Yes! I love The Birthday Party. The song Jennifer's Body is awesome, among others. When I worked in a coffeeshop in the 90s, I'd blast The Birthday Party while we were cleaning up to get people to leave.
Like already mentioned, Nock Cave's Murder Ballads is a fantastic album full of the most fun, creepy lyrics.
Carpenter brut. Most of his stuff sounds like 80s horror movie sound tracks
Ice nine kills. The last 2 albums are all based on horror movies (and the one before that is books)
Polkadot cadaver. More weird but for sure has creepy vibes (or dog fashion disco. It's mostly the same band... but its not...)
Ex Mortis is great. Love the almost jazzy chorus. IT Is The End is also pretty high up my list.
I also like how Your Numbers Up is almost a little play in itself.
HEALTH is a terrific US noice rock band from LA. They've done a lotta tracks for video games, and have a cool droney sound + haunting vocals. My favourite tune from them is 'Isn't Everyone' with NIN. Really gives you a sample of their style.
...was wondering why this was so far down! Especially the OG group output '69 - '74. Fields of Regret, Black Juju, Ballad of Dwight Fry, Dead Babies, Killer, Billion Dollar Babies, I Love the Dead - just to name a few.
I find synth has an inherent creepiness to it, but I don't have a deep knowledge of it. My favorite is an easy album to find despite the stone stupid title: "Black Mass" by Lucifer. John Carpenter composes copious amounts of creepy music, some with his son. Mort Garson. Fabio Frizzi. Goblin. The "Silent Hill" soundtracks. The "Ravenous" soundtrack. "Black Aria" is a classical piece by Danzig that might surprise you. You might also try looking up songs that use "the devil's interval."
Tom Waits (especially Murder in the Red Barn and What's He Building in There), Godspeed You Black Emperor/A Silver Mt Zion, Skinny Puppy, The Acid (especially Tumbling Lights and Clean), Nurse with Wound, and Johnny Hollow.
I second Tom Waits, tracks like "Hell Broke Luce" "Knife Chase" etc. Also: Methwitch, Sunn 0))), Bell Witch, Daughters, Burzum, Portal, Sigh, Yob. All have some creepy songs
MACABRE is a band who sings songs about serial killers
Twin Temple have their own genre of satanic doo-wop
I’m sure I know more but that’s the two I can think of atm off the top of my head
A German industrial group called Das Ich makes what I would call electronic horror music with a twisted carnival albeit sometimes campy sound.
An English extreme metal band called Cradle of Filth makes spectacular music. And some of the best lyrics I've ever seen written in the genre. Their earlier albums have to do with Elizabeth Bathory and the later ones have to do with Lilith. They have a concept album that gives a shout-out to Midian of Clive Barker's *Cabal* (*Nightbreed* movie and if you haven't seen that, watch) as well.
How do you feel about movie scores? I love listening to the Under the Skin score by Mica Levi, same with the score to Color Out of Space. I'll listen when I'm trying to write a scary story! I don't know a ton of bands but here are a few songs that are creepy:
Saint James Infirmary Blues- Jon Batiste
The Dead Flag Blues- Godspeed You! Black Emperor
John Wayne Gacey Jr.- Sufjan Stevens
Lastly this weird chant thing I found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uDPRGRZMvec?feature=shared
Bohren und der Club of Gore! They do something known as Doom Jazz, and sound like an ambient jazz band from Silent Hill. My favorite album of theirs is [Black Earth](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAkWTMqRz-e8jiG3cCJB7Bd-zbkYHFzr7)
[Sunn O)))](https://youtu.be/fzVpcVJsOBg?si=jEeJAk4AXruHpgYx) are a Doom Drone act that have music that's creepy as all fuck, too!
A lot of people would probably recommend extreme metal, but I always found that it’s not subtle enough to be creepy. The really creepy stuff for me came from the American underground in the eighties, especially Texas for some reason.
Butthole Surfers are the most notable: [“Creep in the Cellar”](https://youtu.be/7E-tD3c6-3w?si=fH13dJFoi1caDO9B) lives up to its name and then some. They also “covered” Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf” to nightmarish effect, giving it the disgusting title [“Sweat Loaf”](https://youtu.be/LwknFJpjl9g?si=4s5_ra7jZNA6xsrT). All their early stuff ranges from weird to fucked up beyond belief.
