Recommendation of Scary Music: That Song That’s Actually Frightening
One facet of music as an art form is that it can evoke fear—just hearing it can send chills down your spine.
In this article, we’re spotlighting a range of pieces under the theme of scary music.
From classic horror movie theme songs to classical music at the core, plus rock and popular music, we’ve curated a wide selection! Some tracks might not seem particularly scary when you’re just listening, but once you learn the backstory, they suddenly become terrifying… You might make discoveries like that.
Be sure to check it out!
- A seemingly scary nursery rhyme: a children’s song that gives you the chills when you hear it
- Chills down your spine. A collection of Vocaloid songs that are scary but irresistibly listenable.
- Anime songs to listen to on Halloween: Theme and insert songs from anime about yokai and ghosts
- [If You Can Sing These, You're Amazing!] Cool Karaoke Songs for Women
- A collection of cool songs that sound great when sung by women, originally male songs
- [Played in the Parks] A Special Feature on Iconic and Popular Songs from Disney Halloween
- [Fun] A Collection of Children’s Songs Featuring “Ghosts”
- Hits you hard! A collection of dark and cool Vocaloid songs
- Vocaloid Halloween Song Special [Trick or Treat]
- Yami songs recommended for women
- [Yandere] A Special Feature on Chilling Vocaloid Love Songs
Recommendation of Terrifying Music: Actually Scary Songs (1–10)
Symphony No. 9Ludwig van Beethoven
It’s probably the most famous staple of classical music in Japan.
Better known as “the Ninth,” Beethoven’s Symphony No.
9 is also regarded as an indispensable piece for year-end concerts in Japan.
There are likely very few people who haven’t heard the “Ode to Joy” in the fourth movement.
Although Beethoven himself didn’t give it a title, the number nine simply indicates that it was the ninth symphony he composed.
So what’s scary about this famous classical work? After composing it, Beethoven died, and in later generations a rumor spread among composers known as the “curse of the ninth symphony,” the fear that composing a ninth would cost you your life.
It’s largely an urban legend, but there’s a real anecdote that Mahler, mindful of this, titled his tenth symphonic work “Das Lied von der Erde” (The Song of the Earth).
With that background in mind, listening to it might give you a little shiver… perhaps?
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988J.S.Bach
There are quite a few classical pieces that have become associated with fear simply because they were used as soundtracks in films.
One such piece is the set of harpsichord variations published by Bach—revered as the “Father of Music”—in 1741, commonly known as the Goldberg Variations.
As music, it demands a high level of performance technique, and it remains a masterpiece of classical music that performers around the world continue to take on, from the renowned interpretation by the shockingly brilliant pianist Glenn Gould onward.
At the same time, if you’ve seen a certain film, you might find this work overwhelmingly ominous.
In the 1990 masterpiece The Silence of the Lambs, the piece is used in a shocking scene to heighten the fear to the utmost.
The music’s very image may be altered for you, so those who haven’t seen the film yet should be forewarned.
I’m Afraid Of AmericansDavid Bowie
From a heavy, slow, anxiety-stoking intro to muttered, murmuring vocals… David Bowie’s “I’m Afraid of Americans” is a track that overwhelms with a decadent atmosphere and massive sound.
Hard, industrial-like phrases repeat in a hypnotic flow.
True to its title, it conveys frustration toward America with biting irony, beautifully and eerily transmuting anger into music—a digital rock tune that was ahead of its time.
Recommendation of terrifying music: Actually scary songs (11–20)
Theme from JawsJohn Williams
A track included on the soundtrack of the popular 1975 film Jaws, composed by John Williams, who also wrote themes for films like Star Wars.
Famous as the theme of Jaws, this piece is a simple track that skillfully mixes tension and release, yet features an unforgettable phrase that, once heard, sticks in your mind.
It heightens anxiety and fear with rich horror elements, creating music that makes your spine tingle.
Cannibal HolocaustRiz Ortolani
If anything, this is the very first song I want people who don’t know the background to hear.
The warm acoustic guitar phrases, the unhurried, calming rhythm, and the melody carried by flowing strings are so beautiful that they’re sure to soothe the hearts of listeners who come to it fresh.
That said, this only applies to those who truly know nothing about it.
Composed by the renowned Italian composer Riz Ortolani, this piece, Cannibal Holocaust, is the theme for the notorious 1980 film of the same Japanese release title, “Shokujin-zoku” (Cannibal Tribe), which also caused quite a stir in Japan at the time.
Once you learn that, many of you will wonder why such a beautiful theme was used for a film with a title like that.
There’s a deliberate technique of pairing shock or horror films with unexpectedly beautiful theme music, and this track is a quintessential example.
The song plays repeatedly over some truly outrageous scenes in the film, and the overlap of the gorgeous melody with the terrifying imagery creates an intensely striking effect.
The film itself isn’t something I can generally recommend, but… if you’re curious, by all means!
Careful With That Axe, EugenePink Floyd
It’s a masterpiece that lets you experience an indescribable kind of fear—completely different from the intentionally staged terror of background music! It’s a hidden early gem by Pink Floyd, the pinnacle of British progressive rock and a band that also achieved record-breaking commercial success.
The song first appeared as the B-side to the UK single “Point Me at the Sky,” released in 1968.
Even though it was a B-side, it was frequently performed live at the time, which shows how important a place it held in their repertoire.
It’s packed with the psychedelic atmosphere characteristic of their early work, and the impact of the moment when bassist and vocalist Roger Waters suddenly lets out a scream as if he’s gone mad is absolutely staggering.
Also note that it was re-recorded and included in the soundtrack to Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1970 masterpiece Zabriskie Point under the new title “Come in Number 51 (Your Time Is Up).”
Tubular BellsMike Oldfield
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this is one of the most famous main theme songs in horror film history worldwide.
“Tubular Bells” became a hit not only in the United States but also in Japan as the theme for the classic horror film The Exorcist, and just listening to it vividly brings back scenes from that terrifying movie.
In fact, this main theme is an arranged and re-recorded version of the distinctive main phrase that opens Part 1 of British musician Mike Oldfield’s 1973 solo album Tubular Bells.
There’s a behind-the-scenes story that Oldfield himself had no involvement in the performance or arrangement of the film version, but that doesn’t diminish the value of the piece.
If you only know The Exorcist version, be sure to give the original album a listen as well.