100 Songs from Horror Movie Scores
100 atmospheric cues to illuminate, inspire, and spark your imagination.
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I shared a YouTube playlist with 100 drum breaks yesterday. People seem to love it, so we’re going to keep the good times rolling with more 100-track playlists.
I’ve compiled 100 songs from various horror movie scores for today’s listening experience. Much like organizing a playlist with drum breaks as the central theme, focusing on horror movie scores allowed me to explore various composers, eras, and geographic locations.
I love movie scores of all kinds and horror movies are probably my favorite. Perhaps it’s the way they go hand in hand with rap/sample-based music and are an oft-utilized sample source.
For one of my favorite examples, check out Three 6 Mafia’s pitch perfect use of “Brainscan Theme” on “Fuckin Wit Dis Click” from their debut studio album Mystic Stylez. It’s almost like George S. Clinton’s ominous tones were custom-made for them instead of an Eddie Furlong flop.
I enjoy listening to horror scores in their entirety, and there are many great ones to explore. For this particular playlist, I decided to push myself outside of my comfort/familiarity zone and explore scores that I was largely unfamiliar with before the past couple of days. In the process, I discovered so many heaters, including the ‘Messiah of Evil’ score.
I want this to be a useful resource, so I also provided a numbered list with all the song titles and artists. If a video in the playlist contains multiple songs from a score, or it’s unclear which song is being highlighted, I put the movie title in single quotation marks.
This is another playlist that is great for sampling and listening. Whether you're a producer looking for some new sounds, an avid horror movie fan, or just a curious listener, I hope you’ll spend some time with it. Please give it a spin and let me know what you think. Click here to listen.
‘Messiah of Evil’ by Phillan Bishop
"Lisa and the Devil (Main Titles)" by Carlo Savina & Edda Dell'Orso
"Brainscan Theme" by George S. Clinton
"Nosebleed" by J. Peter Robinson
"Mother’s Room #2" by Jerry Goldsmith
"The Equestrian Vortex" by Broadcast
‘The Black Cat’ by Pino Donaggio
‘The Bird with the Crystal Plumage’ by Ennio Morricone
"Stridulum Theme" by Franco Micalizzi
"Maniac Cop Theme" by Jay Chattaway
"It (1990) - Main Title I" by Richard Bellis
"Sensual Hallucinations" by Les Baxter
"Blood Lake End Credits" by Russell D. Allen
"Sette Note - Single Version" by Fabio Frizzi, Franco Bixio & Vincenzo Tempera
"Hello Mary Lou: Main Theme" by Paul Zaza
"Child’s Play Ending Credits Song" by Joe Renzetti
"Haddonfield" by Alan Howarth
"Trapped in the Shaft" by Alan Howarth
"Locked Up" by Simon Boswell & Stefano Mainetti
"The Wind" by Thomas Newman
‘Frogs’ by Les Baxter
"Main Title" by Fuzzbee Morse
"The Shape Stalks Again" by John Carpenter
‘La dama rossa uccide sette volte’ by Bruno Nicolai
"Deadly Needle" by Pino Donaggio
"6.30 a.m Explosion" by Stelvio Cipriani
"The Exorcist III Main Title" by Barry De Vorzon
"Forbidden World Titles" by Susan Justin
"Headlights" by Mark Isham
"All the Colors of the Dark" by Bruno Nicolai
"Wait For The Rain" by David Alexander Hess
"Sadness Theme" by Franco Micalizzi
"Main Title (The Shining)" by Wendy Carlos
"Prologue / Welcome to Creepshow" by John Harrison
"Démonica" by Simon Boswell
"Opening" by Tomandandy
"She Comes" by Wojciech Golczewski
"Title" by Disasterpeace
"Intro & Credits" by Steve Moore
"1983 - Main Theme" by Sinoia Caves
"Starless Night / The Void" by Jeremy Gillespie
"Night of the Demons Theme" by Dennis Michael Tenney
"Witchboard 2 Open Title" by Dennis Michael Tenney
"Deathwatch" by Stelvio Cipriani
"Main Title" by Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave
"Preludio & Titoli" by Bruno Nicolai
"Stress infinito (Version 2)" by Ennio Morricone
"Il Fantasma Suona Piano" by Libra
"Your Vice is a Locked Room (Main Titles)" by Bruno Nicolai
"Resident Evil Intro Song - Tokyo" by Tomandandy
"Terrifier Theme" by Paul Wiley
"Love" by Mica Levi
"Gun in Gut" by Howard Shore
"Belvedere, Ohio" by Howard Shore
"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning Main Title" by Steve Jablonsky
"A Message" by John Carpenter
"Puppet Walk (2015 Remaster)" by Angelo Badalamenti
"Pick Up At High Noon" by Tangerine Dream
"Ai Margini Della Follia (Alternate Take 2)" by Goblin
"High Street Spasm" by Cavern of Anti-Matter
"Run Nancy" by Charles Bernstein
"Narcotic" by Kenji Kawai
"Panic Attack" by Adam Wingard
"Humanity (Pt. 2)" by Ennio Morricone
"No Time For Games" by Joseph LoDuca
"The Neighborhood" by Douglas Pipes
"Leaving the Farm" by Marco Beltrami
"doll box" by Joseph Bishara
"Hellraiser Theme" by Christopher Young
"It's Over, Sid" by Marco Beltrami
"The Entity Main Titles" by Charles Bernstein
"Twisted Nerve" by Bernard Herrmann
"Tentacles" by Stelvio Cipriani
"Wolf Creek: Main Title" by François Tétaz
"Possession Main Theme" by Andrzej Korzynski
"Quiet Drops" by Carlo Pennisi
"Spookies Main Titles" by James Calabrese & Kenneth Higgins
"Brain Damage End Theme" by Gus Russo & Clutch Reiser
"Chopping Mall Theme" by Chuck Cirino
"Radio Station Rampage" by Jerry Lambert
"Dead Silence (Main Theme)" by Charlie Clouser
"Clamp Logos" by Jerry Goldsmith
‘The Kindred’ by David Newman
"Main Title (The Gorgon)" by James Bernard
"Loss Without Memory" by Joseph Bishara
"Leaving Town" by Roque Baños
"Prelude / Last Day of Sun" by Brian Reitzell
"Down the Pipe" by David Julyan
"Good Night" by Fernando Velázquez
"Kristen's Haunted Dream" by Craig Safan
"Main Title" by Martin Cooper and David A. Hughes
"End Theme (Pin)" by Paul Zaza
"The Keep (Main Title)" by Tangerine Dream
"Bones Opening" by Elia Cmiral
"Piano Theme (The Devil’s Backbone)" by Javier Navarrete
"Mimic Main Title" by Marco Beltrami
"Mandy Love Theme" by Jóhann Jóhannsson
"Weapons Ready" by Brooke Blair
"Reborn" by Colin Stetson
“3M3b” by James Newton Howard
As a Film / Library music freak, thank you, thank you, thank you. Nice to include Cavern of Anti-Matter (and to a degree, Broadcast) to line up with the new Stereolab release. And I've had Messiah of Evil on my watchlist for a while now, but this gives me the reason to get off the fence and watch it.