# Creepiest non-creepy song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 1, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627 "2009-07-01T21:00:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/1 "2009-07-01T21:00:48Z")
I am at work and the easy listening station just played _Hello_ by Lionel Ritchie. That song creeps me out. I mean, it’s not a creepy song like _Thriller_ or even _Somebody’s Watching Me_ or whatever. Maybe it’s the music video that creeps me out: grown adult, chasing around the school and making crank calls to a blind high schooler… creepy to me. (And how well would it have gone over if a female made a similar video… Annie Lennox didn’t sing _No More I Love Yous_ to a wheel-chair bound teenage boy…) Anyway, whenever I hear that song, I get the heebie-geebies. What other songs give you the creeps even though they’re not inherently creepy song? ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/2 "2009-07-01T21:17:49Z")
Spinning Wheel by Blood Sweat & Tears. It’s mostly the end. The flutes playing “Have You Ever Seen a Lassie?” mixed with the ominous horns bring to mind a horrific accident at a carnival to me. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/3 "2009-07-01T21:27:09Z")
Darren (Savage Garden) Hayes’s [Creepin’ Up On You](http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Creepin%27+Up+On+You&search_type=&aq=f). ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/4 "2009-07-01T21:29:38Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > Spinning Wheel by Blood Sweat & Tears. It’s mostly the end. The flutes playing “Have You Ever Seen a Lassie?” mixed with the ominous horns bring to mind a horrific accident at a carnival to me. That brought to mind the demented keyboard break in Thunderclap Newman’s “Something In The Air”. As a child, I used to be genuinely scared by the Beatles’ “Wild Honey Pie”. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/5 "2009-07-01T23:57:38Z")
“[He Keep Me Alive](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5konncDjb8)” by Sally Sharpio. No, it’s not about someone held hostage and dependant on an evil kidnapper, but about a seriously one-sided relationship that the singer seems to think is \*all \*she deserves. The creepy part is knowing that there are people who are really this lost and feel they’re worth so little. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/6 "2009-07-02T01:37:52Z")
“The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA” by Donna Fargo. Contrary to the lyrics, she sounds like she’s about to open her wrists with a penknife. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/7 "2009-07-02T01:50:48Z")
I don’t think **Hotel California** is supposed to be a creepy song… But when I was in high school my clock radio was playing that tune one morning as I drifted in and out of consciousness. I had a wicked, scary dream to that song and from then on it always creeped me out. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/8 "2009-07-02T01:51:44Z")
I’m going to have to go with [Turn Around, Look At Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnYIzuLL1F4), by the BeeGees. Apparently creepy sounding enough to be put in the movie _Final Destination 3_ (heard three times total in the movie–usually before something bad happens). ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/9 "2009-07-02T02:14:20Z")
A lot of Christmas songs are creepy when you think about them. ‘Have yourself a merry little Christmas’ sits astride the line between heartwarming and bloodchilling. Of course, I might think this because of the X-Files ep it was used in. > [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > I’m going to have to go with [Turn Around, Look At Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnYIzuLL1F4), by the BeeGees. Apparently creepy sounding enough to be put in the movie _Final Destination 3_ (heard three times total in the movie–usually before something bad happens). Man, that really is creepy! Hard to believe that they thought ‘there is someone walking behind you. Turn around, look at me. There is someone watching your footsteps, turn around, look at me,’ _wasn’t_ creepy, but the song then becomes more upbeat in the way they’re singing, if not the words. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/10 "2009-07-02T02:27:58Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > A lot of Christmas songs are creepy when you think about them. ‘Have yourself a merry little Christmas’ sits astride the line between heartwarming and bloodchilling. Of course, I might think this because of the X-Files ep it was used in. No, it’s not just that – and the song you know isn’t as bad as the original lyrics: “Have yourself a merry little Christmas It may be your last Next year we may all be living in the past” “Faithful friends who were dear to us Will be near to us no more” Hugh Martin: freak. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/11 "2009-07-02T02:42:08Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > No, it’s not just that – and the song you know isn’t as bad as the original lyrics: > “Have yourself a merry little Christmas > It may be your last > Next year we may all be living in the past” > > “Faithful friends who were dear to us > Will be near to us no more” > > Hugh Martin: freak. Damn shame they changed the words. Though I like the newer version’s ambiguity of faithful friends being near to us once more - yep, we’re gonna die, but at least we’ll see our old friends on the other side! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/12 "2009-07-02T02:58:06Z")