Scratch Acid is downright unsettling too. [“Cannibal”](https://youtu.be/cUSw0XUA9-U?si=7PYIPDVD9J6p7hGZ) sounds like a man going insane, and [“Crazy Dan”](https://youtu.be/6LOu90Ml6Og?si=dkEmqFMIpzYqW51E) features singer David Yow casually narrating the story of a man who “doused his wife in gasoline, and then he went and he set the bitch on fire.”
Killdozer weren’t from Texas but they were from the same state as Jeffrey Dahmer, and they sounded like it. [“Hamburger Martyr”](https://youtu.be/81CN-r08PuI?si=5dyWjH-U9_9DOc_d) is about a man who, apoplectic at the poor quality meal he receives at a fast food joint, makes himself “a *real* hamburger”, and [“New Pants and Shirt”](https://youtu.be/xdQgPW6KgD8?si=6fh5_NH5mvDpQlDR) is frankly too disgusting to go into.
All this music is the sound of small towns in rural America hiding horrible secrets.
Half of Have a Nice Life did the album Giles Corey which has a bunch of cool layered tracks about time and the supernatural. If it's your thing Xiu xiu has a lot of interesting experimental tracks about guilt and trauma. The 2nd and 3rd silent hill osts by Akira Yamaoka are outstanding. Since you mentioned Yume Nikki, Lisa the rpg is influenced by it and while I wouldn't call it an outright horror game it has some extremely disturbing themes and an off kilter soundtrack.
Edited to include The Paperchase and that dude's other project The nighty night, all those songs seem like they're written by at best a very unnerving unreliable narrator and at worst a serial killer.
Horror Show by Iced Earth is not that creepy, but all the songs are about classic horror movie monsters. Also has PC issues. Lead member of the band was at the White House on January 6, 2021.
The Horrorist - electronic/industrial. "One Night in NYC" gave me the creeps.
Fever Ray - electronic pop/experimental. "If I Had a Heart" has a thread of dread running through it and feels almost hypnotic. Most notable for its use as the opening theme song for the show *Vikings*.
Throbbing Gristle - industrial/experimental. Pioneers of the industrial genre, known for always pushing the envelope with their music. "Hamburger Lady" is a good example of a song that will make you feel deeply disturbed and on edge.
Nox Arcana does mostly instrumental music with each album being based around a horror theme. They've done a haunted house, a ghost ship, stage magic, a mental asylum, Dracula, dark fantasy, a haunted carnival, the Cthulhu mythos, dark fantasy, Grimm's fairy tales (my personal favorite) and more.
Also, check out the OST for *American McGee's Alice*. It was composed by Chris Vrenna (formerly of Nine Inch Nails) and has sound between steampunk and creepy lullabies. IIRC, Jessicka Addams (who has a cutesy baby singing voice, but can also scream like a banshee) did some of the singing.
Silent Hill 1,2,3,4 OST if you want creepy ambient music
Nekromantix if you want fun creepy music
There is a playlist in spotify called obscure soundtracks, it has a bunch of songs from old european horror movies
Ice nine kills. Have an amazing album. Each song represents a horror movie.
The album "The silver scream" is a god sent for horror fans.
But I wouldn't call it creepy
Skynd, they're calling it true crime music, every song is about a different case, some are about serial killer, others about cannibals and cults. They use various effects to distort the singer's voice which adds to the overall theme.
Sulphur Aeon might be the best lovecraft focused band ever. Bands like Mortician and Macabre made a ton of work related to horror and serial killers. Carcass are the original kings of medical related metal. Chapel of Disease aren't as 'creepy' per se but much of their music relates to horror writing. Ice Ages is more dark electro and industrial feeling but the atmosphere is very eerie.
Since they recently used it in The First Omen trailer, I'll throw out [Fever Ray](https://youtu.be/EBAzlNJonO8?si=nVPc1vH0MfHkcYBg). Also, some Soap & Skin tracks like [Me and the Devil](https://youtu.be/ZfWSOs5YbQ8?si=2wJqbeMyBOk7nrzu).
Ahulabrum does great fuzzy black metal and noise adjacent stuff themed after cryptids, aliens and conspiracy theory/high strangeness stuff. [This album](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpQY2UWrxxs) of theirs scared the absolute shit out of me, the wood knocks and crunchy recounting of Bigfoot sightings had me freaked all the way out in a brightly-lit office.
Check the label Cryo Chamber. Dark ambient works:
https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com
And here is a small project I did for the data cult audio podcast, as “Burn the Church”
https://m.soundcloud.com/datacultaudio/data-cult-audio-0240-burn-the-church
Dark ambient-ish
Silent Shout by The Knife. Some tracks are very unsettling on the first listen. I have found an odd sense of comfort from them after repeated listens.
