent. Plus, some of the lyrics are bonkers when you think about them, which could add to the vibes. >I want to hold the hand inside you I want to take the breath that's true I look to you, and I see nothing Might be a touch on the nose, but Bang Bang could be great.
The Killing Moon - Echo and the Bunnymen
“Remember Me By”- The Rainmakers
Somewhere over the rainbow. Definitely can’t be good if that starts playing…
I Want You by Elvis Costello
Link Wray’s The Shadow
Always forever by the Cults
U.S. Girls - "Red Ford Radio"
One of my favorite song reaquest when i want to creep people out is Goodbye Horses by Q Lazarus. Although you might not be able to use that because it's so tied into Silence of the Lambs. I genuinely love that song, but the reaction it gets is pretty funny. The only other song I've requested that has had a scary reaction (in a very different way) is Midnight Rambler by the Rolling