"Horror films are great for composers for all the obvious reasons." said Charles Bernstein, the composer of Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, in 2012. "These kinds of pictures provide a wide range of stylistic and experimental musical possibilities."
No time of the year is as frightening as Halloween. Indeed, the thought of strange children ringing my doorbell, demanding processed sugar is enough to make me shudder. Call it clairvoyance, but I see the ghost of diabetes hovering over their tiny shoulders. But it’s also the perfect time to celebrate horror films, and the soundtracks that give them life. So here we go, a playlist of terrifying tunes from Halloween’s greatest pictures.
- Charles Bernstein - A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
- John Carpenter - Halloween Main Theme
- John Williams - Jaws Theme
- Bernard Herrmann - Psycho
- Danny Elfman - Beetlejuice Main Title
- William Loose - Night of the Living Dead
- Danny Elfman - Nightmare Before Christmas
- Tobe Hooper & Wayne Bell - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- Krzysztof Komeda - Rosemary's Baby
- Howard Shore - The Silence of the Lambs