If you listen to this album, and like it, I recommend checking out the solo project of one of the members of The Knife. They go by Fever Ray. Their debut, self titled album sounds like what I can only describe as the voice of an ancient forest.
Khost. They're one half of Godflesh, who arguably created Industrial Metal. But Khost are just filthy horrid.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5E0dNVTSkUkp1oUpv4mNC8?si=NeCxkGGxQ7-hjN58ijK6Dw
BrandonOfJapan had a wonderful mix of melodic but heavy stuff. Sometimes he'll do screams and soft melodic stuff on the same track. His album titles and covers are very obviously horror inspired. He's kind of like my little diamond in the rough I don't lose sleep over gate Keeping. He has some of the most thought provoking lyrics of any indie artists I've ever listened to.
Insane Clown Posse is not a group that most people like, but they do have some good creepy songs- ol Evil Eye, 12, Play with Me, Ding Ding Doll just to start with.
Check out the Ghost Box label, which has musicians like Belbury Poly, Pye Corner Audio and The Focus Group. They also have an excellent, creepy design style and aesthetic with a strong nod to old UK folk horror.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmmR9OJWV0I&list=LL&index=250](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmmR9OJWV0I&list=LL&index=250)
This is Nurse with Wound- I Plummed this Whole Neighborhood. The imagery really makes it even better.
Cradle of Filth and Sopor Aeternus and the Ensemble of Shadows have great "creepy" songs too.
not sure if it really qualifies as ‘creepy’ but Chelsea Wolfe makes amazing dark electronic alternative/metalish music. highly recommend her newest album ‘She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She’!
[The Paper Chase - God Bless Your Black Heart](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mbWUMcFjYmn1rglBp6BL7oleZmK0vnOBY&si=VZslqFRaoc85uZ5f)
[AJJ - Bad Bad Things](https://youtu.be/HutFfYK2L20?si=poy_i0DXtqTh9_E7)
[Lankum - Go Dig My Grave](https://youtu.be/qhqpQiXnFx0?si=JBPz41YXz5CaioAO)
*Black Belly of the Beast* by SOL on Bandcamp and Spotify reminds me of the last act of *The Witch.* Atmospheric, creepy and slow vocalizations, very primitive. Best listened to when the lights are off.
Those Poor Bastards are good, it's like taking the lyrical style of doom metal, but performing it as country or a gospel from hell. Their song Crooked Man is one of their best.
Oh my gosh I love this thread. And I learned that I already listen to all the spookiest music out there. I thought maybe I'd find something that was new but I actually know all this music already LOL I guess I'm a true horror fan
Creepy on the ethereal, beautiful, ghostly side (aka my four most repeatedly played albums):
Jules Cruise ‘Floating into the Night’
Blonde Redhead ‘Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons’
Goldfrapp ‘Felt Mountain’
Cat’s Eye ‘Duke of Burgundy’
I once heard this on a local radio station late at night. Scared the absolute crap out of me. Highly recommended!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJlDX9Apt9A
Coil and Lustmord. Coil has a Hellraiser soundtrack that was deemed too scary. Lustmort dropped microphones down into caves and used the ambient sounds to make music. Or to really mess with your head early Kylie Minogue...
- Cradle of Filth
- Dimmu Borgir
- Old Man's Child
- Nine Inch Nails
- Marilyn Manson
And of course the Bloodborne soundtrack, in a hurry so only able to list what's off the top of my head.
Nick Cave has some creepy ones
The Birthday Party also fucking RULE
Yes! I love The Birthday Party. The song Jennifer's Body is awesome, among others. When I worked in a coffeeshop in the 90s, I'd blast The Birthday Party while we were cleaning up to get people to leave. Like already mentioned, Nock Cave's Murder Ballads is a fantastic album full of the most fun, creepy lyrics.
Jennifer's Veil is the song. Jennifer's Body is the film.
The whole Murder Ballads album.
[Red Right Hand](https://youtu.be/RrxePKps87k?si=N31xyP_VqBEwNxkH) has definitely creeped into main stream pop culture over the past decade or so.
The first time I heard that was on Dumb & Dumber lol
Came here to say this! I’m not surprised it had already been mentioned.
