Here comes Halloween. What’re some of the scariest songs you know? Add to this playlist in the Comments.
And proceed with caution. Some scary songs are fun in a costume-party, make-believe kind of way. Some are scary in ways that are useful, because they’re telling the truth about disturbing matters. And then there are scary songs that actually seem designed to do us harm… and I’d rather not give those any attention.
Me, I got a bit of chill from this creepy new track by Eskimeaux: “Pocketful of Posies” from O.K.:
And here are some more favorites that send shivers up my spine…
This one, which is as much fun now as it was when it first crept into my ears and laid eggs:
Is there any rock song with scarier nails-on-a-chalkboard dissonance than Peter Gabriel’s “Intruder”?
And then, once in a while, the extreme creepiness of a song’s lyrics can be completely undermined by the insane 1980s absurdity of the music video. Take, for instance, “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” by The Police:
Okay, enough of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Here’s a song from a recent record that is unsettling all the way through:
Finally, I’m just going to say a name: Nick Cave.
Where do I begin with the Nick Cave songs that scare me? Maybe here? Can you believe a song with these lyrics ended up in a Harry Potter movie?
As a kid, my introduction to Pink Floyd was from the day my dad had left his Umma Gumma record playing in the basement, and I wandered into the room while “Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict” came chanting out of the stereo. Confused and thinking the room was full of monsters, I took one look at the album cover, freaked out and ran away screaming.
I think mine generally lean towards creepy or ominous more than “scary”, but here are a few: The Decemberists – The Shankill Butchers, 16 Horsepower – Black Soul Choir, Modest Mouse – This Devil’s Workday, Tom Waits – (take your pick…how about Earth Died Screaming or What’s He Building).