Dark and Creepy Horror Music for Your Nightmares

Certain intervals are scary because they throw the conventions of music harmony and theory into disarray. One, the tritone, was considered so disconcerting that it was called diabolus in musica (the devil in music) by medieval theorists, and avoided at all costs!

scary music

Music constitutes an ideal means to create a sense of suspense in films. However, there has been minimal investigation into the underlying cerebral organization for perceiving danger created by music. In comparison, the amygdala's role in recognition of fear in non-musical contexts has been well established. The present study sought to fill this gap in exploring how patients with amygdala resection recognize emotional expression in music. To this aim, we tested 16 patients with left (LTR; n = 8) or right (RTR; n = 8) medial temporal resection (including amygdala) for the relief of medically intractable seizures and 16 matched controls in an emotion recognition task involving instrumental music. The musical selections were purposely created to induce fear, peacefulness, happiness and sadness. Participants were asked to rate to what extent each musical passage expressed these four emotions on 10-point scales. In order to check for the presence of a perceptual problem, the same musical selections were presented to the participants in an error detection task. None of the patients was found to perform below controls in the perceptual task. In contrast, both LTR and RTR patients were found to be impaired in the recognition of scary music. Recognition of happy and sad music was normal. These findings suggest that the anteromedial temporal lobe (including the amygdala) plays a role in the recognition of danger in a musical context.

Imagine the 1973 horror movie "The Exorcist" without its ominous score. Would "Psycho" be the same without Bernard Herrmann's music? It's no surprise that a good scare and a good score go hand-in-hand.

It's easy to understand why a loud crashing noise can startle you in a movie. But quiet can also be scary, even when it's a lullaby, like the lullaby Mia Farrow sings to her infant in "Rosemary's Baby."

But maybe the most surprising thing Pogue learned from DiBucci is that over a hundred movies all use the exact same tune, one that is almost a thousand years old: "The Mass for the Dead, or the Funeral Mass, would have a section that used a sequence called 'Dies Irae.' Dies irae, dies illa / Day of wrath, day of impending doom. And this was the judgment day. This was a scary concept back in the Middle Ages.

"I still remember sitting in the theater for ['Get Out'], and the camera is showing sunlit woods passing by. That's not scary!" Pogue laughed. "You put happy music to that and it's a TV commercial, but you come in with this Swahili chanting, and it is a freakout."

Of all the notes in the world that just sound wrong together, the tritone may be the most famous. It's two notes, six piano keys apart. During the Middle Ages it came to be called diabolus in musica, the "devil in music."

A new study has found a connection between horror movie music and the screeches of young frightened animals. Researchers believe there are biologically-ingrained reasons why sudden, dissonant sounds and minor chords make us apprehensive. As a prime example, consider the iconic theme from the 1975 Spielberg film Jaws:

Participants were asked to rate the music segments based on how emotionally stimulating they were and what kind of emotion they evoked. Just as Blumstein predicted, participants ranked the music with nonlinear elements more stimulating and linked it to strongly negative emotions such as fear.

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"Sincerity Is Scary" received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who mostly praised the production, lyrics and thematic depth. Reviewers compared the song to A Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr, the Soulquarians and Musiq Soulchild. It peaked at number 57 on the UK Singles Chart, number 84 in Scotland, number 66 in Ireland and number 20 on the US Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. The song was later certified silver in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). An accompanying music video, directed by Warren Fu, was released on 21 November 2018. Inspired by classic musical films, the visual features numerous references and easter eggs related to the 1975's previous works. The video received positive reviews from contemporary critics, who praised the storyline, choreography and atmosphere, while it later appeared on several year-end lists.

In an interview with Genius, Healy revealed that the process of creating "Sincerity Is Scary" was not calculated. The singer relied on his instincts, having learned that the 1975's best music was created by trusting themselves. He sought to denounce sardonicism and insincerity in the song's lyrics, saying it is easier for people to remain ironic and defensive in the face of adversity.[1] Speaking to Zane Lowe of Apple Music's Beats 1 Radio, Healy revealed that the song is meant to denounce his postmodern fear of being authentic. He believed there was a widespread tendency amongst people to hide behind irony and shield themselves from judgement. Elaborating further on his use of postmodernism within "Sincerity Is Scary", the singer used self-awareness when developing the lyrics, recognizing certain defence mechanisms of his and correcting them by being "just a bit more open and a bit easier, and genuinely sincere".[1][2]