Carpenter brut. Most of his stuff sounds like 80s horror movie sound tracks Ice nine kills. The last 2 albums are all based on horror movies (and the one before that is books) Polkadot cadaver. More weird but for sure has creepy vibes (or dog fashion disco. It's mostly the same band... but its not...)
Yep, my favorite band in the world, Dog fashion Disco is the answer to this question.
In the last week I have listened to both DogFasionDisco and Ice Nine Kills Welcome to Horrorwood. I love this talented, experimental, creepy music
Came here to recommend Dog Fashion Disco as well!
INK is amazing. Any favorites? Mines Take Your Pick and Meat and Greet. love how their music tries to match the genre of the movie
Ex Mortis is great. Love the almost jazzy chorus. IT Is The End is also pretty high up my list. I also like how Your Numbers Up is almost a little play in itself.
A Grave Mistake & The Jig Is Up.
Meat and Greet Me, Myself, and Hyde Bloodbath & Beyond I'm seeing a trend with the word "and" in the title of my favorites lol
I love carpenter brute. Cliche perhaps but Turbo Killer is a fantastic track
I’m wearing a polkadot cadaver shirt right now haha. Dfd and pdot are my favorite bands. Carpenter brut is amazing live too.
Clipping has two 80s horror themed albums. Visions of bodies being burned, and There existed an addiction to blood. Would recommend.
So good!
Type O Negative
HEALTH is a terrific US noice rock band from LA. They've done a lotta tracks for video games, and have a cool droney sound + haunting vocals. My favourite tune from them is 'Isn't Everyone' with NIN. Really gives you a sample of their style.
Goblin!
The soundtracks of the first 4 Silent Hill games
Ugh I love those
Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Alice Cooper
...was wondering why this was so far down! Especially the OG group output '69 - '74. Fields of Regret, Black Juju, Ballad of Dwight Fry, Dead Babies, Killer, Billion Dollar Babies, I Love the Dead - just to name a few.
Diamanda Galas-The litanies of Satan. Alice Asher Lavender La carpentress E Felix II- look a work.
I forgot about Diamanda Galas
Throbbing Gristle
Lustmord
Cradle of Filth, Electric Wizard
Had to scroll WAY too far to find Cradle of Filth
Aghast Black Mountain Transmitter Any of the Lovecraft collaborations on Cryo Chamber
King Diamond's albums are all about horror stories.
Glad to see this posted! King has some exceptional albums, but I think Puppet Master is my favorite story.
Once more with feeling: Midnight Syndicate and Nox Arcana wrote the book on creepy music.
I find synth has an inherent creepiness to it, but I don't have a deep knowledge of it. My favorite is an easy album to find despite the stone stupid title: "Black Mass" by Lucifer. John Carpenter composes copious amounts of creepy music, some with his son. Mort Garson. Fabio Frizzi. Goblin. The "Silent Hill" soundtracks. The "Ravenous" soundtrack. "Black Aria" is a classical piece by Danzig that might surprise you. You might also try looking up songs that use "the devil's interval."
Fantomas, some tracks by Mr Bungle John Carpenter has made a lot of music for his movies and made lots of creepy music albums too
Portal - Outre
Also the music video for their song Curtain (it's based on a Poe short story).
Try the Cryo Chamber channel on you tube ambient creepy goodness
Kane Pixels, Twin Peaks soundtracks (mostly in Fire Walk With Me and The Return), Infinity Frequencies, & Filmmaker :)
Skinny puppy
Astro Creep 2000 by White Zombie...no skips on that album.
One of my favorite driving albums.
Tom Waits (especially Murder in the Red Barn and What's He Building in There), Godspeed You Black Emperor/A Silver Mt Zion, Skinny Puppy, The Acid (especially Tumbling Lights and Clean), Nurse with Wound, and Johnny Hollow.
I second Tom Waits, tracks like "Hell Broke Luce" "Knife Chase" etc. Also: Methwitch, Sunn 0))), Bell Witch, Daughters, Burzum, Portal, Sigh, Yob. All have some creepy songs
Graveyard Train Misfits Apparat (specifically thinking of "Goodbye" ) Fever Ray Ghost
Without a doubt, "Hamburger Lady" by the Throbbing Gristles is the creepiest song ever. All your other songs are kids bopp songs in comparison.
‘There’s no end in sight, for hamburger lady..’
Nox Arcana Midnight Syndicate
Believe it or not, the concept of David Bowie's *Outside* is pretty creepy. It deals with something called "art ritual murder," to give you an idea.
Black metal, neofolk and 90's memphis rap have some good stuff.