I feel that way about the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams.” It doesn’t creep me out now but when I was younger, like 12 or 13, it felt weird. Maybe the line about people wanting to be used/abused? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/13 "2009-07-02T03:02:54Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I feel that way about the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams.” It doesn’t creep me out now but when I was younger, like 12 or 13, it felt weird. Maybe the line about people wanting to be used/abused? I’m pretty sure that song was meant to be a little creepy. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/14 "2009-07-02T03:10:00Z")
I call this the [“Stalker’s Lament”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvKtxTsVoMo) . It’s such a lovely tune, and her voice is so soft and sweet, that you almost miss the actual words she’s saying. . . ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/15 "2009-07-02T03:25:48Z")
Is “Fire on High” by ELO supposed to be creepy? The reversed music in the beginning always gave me the willies when I was a kid. This is probably because I first remember hearing it in the mid-80’s at the height of a “backmasking” scare. I figured ELO was up to noooo good. Even though “We Three Kings” is my favorite Christmas song, I find the music kind of ominous. Hearing it belted out on an organ in an old church during Midnight Mass is kind of eerie to me. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/16 "2009-07-02T03:33:47Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I call this the [“Stalker’s Lament”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvKtxTsVoMo) . It’s such a lovely tune, and her voice is so soft and sweet, that you almost miss the actual words she’s saying. . . Those are the best… the ones that lull you into a sense of happiness or peace, but it sounds like she’s kidnapped him and placed him in a dungeon if you really look at the words. Kinda like the song _The Christmas Shoes_. At first, I thought the kid was a con artist. I pictured mom in the old car, chain smoking with a 40 in a paper bag teaching her kid this speech so he could con some guy out of a new pair of shoes for her. I mean, the kid repeats the same speech over and over, verbatim. (I know that’s the chorus, but still.) Now I feel like an evil person. It’s supposed to be about giving and selflessness. Anyway, that was a little off the topic. Another creepy song is _[Brain Damage](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAR2kyZcGpQ)_ by Pink Floyd. Shoot, most of _Dark Side of the Moon_ is pretty creepy. But all that song especially gave me the creeps. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/17 "2009-07-02T03:38:36Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I don’t think **Hotel California** is supposed to be a creepy song… Why not? It’s about fame and fortune turning from a dream into a nightmare that you can’t escape from. ---
**Author:** ![CyclopticXander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@CyclopticXander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyclopticXander)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/18 "2009-07-02T03:40:37Z")
Well this one is almost a century old, so I dunno if it’s cheating. But holy cow if you’re looking for creep factor this is it. It’s about the real murder of Mary Phagan by the way. The sound file is on the page. [http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/littlemary/littlemary.html](http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/littlemary/littlemary.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/19 "2009-07-02T04:24:15Z")
“The Rain, the Park, and Other Things” by the Cowsills. The backing vocals sound disembodied… haunting. It’s like a bizarre disorienting dream in which your feet can’t find the ground. And everything seems to be coming at you from this high birdsong register - it’s just discomfiting. Also the Ronettes “Best Part of Breaking Up.” The way the group singers do a chanty kind of vocal part while the drum bangs away inistently sounds sort of cultlike & frightening. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/20 "2009-07-02T04:56:57Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > No, it’s not just that – and the song you know isn’t as bad as the original lyrics: > “Have yourself a merry little Christmas > It may be your last > Next year we may all be living in the past” > > “Faithful friends who were dear to us > Will be near to us no more” > > Hugh Martin: freak. It’s a sad song, but I don’t see what’s creepy about it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627.md?page=2)