Enter the chilling world of early recordings inspired by horror cinema with the Spooky Songs from the Archive Collection. This collection highlights tracks that drew their eerie atmosphere from classic horror films, blending music, sound effects, and performance to evoke suspense, fright, and theatrical thrills. From spine-tingling melodies to playful horror-inspired novelties, these recordings showcase how early 20th-century artists captured the spirit of the silver screen and brought cinematic scares to listeners’ homes. A must-listen for film buffs, music historians, and anyone fascinated by the intersection of sound and horror.
Please note, due to copyright some items may only be available as a 45 second snippet.
If you are a researcher or educator in need of full access to these recordings and additional materials (PDF, front/back covers, and record label scans), you can apply for Research Station Access
FAU Students, Faculty and Staff can listen to recordings and access additional materials unrestricted by clicking the Research Station icon located in the upper right corner of the website logging in using their FAU NET ID and password.
Discover the original recordings that appear in Horror Movies and listen to the ORIGINAL recordings in the collection below.
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Run Rabbit Run — Featured in Rob Zombie's House of Thousand Corpses along with Jordan Peele's Get Out. |
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Jeepers Creepers — Featured in the Jeepers Creepers Triology Here at the Recorded Sound Archives, you can listen to a few versions of the song by artists such as Larry Clinton and his orchestra , Jack Teagarden and the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. But our personal favorite here in the sound archive is Ethel Water’s version of Jeepers Creepers. |
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Tip Toe Thru the Tulips with me — Featured in the horror movie, Insidious. Another haunting tune that can be found in the Recorded Sound Archives, is Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips by Johnny Marvin who originally sang the song prior to Tiny Tim which is featured in the movie Insidious.
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Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 — Featured in the horror movie, Misery Featuring Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes an obsessed fan who kidnaps her favorite writer forcing him to rewrite his novel. At one point, she exclaims with happiness that she’ll play her favorite song in the movie which just so happens to be Liberace’s Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 along with I’ll be seeing you both of which can be found here at the Recorded Sound Archives on the album Liberace by Candlelight. |
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You Are My Sunshine — Featured in the horror movie, Annabelle. Another haunting tune that can be found in the Recorded Sound Archives, is You Are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis featured in the movie, Annabelle.
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Blue Moon — Featured in the horror movie, An American Werewolf in London. Another haunting tune that can be found in the Recorded Sound Archives, is Blue Moon by Al Bowlly featured in the movie, An American Werewolf in London. |