Scary Halloween Classical Music - Top Ten

[kickassclassical]

Classical music is often used to set the mood in movies and TV shows... even when that mood is one of fright and terror!

Here is our Top Ten list of the scariest, most evil sounding, darkest classical music for Halloween:

01.
Bach "Toccata And Fugue" is a nightmarish, eerie pipe organ. Sweet dreams.
Preview | Preview | iTunes | Amazon mp3

02.
Orff "O Fortuna" is the most intense, evil sounding choir music we know.
Preview | iTunes | Amazon mp3

03.
Grieg "In The Hall Of The Mountain King" starts out slow and creepy, and ends up fast and frantic. You feel sorry for whoever is in that hall.
Preview | Preview | iTunes | Amazon mp3

04.
Mussorgsky "Night On Bald Mountain" says "thunderbolt and lightning." Very, very frightening.
Preview | Preview | iTunes | Amazon mp3

05.
Mozart "Dies Irae" is another dramatic choir piece that gives us chills.
Preview | iTunes | Amazon mp3

(By the way, "Dies Irae" is pronounced "dee-ace EE-ray." It means "Day Of Wrath," and is a part of the classical music that accompanies a traditional Requiem Mass for a funeral.)

06.
Verdi "Dies Irae" is yet another scary choir singing intensely about Judgment Day. Very "fear of God" type stuff.
Preview | iTunes | Amazon mp3

07.
Chopin "Funeral March." Slow, somber and morbid, it's not just "a" funeral march, it's "the" funeral march.
Preview | iTunes | Amazon mp3

08.
Prokofiev "Montagues And Capulets" sounds like they're coming to get you.
Preview | iTunes | Amazon mp3

09.
Saint-Saëns "Danse Macabre." This dance of the dead features the Devil playing the violin, and a xylophone imitating the sounds of rattling bones.
Preview | iTunes | Amazon mp3

10.
Stravinsky "Sacrificial Dance" from "The Rite Of Spring." Party 'til you die! This is the soundtrack for a young woman who literally dances herself to death.
Preview | iTunes | Amazon mp3

So the next time you're watching a scary movie or an epic battle scene on TV, or hanging out at a Halloween party, don't be surprised if you recognize some of the music - music that has been scaring people for hundreds of years.

Want more Kickass Classical? See our Top 100.

UPDATE FOR HALLOWEEN 2014:
Get all these tracks and 21 more - Kickass Classical Haunted Halloween - just $6.99.
iTunes | Amazon mp3

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[kickassclassical]

As Halloween gets closer, we thought we'd add to this list with some more obscure classical pieces - that are still very spooky!

Rachmaninov "Prelude In C-Sharp Minor (Bells Of Moscow)"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-qip4uTTAg

Bartok "Music For Strings, Percussion, And Celesta," 3rd Movement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd-2Yfhy-LE

Don't listen to them in the dark!

[kickassclassical]

And here are our favorite pieces of scary movie music!

Bernard Herrmann, "The Murder" from "Psycho"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOC-zvyhrCU
[ Warning: Graphic murder scene from the movie. ]

John Carpenter, "Halloween Theme" from "Halloween"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b-aVDy6JfQ

Mike Oldfield, "Tubular Bells," the theme from "The Exorcist"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYmIKcP7Nbc

Charlie Clouser, "Zepp Overture," the theme from "Saw"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLlI6LzMXeo

Jerry Goldsmith, "Carol Anne's Theme" from "Poltergeist"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AlDiwvv1QY#t=0m50s

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Boo!