# Songs that scared you when you were young **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 24, 2001, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823 "2001-08-24T01:50:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/101 "2016-08-09T00:46:57Z")
If I may: “Tubular Bells” is used three times in the film, the second time is when Regan and company are pulling away from the house just before the credits run. The third time is the very end of the credits until finis (about 3 minutes-ish). “Tubular Bells” entire is about 25 minutes long. Several pieces of it were used in a 45 RPM for about 4 minutes–roughly from the first half of the 25 min version. The “B” side is from the second half of the 25 min version and includes the introduction of the instruments by Vivian Stanshall. I’m assuming the Top 40 hit was the 45. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/102 "2016-08-09T01:44:58Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > If I may: > > “Tubular Bells” is used three times in the film, the second time is when Regan and company are pulling away from the house just before the credits run. The third time is the very end of the credits until finis (about 3 minutes-ish). > > “Tubular Bells” entire is about 25 minutes long. Several pieces of it were used in a 45 RPM for about 4 minutes–roughly from the first half of the 25 min version. The “B” side is from the second half of the 25 min version and includes the introduction of the instruments by Vivian Stanshall. > > I’m assuming the Top 40 hit was the 45. I’m assuming the 45 was made with music identifiable from the movie, and because of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/103 "2016-08-09T02:55:54Z")
BTW, [here’s the Peanuts strip](http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1960/06/05) I referenced in my above post. (As I said, in case you need an antidote to the fear “Dem Bones” usually causes.) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/104 "2016-08-09T03:10:11Z")
“Basement” by the Pain Teens. Creepy anyway, but when I read about the girl who was the inspiration for it, it was even worse. > **[Murder of Sylvia Likens](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Likens)** > > Sylvia Marie Likens (January 3, 1949 – October 26, 1965) was an American teenager who was tortured and murdered by her caregiver, Gertrude Baniszewski, many of Baniszewski's children, and several of their neighborhood friends. This abuse incrementally lasted for three months before Likens died from her extensive injuries and malnourishment on October 26, 1965, in Indianapolis, Indiana. > Likens was increasingly neglected, belittled, sexually humiliated, beaten, starved, lacerated, burned, and de... ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/105 "2016-08-09T03:23:36Z")
> [@Hermione](#): > > BTW, [here’s the Peanuts strip](http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1960/06/05) I referenced in my above post. (As I said, in case you need an antidote to the fear “Dem Bones” usually causes.) “Dem Bones” just reminds me of the last episode of _The Prisoner_. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/106 "2016-08-09T03:54:24Z")
Can’t remember where I posted this Steve Hackett number recently: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F1oEef5dK0) Peter Gabriel’s _The Intruder_ [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F1oEef5dK0) I remember my sisters complaining about the Beatles’ _Run For Your Life_ and figured, yeah, John’s a little off-side, there. The Swans put out a lotta spooky shit. composers like Bartok and Ginastera could crank out some truly creepy shit: Bartok [Gabrielius Alekna plays Bartok Etude Op.18, No.1 - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avFJpo_tCnY) Ginastera (funny how the first minute is creepy, but the last twenty seconds - joyous melody) [Ginestera- Danza del gauncho metrero - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zApDPReVL2Q) _There’s a Man Outside_ - Henry Rollins [Henry Rollins - There's a Man Outside - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmLxl7y5iJc) _Leaning On the Everlasting Arms_ - a hymn sung at several points in _Night of the Hunter_ - each time creepier and creepier, culminating in one of the heaviest moments I’ve seen in 50’s film (just the stark way it’s shot and everything): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-N9LnkKQfuc/hqdefault.jpg "Robert Mitchum - The Night of the Hunter - "Leaning"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N9LnkKQfuc) This kids’ sing-along song wasn’t so innocuous for this kid: _Black Girl_ - Long John Baldry [John Baldry - Black Girl - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl9X74O4F5c) “My daddy was a railroad man, killed a mile and a half from here. His head was found in the driver’s wheel, and his body ain’t ever been found…” ---
**Author:** ![Shockaholics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Shockaholics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shockaholics)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/107 "2016-08-10T15:23:13Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > Peter Gabriel’s _The Intruder_ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F1oEef5dK0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F1oEef5dK0) Is it bad that I thought of Toonami when I listened to that? _“No, wait, no, no, NOOOOOOOOO…”_ ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/108 "2016-08-10T16:48:30Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > “Tubular Bells” entire is about 25 minutes long. Several pieces of it were used in a 45 RPM for about 4 minutes–roughly from the first half of the 25 min version. The “B” side is from the second half of the 25 min version and includes the introduction of the instruments by Vivian Stanshall. > > I’m assuming the Top 40 hit was the 45. The 25-minute piece you’re referring to is actually only Part One of \*Tubular Bells \*; the entire album-length piece is almost 50 minutes long. > [@drad\_dog](#): > > I’m assuming the 45 was made with music identifiable from the movie, and because of the movie. Yes, the single issued in America was an edited version of the album’s opening section and was subtitled ‘(Now the Original Theme from “The Exorcist”).’ The B-side, which as \*\*burpo \*\*describes was the part with the instrument announcements, was simply titled “Tubular Bells” with no subtitle. Mike Oldfield was unhappy with this release and responded by putting together an authorized “Tubular Bells” single for European release. Titled [“Mike Oldfield’s Single (Theme from Tubular Bells),”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMJ1SzupsMI) this avoided the “Exorcist” music entirely, presenting instead a re-recording of a section from Part Two of the original album–the part that sounds like a Scottish lament. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/109 "2016-08-13T03:34:15Z")
The cover of “Blinded By The Light” by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band struck me as being really intense and intimidating, with a bit of sci-fi weirdness thrown in. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/110 "2016-08-14T21:38:45Z")
