Scary Music
I admit, Halloween is among my favorite holidays. But most of the scary music is discouraging in terms of setting up a really creepy mood. Maniacal laughter, backbeats, and pop hits just don’t cut it. So I’ve browse through the internet to look for the best scary or creepy music.
Horror Soundscapes — You’ll have to look throughout lots of silly music to see the gems within this genre. The following are good for setting the appropriate mood.
1. The Dark Soundscapes series by Terror Syndicate.
2. Halloween Horror Music by Raw Fear. This song alternates horror soundscapes with weird melodies.
3. Monster’s Halloween Party. This is the ultimate scary music and sounds for the
Halloween. You’ll see some variations with bonus songs that are a little bit dull, but don’t allow that to discourage you. iTunes gives the unadulterated songs, that you actually need.
Soundtracks — The downside of soundtracks is that you are provided short snippets of the music, but they don’t last enough. Still, you can’t make a mistake with Charlie Clouser (the master of the genre), who has partnered with Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, as well as others. Here are some recommendations:
4. Resident Evil: Extinction by Charlie Clouser
5. Saw III by Charlie Clouser (make sure to have the disc with the original motion picture score, made available from iTunes)
The Classics. If you choose music from the classical category, there are truly just a few pieces which are appropriate. You’ll come across a lot of lists with recommendations just like Symphonie Fantastique or Dream of The Witches Sabbath from Berlioz, but the music changes key and mood quite often to be useful in a spooky Halloween environment. Stick with these pieces:
6. Danse Macabre by Saint-Saens
7. Devil’s Dance by John Williams (of Star Wars as well as Harry Potter fame)
8. O Fortuna from Carmina Burana by Orff
9. Isle of the Dead by Rachmanoniff
10. Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Bach
11. Funeral March from Sonata No. 2 in Bb Minor by Chopin
12. Night on Bald Mountain by Moussorgsky
13. So far, the finest compilation CD you’ll come across, that includes most of the pieces above, is Music That Goes Bump in the Night from the movie: Fright Night. Even though some songs fall under the shifting mood group, you can always just pick out which scary music to play. But get the Sony release, made available from iTunes or Rhapsody that has two times the variety of tracks.
Modernist Music — A lot of people find this scary music unsettling, which explains why it has been utilized widely as horror movie music.
14. Black Angels by George Crumb
15. Adagio from Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta by Bela Bartok
There you have it, 15 scary songs or scary music to choose from. So turn out the lights, turn up the volume, and let your imagination go.
