A spine-chilling, terrifying song. Japanese music that evokes madness and horror.
Don’t you ever feel like listening to scary songs? That sensation where curiosity about scary things wins out—like with horror movies, haunted houses, or famous ghost spots.
In this article, I’ll introduce tracks with chilling themes: horror-inspired worlds, madness and hidden psychology, twisted love, and more.
If you’re a horror-song freak, this is a must-read.
It might also help when you’re thinking, “There was a scary song I heard once long ago, but I don’t remember the title.”
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A spine-chillingly scary song. Japanese tracks that evoke madness and horror (21–30)
It’s you.Midorikawa Shobō
Claiming to be the maverick of the J-pop world, Midorikawa Shobō has released many distinctive songs that cut into taboos.
This track takes the form of an interrogation room statement by a man who accidentally caused the death of his wife’s stepchild, and the lines spoken by the wife within it are downright terrifying.
Coupled with the clinging, frenetic guitar sound toward the end, it’s a depressingly haunting song that you can’t get out of your head once you’ve heard it.
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtOhnuki Taeko
It’s a song that was played on E-tele’s “Minna no Uta.” At first, it has an exciting premise about secretly exploring the Metropolitan Museum of Art at night, but at the very end there’s an unexpected and terrifying twist.
Combined with its uniquely atmospheric animation, it seems that quite a few people above a certain age consider this song traumatic.
A spine-chillingly scary song. Japanese tracks that evoke madness and horror (31–40)
Tenshō Shō Tenshōkikuo
“Tenshō Shōtenshō” stands out with its gothic atmosphere and a strongly driving, fast-paced melody.
Rather than feeling creepy, it leans heavily into a gothic vibe.
The track itself is produced in an EDM style, so even though the melody exudes an eerie mood, it’s still an easy song to get into and groove to.
When They Cry: HigurashiShimamiy a Eiko
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, one of Eiko Shimamiya’s signature songs.
As the title suggests, it was used as the opening theme for the popular violence-themed anime Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.
Many listeners have likely found themselves hooked by its highly immersive melody and striking lyrics.
Delusional DiaryShido
The four-member visual kei rock band SID is known for vocalist Mao’s sexy, richly resonant voice.
“Mousou Nikki” is included on SID’s full-length indie-era album Renai (written with the characters for “pity” and “sorrow”).
The song portrays the obsessive love of a woman whose feelings for the other person are too intense.
Her clingy behavior, stalking morning and night, is terrifying in its suffocating persistence.
What’s more, the fact that the other person doesn’t even know she exists—making it a completely one-sided case of stalking—adds an extra layer of fear.
I like you, I like you—I love you.Togawa Jun
This “Suki Suki Daisuki” is less outright scary and more suffused with a mad, deranged atmosphere.
The melody is strangely upbeat, which in turn accentuates the sense of fear and madness.
The chorus has an extremely strong impact, so first-time listeners might be startled.
ChikotanGasshou Kyoku
Told in lighthearted Kansai dialect, it seems like a boy’s cute first love—until the middle, when a shocking twist hits: the girl he likes is suddenly run over by a car and dies.
For a time it was talked about online as the “most traumatic song ever.” If you listen closely to the lyrics, it may be less scary than it is sad and instructive.