Spine chillers : songs that give you the creeps

When I was a kid the "Late Lament" ending portion of the album version of "Nights In White Satin" used to scare me half to death. From the haunting orchestral music to Graeme Edge's deep voice. And then the loud gong at the end!

 

When I was a kid, my 45 singles record collection included the single "Zabadak" by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich (released in the U.S. on the Imperial label). That song wasn't scary, but the B-side was creepy as they come: "The Sun Goes Down" is about a man condemned to die by hanging (I think). It's still a little unnerving, with the tolling bells and then that sudden cut-off ending, which almost made me wet my britches back then.

The Sun Goes Down - Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich (1967)

 

Pink Floyd's Echoes. Side 2 of Meddle. Turn off the lights when you play this. Half way through it sounds as if you are being taken into the depths of hell, and if your system can do the low end of the sound spectrum, there appears to be moaning, groaning and shrieks to send chills down your spine. Then the music builds until you are thrust out of hell into the sunlight. Wow, what an album side. But hard to listen to alone in the dark. You'll always be waiting for that hand to reach out behind you and touch your shoulder!

 

That's actually Mike Pinder's voice. He read some of Graeme's poetry. Back then, Graeme didn't have that raspy voice he has now.

Since you mentioned the Moodies, I love the song, "Watching and Waiting" but find Mike's Mellotron and Justin's vocals in the verses a bit eerie and haunting, in a good way if that makes sense.

 

Really?! All these years I thought it was Edge on the original, probably because he reads that part from the Live At Red Rocks show. Fantastic CD and DVD btw, but now I'm getting off topic....

 

william sheller un homme heureux

 

Yes, Pinder had left the band years before Red Rocks, so Graeme did his own parts. I have both DVD and CD. Great show indeed, even if Justin was wearing way too much makeup. LOL

Here's a good read on Graeme and his poetry:

Graeme Edge: He's just the poet in a rock 'n' roll band | Lehigh Valley Press

Sorry, Speedracer, for jumping off topic. Topics just seem to morph into other topics sometimes.

 

This song (and album) is so great!

 

Aphex Twin's 1997 track and accompanying OMV 'Come to Daddy' has a particularly dystopian 'creepy' feel. Watch at your discretion.

Aphex Twin - Come To Daddy (Director's Cut) - YouTube

 

As a kid I found this one creepy and intriguing....maybe those dramatic strings..

 

The opening music to Doctor Who in the mid-70s always spooked me as a kid, and later the song by ELO "Fire on High" creeped me out lol.

 

I always loved the Eddie Murphy/Joe Piscopo version of that on SNL (as Stevie Wonder and Frank Sinatra), but if you try and see it on YouTube they hacked it all up to remove all the humor from the bit.

 

and the poem leading off OTTOAD when the computer breaks in

 

Skinny Puppy-Choralone, 1989
Peter Gabriel-The Family And The Fishing Net, 1982
These two give me the willies

 

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat
Peter Gabriel - Intruder
Phil Collins - Thru These Walls

 

Dreams -Allman Brothers Band.
This had been a favorite of mine. However, that changed when it came on while I sat in my car freaked out at the destruction in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“This will surely be the end of me.”
And the incredible guitar playing suddenly became very unsettling.
Had a mini nervous breakdown. (Then, at some point, like the song, I had to “dust myself off” and getting back in the race, mucking out my house…)

 

The opening of Zep's "In The Light" is pretty creepy.

 

That is heavy - accessing the deeper scarier blues, a favorite of mine and can see how it could be a frightening soundtrack to devastation. Inspired to hear you dusted yourself off and got back in the race. I could really picture it from your description. I hope things are better now.

 

This always creeped me out when I was a kid.

 

And the pimps swung their axes and said, Johnny, you're a cheater
And the pimps swung their axes and said, Johnny, you're a liar
And from out of the shadows came a young girl's voice
Said, Johnny, don't cry

Springsteen, Incident on 57th Street

 

My go-to recording whenever asked this question. Listening to it on headphones has been known to turn people into pancakes:



White Noise / Here Come The Fleas

 

The Shining soundtrack


The Shining (Main Title)
Written by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind
Performed by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind
Based on "Dream of a Witches' Sabbath" from Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz and traditional requiem "Dies Irae"

Lontano
(uncredited)
Written by György Ligeti
Performed by Sinfonie-Orchester des Südwestfunks
Conducted by Ernest Bour

The Awakening of Jakob
(uncredited)
Written by Krzysztof Penderecki
Performed by Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia w Katowicach (as Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra)
Conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki

Utrenja - Ewangelia
(uncredited)
Music by Krzysztof Penderecki
Performed by Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia w Katowicach
Conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki

Utrenja - Kanon Paschy
Music by Krzysztof Penderecki
Performed by Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia w Katowicach(uncredited)
Conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki (uncredited)

De Natura Sonoris No. 1
Music by Krzysztof Penderecki
Performed by Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia w Katowicach(uncredited)
Conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki (uncredited)

De Natura Sonoris No. 2
Music by Krzysztof Penderecki
Performed by Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia w Katowicach(uncredited)
Conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki (uncredited)

Polymorphia
Music by Krzysztof Penderecki
Performed by Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia w Katowicach(uncredited)
Conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki (uncredited)

Masquerade
(uncredited)
Music by John Jacob Loeb
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Performed by Jack Hylton and His Orchestra

Midnight, the Stars and You
(uncredited)
Written by Jimmy Campbell, Reginald Connelly, and Harry M. Woods
Performed by Ray Noble Orchestra with Al Bowlly

It's All Forgotten Now
(uncredited)
Written by Ray Noble
Performed by Ray Noble Orchestra with Al Bowlly

Home (When Shadows Fall)
(uncredited)
Written by Peter Van Steeden, Geoffrey Clarkson, and Harry Clarkson
Performed by Henry Hall and the Gleneagles Hotel Band

Kanon for 52 String Orchestra and Tape
(uncredited)
Music by Krzysztof Penderecki

Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta (Movement III)
Music by Béla Bartók
Conducted by Herbert von Karajan
Recorded by Deutsche Grammphon
Performed by Berliner Philharmoniker (uncredited).

 

The Golden Palominos - Victim

lyrics and vocal by Nicole Blackman

 

This: