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.
- Actually scary nursery rhymes. Children's songs that give you the chills once you understand their meaning
- 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
- Stalker’s Song: A Rhapsody of Twisted Love
- [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 songs list: iconic tracks that evoke fear and eerie recommendations (31–40)
Let’s eatKurahashi Yoeko
Yoehko Kurahashi’s “Itadakimasu” is not a song about a cheerful mealtime scene.
It’s a chillingly terrifying set of lyrics in which a jealous woman declares that if the man she loves is going to be taken by another woman, she would rather kill him and make him a part of herself.
Beloved child,RURUTIA
A translucent singing voice and a wistful melody.
It’s a frightening song that even feels beautiful.
It’s a track by the singer-songwriter RURUTIA, released in 2001 as her debut single.
The lyrics say, “Only I can satisfy you,” but what comes through isn’t single-hearted love.
Perhaps the word is possession; it feels like you can never get away—like you won’t be let go.
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.
kaleidoscopeIwasaki Hiromi
This is a song by Hiromi Iwasaki, who was active in the idol scene of the 1970s.
It was released in 1979 as her 18th single.
It’s a bittersweet love song about someone she just can’t forget, but… there’s a rumor that a male voice can be heard in the outro of the recording.
Because of that, it became known to the public as an occult song.
The prevailing explanation is that a male chorus part that was supposed to be cut ended up being included.
Wax MuseumSeikima II
This is the debut single by the metal band Seikima-II, which launched in 1982 with the concept of being a cult organized to propagate Satanism.
Its lyrics vividly evoke scenes, and the melody and chord progressions—making effective use of chromaticism—stoke fear, perfectly aligning with the band’s concept.
Known as one of Seikima-II’s signature songs, it’s often dismissed as a novelty along with the band’s image, but it stands as a highly accomplished metal track, featuring powerful vocals that conjure terror and a fluid, textbook example of a fast guitar solo.
Spine-chilling scary songs: masterful tracks that evoke fear and eerie recommended songs (41–50)
Yashagaike (Yasha-ga-ike)ningen ishi
Speaking of Ningen Isu, people of that generation will remember them as the band on the show “Ika-su Band Tenkoku” with the guy dressed as Nezumi Otoko.
The frightening part of this song is that it suddenly depicts a suicide.
Like the children’s song Toryanse—this one is also a scary song.
Red ShoesShibano Eriko & Kudō Minako
Many people probably remember this song for its mournful melody and lyrics about a young child being taken away.
The girl who appears in the song is modeled after a real child named Kimi-chan.
After being placed in the care of her foster father, Kimi-chan fell ill and died at the age of nine.
Kimi-chan’s birth mother, who had entrusted her to the foster father, also passed away without ever knowing that Kimi-chan had died, living with the regret.
From a child’s perspective, being separated from their parent and taken to an unfamiliar place; from a parent’s perspective, being forced to give up their child with tears—it’s a frightening song.