My father was a baritone, not a bass, but he could hit every note in Many brave hearts are asleep in the deep So beware, Be- ``` **ware**. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/111 "2016-08-14T21:47:19Z")
“One” by Metallica. Thevideo scared me when I was a boy. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/112 "2016-08-14T22:18:55Z")
Enjoyed going through this thread, even if most of it was a zombie. Mine is a minor song, “Swamp Witch” by Jim Stafford. Love it but it can still give me the shivers, especially the last two lines. > [@](#): > > “There was a parchment note they found tacked to a stump > Said don’t come lookin’ again.” Here’s the song if you don’t recall it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB0SxXTR\_UI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB0SxXTR_UI) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/113 "2016-08-15T03:04:44Z")
The Beatles’ “Here, There, and Everywhere” scared my friend and me as 6-year-olds digging _Revolver_. I found out later it’s because the voices are closely miked. Someone upthread (15 years ago) mentioned “Girl Land” on _Free to Be You and Me_. My 5-year-old loves that album (44 years old and still going strong), but always makes me skip that spooky, maudlin track (sung by Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy). ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/114 "2016-08-15T03:36:07Z")
_My Grandfather’s Clock_. The word “died” scared me a bit. > [@](#): > > It rang an alarm in the dead of the night > An alarm that for years had been dumb > And we knew that his spirit was pluming for flight > That his hour of departure had come > Still the clock kept the time, with a soft and muffled chime > As we silently stood by its side. > > But it stopped - short, > Never to go again, > When the old man died. > > Ninety years without slumbering, tick, tock, tick, tock, > His life seconds numbering, tick, tock, tick, tock, > It stopped - short > Never to go again, > When the old man died. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/115 "2016-08-15T04:22:42Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > _My Grandfather’s Clock_. The word “died” scared me a bit. OMG, I still have [my Fisher-Price wind up clock](http://www.thisoldtoy.com/fisher-price/dept-1-Audio-Vis-Mus/g-music-bx-tv-radio/1-pics/fp997-64-1.jpg) that plays that tune as the hands and “face” rotate through different scenes. It’s from 1962-ish. It still works. It’s made of WOOD! “Died” bothered me as a toddler. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/116 "2016-08-15T13:56:41Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > That one song by the Zombies. If she _was_ there would it have been less creepy? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/117 "2016-08-15T14:38:31Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > _My Grandfather’s Clock_. The word “died” scared me a bit. Egad, I’d forgot about that one. Exactly who thought that would be an appropriate song for a kids’ record? I believe it was on the same album as _The Cat Came Back_which lists all the different ways people tried to get rid of a cat, including this lovely sentiment: “\*The man around the corner swore he’d kill the cat on sight, He loaded up his shotgun with nails and dynamite; He waited and he waited for the cat to come around, \*Ninety seven pieces of the man is all they found.\*\*” :eek: I also have a vague memory of a song where a man was going to cut a goat’s throat (?) because apparently all it takes to make a child appropriate song is for the words to rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/118 "2016-08-15T14:39:19Z")
I remember seeing Neil Sedaka on some daytime show singing “Bad Blood” and it freaked me out. Bad blood still sounds like something very unpleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/119 "2016-08-15T15:15:22Z")
[QUOTE=JSomeone upthread (15 years ago) mentioned “Girl Land” on _Free to Be You and Me_. My 5-year-old loves that album (44 years old and still going strong), but always makes me skip that spooky, maudlin track (sung by Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy).[/QUOTE] That one both spooked and fascinated me as a very young kid…mainly because I was too young to understand the symbolism. I thought it was a real amusement park that they were closing down, and didn’t understand why that was a good thing–it was always a shame when an amusement park closed, wasn’t it? A friend of mine thought that Jack Cassidy’s ringmaster was some sort of evil magician that trapped children–“You go in a girl and you never come out!” (I like to think that character prepped me for the Emcee in Cabaret.) I didn’t realize until later that “Girl Land” was a metaphor for traditional, restrictive female roles–“where good little girls pick up after the boys”–and that changing gender roles (the new park that replaces Girl Land) will allow girls to “do what [they] like and be who [they] are.” The symbolism that makes it the most interesting song on the album also makes it hard for its child audience to grasp. ---
**Author:** ![Brodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823/120 "2016-08-15T15:41:43Z")
For some reason when I was a small child my parents thought it was perfectly fine for me to watch Stephen Kings “The Stand”. :smack: Que nightmares caused by the [intro](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xuw7hr_the-stand-intro-don-t-fear-the-reaper_shortfilms?GK_FACEBOOK_OG_HTML5=1)that featured Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-scared-you-when-you-were-young/77823.md?page=7)