A spine-chilling scary song: masterful tracks that evoke fear and eerie recommended songs
For those curious folks who want to feel fear from scary songs or pore over creepy lyrics, we’ve researched eerie classics and popular frightening tracks you shouldn’t miss.
We’ll introduce a wide range—from songs beloved by music fans to selections chosen by our site’s music-specialist writers—blending them together.
We’ve carefully picked both Japanese and Western music, old and new.
Some tracks might not seem scary just by listening, but depending on how you interpret the lyrics, they can be chilling.
It could be fun to talk about the stories behind these songs when sharing summer ghost tales.
How about listening to scary songs and sending chills down your spine?
- A spine-chilling, terrifying song. Japanese music that evokes madness and horror.
- A seemingly scary nursery rhyme: a children’s song that gives you the chills when you hear it
- Disgusting music. A classic of Japanese pop/rock.
- [Dark Side] Songs with scary lyrics. Tracks that make you shiver with chilling phrases.
- “Song of War”: A classic that sings of the tragedy and folly of war
- Hidden gems of yami songs. Recommended popular tracks.
- Chills down your spine. A collection of Vocaloid songs that are scary but irresistibly listenable.
- [2026] Eerie BGM That Stokes Fear | Compilation
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- [Bereavement Song] To you whom I can no longer meet... Tear-jerking songs about death
- [Ghosts & Yokai] Horror Song Collection [Monsters & Zombies]
- Recommendation of Scary Music: That Song That’s Actually Frightening
- Masterpieces that sing of despair. Recommended popular songs.
A spine-chilling scary song. Masterpieces that evoke fear and eerie recommended tracks (21–30)
Go for it!Nakajima Miyuki
This is a bold and ambitious work by Miyuki Nakajima that portrays people who keep moving forward even as they face the unreasonable realities of society.
It delivers a powerful message to those confronting challenges such as educational discrimination, violence, indifference, and sexism.
It was included on the album “Yokan” released in March 1983, and was re-released as a single in May 1994.
Since then, it has been featured in commercials such as Sumitomo Life’s “Winning Life,” and in 2020 as UNIQLO’s “HEATTECH” CM song, continuing to resonate with many people across generations.
However, the lyrics immediately before the first chorus in this work depict a chillingly realistic portrayal of human cruelty.
RainingCocco
Cocco has many songs with a slightly eerie atmosphere, such as “Countdown.” Her song “Raining” portrays a girl who continues to be quietly hurt within scenes of everyday happiness.
We don’t know exactly what is hurting her, but there is a scene of self-harm, suggesting she is in such pain that she can’t calm down otherwise.
As a contrast to this girl who seems on the verge of breaking, the song depicts gentle, warm images like clear skies and laughter—and within them, we can’t help but sense an indescribable fear.
Distillation reactionMorita Doji
At the beginning, we see a close couple holding hands and enjoying the snow, but by the end it becomes clear that they are trying to bury themselves in the snow to die.
What’s frightening about this song is that there’s no hint of fear or sorrow toward the steadily approaching death; instead, they even wish for more snow to pile up.
They describe their dying, cold bodies as feeling pleasant, which gives the song an air of madness.
Doji Morita’s wistful presence and a voice that could belong to either a boy or a girl deepen the song’s world even further.
ChikotanTōkyō Hōsō Jidō Gasshōdan
The choral suite “Chikotan” is a well-known choral work with lyrics by Taizo Horai and music by Yasuo Minami.
The first half is bright and brisk, but in the latter half a terrifying scene unfolds.
When I first heard this piece at an elementary school choral competition, the latter part was so frightening for my young self that it left me traumatized, and for several weeks I could hardly swallow my food.
The Vanished AugustGasshou Kyoku
This song is a well-known choral piece themed around the Hiroshima atomic bombing.
I assume those reading this article are from generations without firsthand experience of war, but you’ve likely studied it.
The lyrics are written from the perspective of someone who died in the bombing.
It speaks of a beloved summer, and yet in that very summer, one’s life, future—everything—was taken away.
Even without having experienced war, it’s a sorrowful song that tightens the chest when you listen to it.
It engraves the sadness and terror of war into our minds and reminds us of the need to build a world where no one’s life or future is unjustly taken.
It’s a masterpiece that makes us feel that anew.
Tie and Untie, Rakshasa and Skeletonhachi
Kenshi Yonezu, known for songs like “Lemon” and “Paprika,” is also famous as a Vocaloid producer under the name Hachi.
“Musunde Hiraite Rasetsu to Mukuro” was released on Niconico in 2009.
With a Japanese-style flavor and an eerie soundscape alone that sends chills down your spine, it’s a Vocaloid track themed around “discomfort” and “innocence.” The lyrics are exceptionally profound, so be sure to read them closely.
The more you understand their meaning, the more frightening it becomes.
Portrait of ReikoMorita Doji
The massive hit “Our Failure” is often cited as a scary song, but with “Portrait of Reiko,” I feel a stronger sense of wistful sadness rather than fear.
It’s a piano ballad included on the 1982 album Nocturne.
Listening to the lyrics still makes me shudder… Perhaps it’s the despair of heartbreak that brings that about.
Morita Doji’s beautiful singing does make it easy to listen to, but that very lightness seems to double the terror.
Along with the piano’s plaintive tones, you’re enveloped in a sense of loss and deep sorrow, and it sends chills down your spine.
