A situation, measured · The opposite extremes

Music for a haunted house

For a garage, a fog machine, and the neighbours' kids.

Frequent sudden shifts and harsh texture — songs built out of surprise.

What every song here had to pass
sudden changes: frequent / extreme onlydynamic range ≥ 6/10no smooth texture
Will your song work for this?

14 songs that pass · Halloween

Voodoo Child (Slight Return) — Jimi Hendrix 1968
10/10 dynamic range · frequent sudden shifts · 150 BPM · dynamic vocals · low predictability
Kim — Eminem 2000
10/10 dynamic range · extreme sudden shifts · 146 BPM · screaming · low predictability
10/10 dynamic range · extreme sudden shifts · 142 BPM · instrumental · low predictability
Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One — King Crimson 1973
10/10 dynamic range · extreme sudden shifts · 140 BPM · spoken word · low predictability
Eruption — Van Halen 1978
10/10 dynamic range · frequent sudden shifts · 138 BPM · instrumental · low predictability
10/10 dynamic range · frequent sudden shifts · 138 BPM · instrumental · low predictability
Ascension — John Coltrane 1966
10/10 dynamic range · extreme sudden shifts · 130 BPM · screaming · low predictability
Twist and Shout — The Beatles 1963
10/10 dynamic range · frequent sudden shifts · 128 BPM · screaming · low predictability
The Glowing Man — Swans 2016
10/10 dynamic range · extreme sudden shifts · 120 BPM · screaming · low predictability
Sinnerman — Nina Simone 1965
10/10 dynamic range · frequent sudden shifts · 120 BPM · dynamic vocals · low predictability
Sacrificial Dance — Igor Stravinsky 1913
10/10 dynamic range · extreme sudden shifts · 120 BPM · instrumental · low predictability
Symphony No. 6 "Tragic" — Gustav Mahler 1904
10/10 dynamic range · extreme sudden shifts · 120 BPM · instrumental · low predictability
The Pretender — Foo Fighters 2007
10/10 dynamic range · frequent sudden shifts · 105 BPM · dynamic vocals · low predictability
1812 Overture — Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1880
10/10 dynamic range · extreme sudden shifts · 100 BPM · instrumental · low predictability
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Frequently asked

What music is good for a haunted house?

The songs that measure as the best fit are “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” by Jimi Hendrix, “Kim” by Eminem, “Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata"” by Ludwig van Beethoven. Frequent sudden shifts and harsh texture — songs built out of surprise. Every pick on this page passed the same measured filter: sudden changes: frequent / extreme only; dynamic range ≥ 6/10; no smooth texture.

Why these songs and not a playlist?

Because they were chosen by measurement, not by title. Each song in our catalog carries measured dimensions — dynamic range, sudden changes, tempo, texture, vocal style, predictability — and this page keeps only the songs whose numbers fit a haunted house. The qualifying numbers are printed under every song.

What did you rule out?

Anything outside the filter: sudden changes: frequent / extreme only; no smooth texture. A song that is beautiful but has one sudden peak is still ruled out, because the peak is the problem.

More situations · The opposite extremes
Songs that will make you jumpSongs with the biggest crescendoThe most unpredictable songs we've measuredLoud songs that never let upSongs that are mostly spokenSongs with screamed vocals
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Ratings are model-assisted, derived from each song's documented musical properties and reviewed by hand; we do not analyse audio waveforms. How we measure.