"Sincerity Is Scary" was released as a single on 13 September 2018; the song was met with generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics.[20] Chris DeVille of Stereogum deemed "Sincerity Is Scary" the 15th-best pop song of 2018,[27] while Frazier Tharpe of Complex declared it the fifth-best song of the year.[28]

Johnston deemed the song a highlight from A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships.[26] Robin Murray of Clash praised the 1975's incorporation of jazz in "Sincerity Is Scary" and noted influences of A Tribe Called Quest and Gang Starr that are "filtered through a 1975 lens".[11] Goggins commended Hargrove's contribution.[15] Danny Chau of The Ringer said the song was one of the most surprising stylistic choices on the album, praising Hargrove's contribution and comparing the composition to the Soulquarians and Musiq Soulchild.[29] Shannon Cotton of Gigwise called the song smooth and sultry, saying it "makes you feel like you should be sat on the rooftop of a New York apartment, with a cigarette in one hand and an expensive glass of red wine in the other, gazing at the skyline".[30] Ross Horton of musicOMH praised the fun and "sexy" sound of "Sincerity Is Scary" and the London Community Gospel Choir's inclusion, saying he could image listeners repeatedly listening to it.[31]

In a mixed review of "Sincerity Is Scary", Claire Biddles of The Line of Best Fit deemed it one of the few missteps on A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationship. While she praised the laid-back music style, Biddles found the lyrics "painfully close to the faux-authenticity of a charity single".[33] Similarly, Libby Cudmore of Paste called the song a "stupefying mess" and the album's accidental thesis. While she praised the composition and songwriting, Cudmore felt the 1975 were attempting to incorporate too many genres at once.[34] In a negative review, Roisin O'Connor of The Independent compared "Sincerity Is Scary" to a throwaway Ed Sheeran song, calling it a "sickly ballad that frontman Matty Healy claimed was about dismantling his ironic shield, but if anything this sounds as false and insincere as anything else they've released before".[35] Commercially, "Sincerity Is Scary" performed modestly on international music charts. In the 1975's native United Kingdom, the song peaked at number 57 on the UK Singles Chart and number 84 in Scotland.[36][37] Internationally, it reached number 66 in Ireland and number 20 on the US Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.[38][39] "Sincerity Is Scary" was later certified silver in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting sales of over 200,000 units.[40]

To create the music video for "Sincerity Is Scary", the 1975 worked alongside director Warren Fu. It was filmed on a fake American street located on a set at Walt Disney Studios in Los Angeles, California. The video was inspired by classic musical films such as Singin' in the Rain (1952) and My Sister Eileen (1955). Healy was also influenced by more recent musicals, specifically La La Land (2016), saying: "I grew up wanting to be a dancer [...] I was obsessed with Michael Jackson."[41] Building upon a Hollywood musical theme, Healy and Fu spent several months brainstorming ideas before filming. They sought to incorporate a supporting cast of chorus girls, dancers and marching bands. Speaking on his experience working with Healy, Fu said: "When it comes to music videos, it never ceases to amaze me when sketches on a whim materialise in person a few days later on set. There's no better feeling."[42]

Rosie Byers of Wonderland declared the visual one of the seven best music videos of 2018, calling it "unapologetically wholesome".[59] Breihan ranked "Sincerity Is Scary" as the 16th-best music video of 2018, describing it as a "gloriously sunny, weirdly endearing pop-music hallucination".[60] Hannah Mylrea of NME included the video on her year-end music videos list, commending the visual beauty, easter eggs and dance routines, while calling it "gorgeous".[61] Billboard declared "Sincerity Is Scary" the 15th-best video of 2018, with C.S. praising the 1975's successful execution of the musical-inspired concept, self-awareness and memorability, commenting it is "very fun".[62] Daniel Welsh of HuffPost ranked the visual at number 18 on his year-end music videos list, writing it is: "At once both completely pretentious and utterly silly, which is actually a perfect description of the band themselves."[63] Grant Sharples of Alternative Press included "Sincerity Is Scary" on his list of 10 music videos from the 1975 that should be made into feature-length films. Describing the visual, Sharples said it "is so charming and charismatic that it virtually begs the listener to smile and sing along".[64]