Haunting music

[Hanyou]

Just in time for Halloween, here's...a topic that doesn't necessarily have much to do with Halloween, but can. Haunting doesn't always mean scary, of course. It does mean music that doesn't just stick to your mind like peanut butter (or maybe super glue) but also evokes emotions of deep melancholy, loss, and/or unease. Sure, the Star Wars theme sticks, but it's probably not "haunting." With that in mind, I've presented a variety of tracks that really stick with me, in order from least to most haunting. More than half of them do creep me out a little.

Lothlorien theme
By Howard Shore, from the Sountrack of Fellowship of the Ring

Simply beautiful. Couldn't find the specific track I was looking for (it was always mixed with other stuff), so just pop in your FotR soundtrack or go out and buy it. :]

Theme from Signs

Ahhhhhh!!!!!!! []

The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Real Puppet
by Sonata Arctica

If you check Amazon, people seem to think this is the low point of Sonata Arctica's album "Reckoning Night." While it wasn't my favorite song on the album, it's certainly one of my favorites. The premise is disturbing, and the music doesn't help make things any easier. Energetic, but troubling.[]

Beauty of the Beast
by Nightwish

Scary, pretty, haunting. Ignore the slide show; it's kind of pointless, and I'm just linking to these things for the music.[]

Death and the Maiden
by Schubert

Wow. The title jumps out at you right from the start. A string quartet carries the whole tune, and it really presents the sort of contrast you'd expect. My favorite part is probably just the whole second movement. []

Terra's Theme
by Nobuo Uematsu, from Final Fantasy VI

This guy's cruel. Not only did he attach this incredible piece to the brilliant opening of this game, but he (or whoever was in charge of this crap) also made it the overworld theme for the ENTIRE WORLD OF BALANCE. That's right, folks. No victorious, heroic themes for you. Only this haunting, tear-jerking bit of music that encompasses all the greatness that is FFVI. []

Theme from Ruins
from Jet Force Gemini

This whole game had incredible music, but of all the tracks, it's easily my favorite. For one thing, it's about 3 minutes long before it loops, and each segment of it sounds unique. There's an escalation to an absolutely melancholic climax that really captures the environment (basically, ruins on a small island). Great stuff.[]

Mozart's Piano Concerto #23, 2nd movement

There's something about this--delicate, unassuming, but somehow incredibly powerful--that comes about as close to making me cry as any piece of music ever has. Of all of Mozart's music, it is probably one of the most effective. The combination of the piano and stringed instruments that flourish, but never really overtake anything, allows it to grow on you with ninja-like subtlety. You'll be hooked, and "haunted," before you know it. []

Theme from Elfen Lied

Wow. This three-minute piece of music is one of the most effective themes I've ever heard for a show. Much like the piano concerto cited above, it's delicate and subtle, yet effective. To be honest, no matter what different sorts of music I listen to, these are the sort of songs that mean something to me, because they are intensely emotional and powerful. As odd as it may sound, in my experience this theme to a relatively niche anime has very few rivals when it comes to sheer emotionalism. []

Theme from Pan's Labyrinth
by Javier Navarrete

Even HUMMING isn't safe anymore! []

The entire Myst soundtrack
by Robyn Miller

If you've played the game, you'll know what I mean. I'd say the villain in the game is the music, because it either shocks you with moments of sheer terror or just beats your brains out with strange, alien sound effects. One area in the selenetic age actually features rocks that whistle--like some gigantic wind instrument--a creepy tune that doesn't make much sense. It very much gives you a sense of being stranded on a desert island with little to no hope of escape. I'll link to a few of the tracks to give you an idea.

Myst Theme:[]
Planetarium Theme: []
Shipgate: []

Anything from the Ecco Games

Much like Myst, these games just have creepy and haunting tracks. Of all the titles on here, the music from these games--especially the first Genesis one--has entered my dreams and nightmares the most.

Ecco The Dolphin Theme: []
Ecco: The Tides of Time Theme: []
Welcome to the Machine: []

Life in Dark Water
by Al Stewart

When I was a toddler, my favorite song on my parents' compilation tapes was always "Time Passages." It remains so to this day, but earlier this year I wondered why I never actually heard the entire LP (my dad still has it) and it was really the only Al Stewart song I ever listened to. I decided to look up "Time Passages" on youtube. One thing led to another, and I came upon this song.

It is by far the creepiest, most haunting, most uneasy bit of music I've ever heard. I'm not sure why. It might be because it recounts an environment of absolute solitude and lonliness, and fear usually stems from that sort of thing. Regardless, I think it's almost a "perfect" song--not too complex, not too simple, but somehow incredibly frightening.[]

[ZetaBladeX13]

Nice find, thanks

oh yeah, almost forgot. You're not dead?!

[Maxine MagicFox]

Niichan always pokes in whenever you least expect him. Haha.

Oh, sorry Hanyou-ni - I haven't had time yet to get to your PM but I'll try to this weekend!

[Hanyou]

[Kinokokao]

The Erlking by Franz Schubert <>

I wish the one I linked showed more of the piano work... it's a notoriously challenging piece! The right arm's staccato is so impressive!
It's a liedt song-poem using Goethe's "The Erlking" which is based on a German folktale. The video I linked has English subtitles.

Maxine, I think you'd really like it.

[Twat]

Many versions!

[Hanyou]

[Twat]

[Hanyou]

[Kinokokao]

@Hanyou

I adore classical music. I'm trying to expose myself to more, so any recommendations you have I'll take!

Right now I can't get Dvorak's Symphony 9 out of my head ("From the New World"). But it's not exactly haunting...

Oh!



Tu se'morta from Orfeo by Monteverdi. It's Italian, one of the earliest operas. Video has subtitles, however. It's based on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus, who attempts to rescue his dead lover Eurydice from Hades, the underworld.

[Onigiri]

[Maxine MagicFox]

Bah, I haven't had time to listen to any of the tracks since I've been in the family room with mute on. ^_^ Give me until later and I'll even try to participate. I look forward to hearing that track, Kino!

[Kinokokao]

Hanyou

I'm listening to Death of a Maiden by Schubert now. <3 I love strings. The cello is easily my most favoritest sound everzzzz....