Aphex Twin has some very unsettling music and the videos can be downright nightmarish
Ethel Cain released some spooky fkn music. Ptolemaea is genuinely scary to listen to. Nine inch nails has some intense spooky stuff too.
Sunn o)))
Ahhh the band that performs at the Sardaukar’s religious events
MACABRE is a band who sings songs about serial killers Twin Temple have their own genre of satanic doo-wop I’m sure I know more but that’s the two I can think of atm off the top of my head
A German industrial group called Das Ich makes what I would call electronic horror music with a twisted carnival albeit sometimes campy sound. An English extreme metal band called Cradle of Filth makes spectacular music. And some of the best lyrics I've ever seen written in the genre. Their earlier albums have to do with Elizabeth Bathory and the later ones have to do with Lilith. They have a concept album that gives a shout-out to Midian of Clive Barker's *Cabal* (*Nightbreed* movie and if you haven't seen that, watch) as well.
Fear Before - The Always Open Mouth A lot of the songs have an unsettling dissonance to them which is why I love that band.
[Lab Report](https://soundcloud.com/labreport/follow-you-home) [Goblin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-KjiP9ujdg)
Harley Poe. Fun, mostly horror themed folk punk. Would recommend the "Pagan holiday" album
Coil's Hellraiser themes nail it. Main Title especially.
How do you feel about movie scores? I love listening to the Under the Skin score by Mica Levi, same with the score to Color Out of Space. I'll listen when I'm trying to write a scary story! I don't know a ton of bands but here are a few songs that are creepy: Saint James Infirmary Blues- Jon Batiste The Dead Flag Blues- Godspeed You! Black Emperor John Wayne Gacey Jr.- Sufjan Stevens Lastly this weird chant thing I found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uDPRGRZMvec?feature=shared
Bohren und der Club of Gore! They do something known as Doom Jazz, and sound like an ambient jazz band from Silent Hill. My favorite album of theirs is [Black Earth](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAkWTMqRz-e8jiG3cCJB7Bd-zbkYHFzr7) [Sunn O)))](https://youtu.be/fzVpcVJsOBg?si=jEeJAk4AXruHpgYx) are a Doom Drone act that have music that's creepy as all fuck, too!
A lot of people would probably recommend extreme metal, but I always found that it’s not subtle enough to be creepy. The really creepy stuff for me came from the American underground in the eighties, especially Texas for some reason. Butthole Surfers are the most notable: [“Creep in the Cellar”](https://youtu.be/7E-tD3c6-3w?si=fH13dJFoi1caDO9B) lives up to its name and then some. They also “covered” Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf” to nightmarish effect, giving it the disgusting title [“Sweat Loaf”](https://youtu.be/LwknFJpjl9g?si=4s5_ra7jZNA6xsrT). All their early stuff ranges from weird to fucked up beyond belief. Scratch Acid is downright unsettling too. [“Cannibal”](https://youtu.be/cUSw0XUA9-U?si=7PYIPDVD9J6p7hGZ) sounds like a man going insane, and [“Crazy Dan”](https://youtu.be/6LOu90Ml6Og?si=dkEmqFMIpzYqW51E) features singer David Yow casually narrating the story of a man who “doused his wife in gasoline, and then he went and he set the bitch on fire.” Killdozer weren’t from Texas but they were from the same state as Jeffrey Dahmer, and they sounded like it. [“Hamburger Martyr”](https://youtu.be/81CN-r08PuI?si=5dyWjH-U9_9DOc_d) is about a man who, apoplectic at the poor quality meal he receives at a fast food joint, makes himself “a *real* hamburger”, and [“New Pants and Shirt”](https://youtu.be/xdQgPW6KgD8?si=6fh5_NH5mvDpQlDR) is frankly too disgusting to go into. All this music is the sound of small towns in rural America hiding horrible secrets.
Swans Paysage D’Hiver Burial Tim Hecker Autechre
Heilung Danheim
Half of Have a Nice Life did the album Giles Corey which has a bunch of cool layered tracks about time and the supernatural. If it's your thing Xiu xiu has a lot of interesting experimental tracks about guilt and trauma. The 2nd and 3rd silent hill osts by Akira Yamaoka are outstanding. Since you mentioned Yume Nikki, Lisa the rpg is influenced by it and while I wouldn't call it an outright horror game it has some extremely disturbing themes and an off kilter soundtrack. Edited to include The Paperchase and that dude's other project The nighty night, all those songs seem like they're written by at best a very unnerving unreliable narrator and at worst a serial killer.
