Now Reading
Nialler9 Podcast: The devil in music, a short history of horror soundtracks & spooky tunes

Nialler9 Podcast: The devil in music, a short history of horror soundtracks & spooky tunes

Avatar

Episode 112 is a spooky music special:

This week, Dre deep dives into the mysterious ‘diabolus in musica’ tritone and dispels a spooky rumour you might have heard about it. Also in this segment, a brief history of musicians who have made deals with the devil, one who won a golden fiddle. 

Niall gives a short history of some of his favourite horror soundtracks like Psycho, John Carpenter, The Exorcist, Italian Horror soundtracks and segue into modern horror-inspired music from Clipping.

Finally, we discuss genuinely spooky songs from Scott Walker’s 2006 album The Drift and The Caretaker.

Happy Halloween!

Support Nialler9 on Patreon and join our inner demonic circle

Andrea has a Substack newletter you can subscribe to

Running Order:


The Devil In Music

Diabolus in Musica

I heard there was an evil chord, that Satan played and it spooked the lord…

Musical works cited:


A short history of horror soundtracks

  • Dies Irae – Day of Wrath – 4 descending minor notes in a chant used in The Shining theme and many other horror scores.
  • The Mummy (1932) opening sequence – used Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake
  • Psycho (1961) – Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece with Bernard Hermann’s score was an early example of jump scare music.
  • The Exorcist (1973) – the use of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells
  • Halloween (1978) – John Carpenter and the proliferation of ’80s synths and horror
  • Italian Horror – Dario Argento – Goblin for Suspiria (1977) and Tenebre (1982)
  • Modern Horror and retromania – Stranger Things (2016) and It Follows (2014)

Spooky songs played

Novelty Songs – Bobby Pickett’s Monster Mash (1962)

Yvonne Gage – Doing It In A Haunted House (1984)

The Caretaker – An Empty Bliss Beyond This World (2011)

Clipping – Nothing Is Safe (2019)

Clipping – ’96 Neve Campbell (2020)

Scott Walker – The Escape (2006)

Scott Walker – Jolson and Jones (2006)


Closing Track

Psyche – The Saint Became A Lush


Join us on Patreon!

Subscribe to the podcast and please leave a review on iTunes, tell your friends or commit to supporting us directly. Support us on Patreon.

Previous podcasts in this series are listed here.

Subscribe in Apple | Android | ACAST | Pocketcasts | CastBox | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS Feed


Hey, before you go...

Nialler9 has been covering new music, new artists and gigs for the last 19 years. If you like the article you just read, and want us to publish more just like it, please consider supporting us on Patreon.

What you get as thanks in return...

  • A weekly Spotify playlist only for patrons.
  • Access to our private Nialler9 Discord community.
  • Ad-free and bonus podcast episodes.
  • Guestlist & discounts to Nialler9 & Lumo Club events.
  • Themed playlists only for subscribers.

Your support enables us to continue to publish articles like this one, make podcasts and provide recommendations and news to our readers, and be a key part of the music community in Ireland and abroad.

Become a patron at Patreon!

Sign up to the Newsletter

Get music news, features and new music into your inbox twice a week.

Please wait...

Thank you for sign up!