ITL #27: What Makes Music Scary?

For this Halloween special, Chris and Sridhar ask: what makes music scary? They discuss "scary" associations with certain kinds of music, whether or not music can be intrinsically scary, classic scores for Alfred Hitchcock films, and Saint-Saëns' "Danse Macabre."

Join the discussion:

Tweet us @shreggz and @chris_arkin

Episode clips on Instagram @impolitelisten

Useful links:

Karl Richter - Bach Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

German Brass - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

Sideways - Why Pipe Organs Sound Scary

Stephen King - Three types of horror

Psycho - Shower scene

Cat watches horror movie

Bernard Herrmann - wikipedia

Psycho - soundtrack by Bernard Herrmann

Jaws - soundtrack by John Williams

Uncanny valley

Ligeti - Lontano

György Ligeti - wikipedia

Ligeti - Musica ricercata

Franz Waxman - wikipedia

Four Pieces from Rear Window

Rebecca Suite - Franz Waxman

Waxman - Theme from Rebecca

Sequence from Rebecca showing Waxman's brilliant scoring

Truffaut interviews Hitchcock

Psycho - opening scene

North by Northwest soundtrack - Bernard Herrmann

James Bond Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Danse macabre - wikipedia

Danse macabre - l'orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France

Danse macabre animation