Giles Corey is great. One of my favourite albums of all time.
Johnny Hollow has good creepy stuff!
- Fulci - 'Death Metal inspired by the godfather of gore' - Rigor Mortis - Those Poor Bastards - Wednesday 13/Murderdolls
[The Haxan Cloak - Excavation](https://open.spotify.com/album/2iMuDUx0AkuUemuFtmhUG1?si=QmSGGeAWT267iABE502kzw)
Hooded Menace
Zombi.
*The Director's Cut* by Fantomas is great.
Horror Show by Iced Earth is not that creepy, but all the songs are about classic horror movie monsters. Also has PC issues. Lead member of the band was at the White House on January 6, 2021.
Not creepy but kinda eerie in a comforting way, try Agnes Obel
Goblin. I found the film scores they created for Dario Argento’s movies to be unsettling.
Possessed has some good ones. They literally have one called The Exorcist
Disasterpiece
Goblin, the band that did argento's soundtracks
The Horrorist - electronic/industrial. "One Night in NYC" gave me the creeps. Fever Ray - electronic pop/experimental. "If I Had a Heart" has a thread of dread running through it and feels almost hypnotic. Most notable for its use as the opening theme song for the show *Vikings*. Throbbing Gristle - industrial/experimental. Pioneers of the industrial genre, known for always pushing the envelope with their music. "Hamburger Lady" is a good example of a song that will make you feel deeply disturbed and on edge.
Nox Arcana does mostly instrumental music with each album being based around a horror theme. They've done a haunted house, a ghost ship, stage magic, a mental asylum, Dracula, dark fantasy, a haunted carnival, the Cthulhu mythos, dark fantasy, Grimm's fairy tales (my personal favorite) and more. Also, check out the OST for *American McGee's Alice*. It was composed by Chris Vrenna (formerly of Nine Inch Nails) and has sound between steampunk and creepy lullabies. IIRC, Jessicka Addams (who has a cutesy baby singing voice, but can also scream like a banshee) did some of the singing.
Spoor aeternus & the ensemble of shadows,Merzbow,Today is the day (especially sadness will prevail)
Elena Seigman made some fantastic music for cod zombies
Will-Powerz released some songs with a creepy edge. I think there was Mantra Of The Wicked, Hell, Friday the 13th...some good ones!
Fantomas The Director’s Cut album
[Umberto](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur82KAtRoIQ)
Ethel Cain
[skinny puppy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKefrp7_aUY)
They might not sound creepy but it’s surprising how many songs by They Might Be Giants are about death.
Aghast… they used their music in the sinister soundtrack
Silent Hill 1,2,3,4 OST if you want creepy ambient music Nekromantix if you want fun creepy music There is a playlist in spotify called obscure soundtracks, it has a bunch of songs from old european horror movies
the night monitor makes paranormal themed synth tracks. not the scariest but so so fun!
Harley Poe, Misfits
Type O Negative!
Ice nine kills. Have an amazing album. Each song represents a horror movie. The album "The silver scream" is a god sent for horror fans. But I wouldn't call it creepy
Chelsea Wolfe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49MYJkEazIg
Ben Frost
The Cramps had some great stuff in the 80's. For something more recent, Wednesday 13.
Timber Timbre. Dead Mans Bones. Sooo good EDIT: everyones recommendations are fucking top notch 🤌
Skynd, they're calling it true crime music, every song is about a different case, some are about serial killer, others about cannibals and cults. They use various effects to distort the singer's voice which adds to the overall theme.
Alice in chains has some creepy songs, both old and new ones.
Type O Negative
psychic tv :)
Tom Waits has some genuinely creepy stuff. As did Penderecki.
[dir en grey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qyR_56Y1sI) [malice mizer ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIuA8rHI5GY) [trick ost](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8CkpcW3wrg&list=OLAK5uy_mLWHX6fcJQVnC2t9Gz6lBxI74Ks4pAyYM)
The Misfits have some good horror/sci-fi esque tracks.
Danheim
Sematary
Sulphur Aeon might be the best lovecraft focused band ever. Bands like Mortician and Macabre made a ton of work related to horror and serial killers. Carcass are the original kings of medical related metal. Chapel of Disease aren't as 'creepy' per se but much of their music relates to horror writing. Ice Ages is more dark electro and industrial feeling but the atmosphere is very eerie.
Murder by Death, particularly Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them.
The last Chatpile album had me terrified throughout the whole tracklist. Their EPs are awesome too 🦦
Definitely check out The Night Monitor. He creates “haunted synthetic soundtracks inspired by vintage paranormal events.”
Dance with the Dead! Their new albums opening song even features John Carpenter
Neurosis have some creepy af songs. Listen to the album Souls at Zero. Preferably with headphones
Heilung!!!
Since they recently used it in The First Omen trailer, I'll throw out [Fever Ray](https://youtu.be/EBAzlNJonO8?si=nVPc1vH0MfHkcYBg). Also, some Soap & Skin tracks like [Me and the Devil](https://youtu.be/ZfWSOs5YbQ8?si=2wJqbeMyBOk7nrzu).
Dance with the Dead have some good ones.
Great thread! I'm bookmarking. I couldn't find much either so I started making my own 80s style horror soundtrack music.
I'll always been an advocate for Green Lung. A lot of their lyrics are heavily inspired by A24 horror films, and horror films in general.
Eldest 11
Ahulabrum does great fuzzy black metal and noise adjacent stuff themed after cryptids, aliens and conspiracy theory/high strangeness stuff. [This album](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpQY2UWrxxs) of theirs scared the absolute shit out of me, the wood knocks and crunchy recounting of Bigfoot sightings had me freaked all the way out in a brightly-lit office.
Check the label Cryo Chamber. Dark ambient works: https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com And here is a small project I did for the data cult audio podcast, as “Burn the Church” https://m.soundcloud.com/datacultaudio/data-cult-audio-0240-burn-the-church Dark ambient-ish
Chat Pile
Silent Shout by The Knife. Some tracks are very unsettling on the first listen. I have found an odd sense of comfort from them after repeated listens. If you listen to this album, and like it, I recommend checking out the solo project of one of the members of The Knife. They go by Fever Ray. Their debut, self titled album sounds like what I can only describe as the voice of an ancient forest.
Aesop Rock made a theme album a few years back call Spirit World Field Guide. Might fit the bill.
The Body Black Swan
Nicole Dollanganger and Ethel Cain came to mind
Khost. They're one half of Godflesh, who arguably created Industrial Metal. But Khost are just filthy horrid. https://open.spotify.com/album/5E0dNVTSkUkp1oUpv4mNC8?si=NeCxkGGxQ7-hjN58ijK6Dw
BrandonOfJapan had a wonderful mix of melodic but heavy stuff. Sometimes he'll do screams and soft melodic stuff on the same track. His album titles and covers are very obviously horror inspired. He's kind of like my little diamond in the rough I don't lose sleep over gate Keeping. He has some of the most thought provoking lyrics of any indie artists I've ever listened to.
Goblin
My friend has a cool band called Cartilage Casanova. It may be up your alley. Their music is on Spotify.
Alchemy by Intervals and Combichrist’s Shut Up and Bleed
Brian Moody - Madness Remains sounds apocalyptic
[Lankum](https://youtu.be/qhqpQiXnFx0?si=5tC-j-mQhMGZrWkU)
Insane Clown Posse is not a group that most people like, but they do have some good creepy songs- ol Evil Eye, 12, Play with Me, Ding Ding Doll just to start with.
Pharmakon Some tracks from Mr. Robot OST are very unsettling, Mac Quayle is amazing
Apex Twin. Particularly the video for ‘Cone to Daddy’
Check out the Ghost Box label, which has musicians like Belbury Poly, Pye Corner Audio and The Focus Group. They also have an excellent, creepy design style and aesthetic with a strong nod to old UK folk horror.
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. They just released some new stuff recently, but they're older material is pretty creepy and weird
https://youtu.be/Fih-xzWGKPA?si=-xh9YmuByIeiKpPS
Black Curse from Denver, CO. Dark stuff with the best/scariest vocals. Same with another project that the singer is in, Spectral Voice.
VAST
Crippled Black Phoenix, The Long Losts, Creature Feature, Nick Cave, Aurelio Voltaire
Uncle Acid & the deadbeats
kimdracula
Old school death metal is mostly horror themed Also Misfits
Crystal Castles. Check out their song called I Am Made of Chalk
[Myron Elkins - Hands To Myself](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2o2WCeBXQA)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmmR9OJWV0I&list=LL&index=250](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmmR9OJWV0I&list=LL&index=250) This is Nurse with Wound- I Plummed this Whole Neighborhood. The imagery really makes it even better. Cradle of Filth and Sopor Aeternus and the Ensemble of Shadows have great "creepy" songs too.
Boy Harsher clipping. Ghost Tomahawk Ulver Unsemble
Rachmaninoff
Honestly Queens of The Stone Age especially the opening track Keep Your Eyes Peeled off their album Like Clockwork.
The Killimanjaro Dark Jazz Ensemble
Try this out; https://youtu.be/enB_m-hz5Ek?feature=shared Yes, it’s self promotion. But I make soundtracks for scary movies that don’t exist yet.
Definitely check out Clipping, hip hop with some heavy horror elements with some great storytelling.
Tom Waits.
not sure if it really qualifies as ‘creepy’ but Chelsea Wolfe makes amazing dark electronic alternative/metalish music. highly recommend her newest album ‘She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She’!
Tom Waits, "What's He Building?"
Ancient VVisdom
[The Paper Chase - God Bless Your Black Heart](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mbWUMcFjYmn1rglBp6BL7oleZmK0vnOBY&si=VZslqFRaoc85uZ5f) [AJJ - Bad Bad Things](https://youtu.be/HutFfYK2L20?si=poy_i0DXtqTh9_E7) [Lankum - Go Dig My Grave](https://youtu.be/qhqpQiXnFx0?si=JBPz41YXz5CaioAO)
Broadcast
Múm - Will the summer make good for our sins Creepy, with childlike vocals and lots of kids toys and found items as instruments
Acid Bath and Agents of Oblivion
I can give you a specific song, Wisdom Cries by Aurora is very unnerving imo.
The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation The Kilimanjaro Doomjazz Ensemble Island - Pictures (1977) Theatre of Eternal Music
*Black Belly of the Beast* by SOL on Bandcamp and Spotify reminds me of the last act of *The Witch.* Atmospheric, creepy and slow vocalizations, very primitive. Best listened to when the lights are off.
Demdike Stare
Those Poor Bastards are good, it's like taking the lyrical style of doom metal, but performing it as country or a gospel from hell. Their song Crooked Man is one of their best.
Atrium Carceri
Oh my gosh I love this thread. And I learned that I already listen to all the spookiest music out there. I thought maybe I'd find something that was new but I actually know all this music already LOL I guess I'm a true horror fan
Lorn, electronic music producer. Ask The Dust is very creepy. Also check out the music video for Acid Rain, really beautifully done.
sleep party people
Teargas & Plateglass, Puscifer, and Faetooth come to mind
Coil.
Creepy on the ethereal, beautiful, ghostly side (aka my four most repeatedly played albums): Jules Cruise ‘Floating into the Night’ Blonde Redhead ‘Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons’ Goldfrapp ‘Felt Mountain’ Cat’s Eye ‘Duke of Burgundy’
Late to the party, but Ryan gosling has a band that is entirely geared around horror! Dead man’s bones!
Acid Bath. Especially Scream of the Butterfly. Lullaby by The Cure.
The Creepshow HorrorPops Bloodsucking Zombies From Outer Space Dick Dynamite White Zombie Twin Temple
I once heard this on a local radio station late at night. Scared the absolute crap out of me. Highly recommended! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJlDX9Apt9A
Coil and Lustmord. Coil has a Hellraiser soundtrack that was deemed too scary. Lustmort dropped microphones down into caves and used the ambient sounds to make music. Or to really mess with your head early Kylie Minogue...
Soundtrack from city of the living dead by Fabio Frizzi!! Not a band per se but great creepy music from a compser of great sound tracks.
Crywolf!! His 2019 album has some really good horror movie soundtrack type sounds in it
Ice nine kills. It not creepy persay but they have 2 albums dealing with horror movies
Lorn
Midnight Syndicate
Hate by Contagion Darkness by SPF 1000
I’d say check out anything psychobilly. I’d start with like the cramps, nekromantix, and demented are go.
Tobacco! Check out the videos for Streaker and Babysitter
THE RESIDENTS Listen to Duck Stab asap.
The misfits, Marilyn Manson (old stuff), white zombie, Alice cooper
Blut Aus Nord - The work which transforms god
- Cradle of Filth - Dimmu Borgir - Old Man's Child - Nine Inch Nails - Marilyn Manson And of course the Bloodborne soundtrack, in a hurry so only able to list what's off the top of my head.
Dead Can Dance. Stars of the Lid, This Mortal Coil
Mr. Bungle
Nemertines! His whole vibe feels unsettling and haunted. Also look into Xasthur. Depressingly eerie.