Rock DJ – Robbie Williams
Robbie Willams was at the height of his post-Take That solo success when he released Rock DJ in 2000. While the song itself is an upbeat disco-infused floor filler, Williams and director Vaughan Arnell shocked fans with the gruesome music video, which sees the British singer perform a strip that doesn’t stop once his clothes are off. Most music video networks heavily censored the promo.
Total Eclipse of the Heart – Bonnie Tyler
Composed by legendary Meat Loaf songwriter Jim Steinman, Bonnie Tyler’s 1983 hit Total Eclipse of the Heart is an all-time karaoke classic, but the music video that accompanied the song is very creepy indeed. Directed by Russell Mulcahy (who later made hit movie Highlander), the sinister promo is set in a boarding school in which, at nighttime, the boys take flight with glowing white eyes.
Bark at the Moon – Ozzy Osbourne
As the front man of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne was among the first musicians to combine rock music with horror iconography, and this continued into his often-controversial solo career. 1983’s Bark at the Moon, the title track from the album of the same name, boasted Osbourne’s most memorable video: a Gothic spectacle which sees him play a mad scientist, a vampire and a wolfman.
Thriller – Michael Jackson
No discussion of scary music videos could be complete without mentioning Michael Jackson’s Thriller. For the title track from his legendary 1982 album, Jackson enlisted An American Werewolf in London director John Landis to create a short horror movie which sees the King of Pop transform first into a werewolf, then a zombie. The 13-minute promo helped elevate music videos into a genuine art form.
Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell
Rockwell (aka Kennedy William Gordy, son of Motown boss Berry Gordy) enjoyed his one enduring hit with 1984’s spooky single Somebody’s Watching Me, notable for featuring Michael and Jermaine Jackson on backing vocals. In keeping with the paranoid theme of the lyrics, the video incorporates POV footage of an imagined threat and spooky faces peering in the windows of the singer-songwriter’s house.
Owner of a Lonely Heart – Yes
The biggest hit of prog rockers Yes, 1983’s Owner of a Lonely Heart is a much-loved rock classic with a weird and often disturbing video. Directed by esteemed artist Storm Thorgeson (designer of many classic 70s album covers), the promo sees a seemingly random man abducted and brutalized by mysterious agents, whilst he suffers nightmarish hallucinations involving snakes, spiders, scorpions and other creepy-crawlies.
Self-Control – Laura Brannigan
There’s no way to guarantee a creepy music video like hiring the director of The Exorcist. Oscar-winner William Friedkin called the shots on the promo for Laura Brannigan’s Self Control, which caused controversy on release over its blend of sexual overtones and suspense, as the singer is stalked by a threatening, white-masked figure. Some suggest the video inspired Stanley Kubrick’s later film Eyes Wide Shut.
Come to Daddy – Aphex Twin
Esteemed electronica artist Aphex Twin (aka Richard James) may have made his name on chill-out music, but there’s nothing remotely chill about the truly nightmarish Come to Daddy. The intense 1997 track boasts an unforgettably nightmarish video in which a deprived British housing estate is terrorized by mobs of child-sized demonic entities wearing the musician’s face.
Lullaby – The Cure
Taken from The Cure’s 1989 album Disintegration, Lullaby is a chilling account of a nightmare of being eaten by a giant spider. Director Tim Pope’s suitably unsettling video casts the band’s front man Robert Smith as both the victim and the ‘spider-man’ (although no one would confuse this creation with Peter Parker). It won British Music Video of the Year at that year’s Brit Awards.
Here I Go Again – Body Count
Not to be confused with the upbeat Whitesnake track of the same name, Here I Go Again was recorded by Ice-T’s rap metal band Body Count in 2017, based on an unreleased demo the rapper recorded in the 80s. Boasting extremely disturbing lyrics from the perspective of a psychotic serial killer, the video is equally graphic and grim. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
Bogus Operandi - The Hives
Swedish punk rock band The Hives paid homage to iconic horror movie The Evil Dead with the video for their 2023 single Bogus Operandi. Placing the band members in a cabin in the woods, they unwittingly release evil spirits via an audio cassette of their single, leading to a series of grisly death scenes and a lot of energetic camera work.
Everybody (Backstreet's Back) - Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys enjoyed one of their biggest hits with 1997's Everybody (Backstreet's Back). While there's nothing particularly sinister about the song itself, director Joseph Kahn came up with a wacky video set in a haunted house which transforms the band members into some classic monsters. This has helped Everybody become a Halloween favorite, despite the lack of spooky lyrical content.
Dragula - Rob Zombie
From his name alone, rocker and filmmaker Rob Zombie has never made any secret of his devotion to the horror genre. The video to his 1998 single Dragula (directed by Zombie himself) draws heavily on horror movie imagery dating back to the 50s and 60s, including the fact that Zombie is shown driving a car from classic horror sitcom The Munsters.
LA Devotee - Panic! at the Disco
The video to indie rock band Panic! at the Disco's 2016 single LA Devotee proved to be surprisingly creepy and weird. Noah Schnapp, a young actor familiar with spookiness thanks to his work on Netflix's Stranger Things, stars as an abducted child who's strapped to a chair and seems to be offered up as a sacrifice in some sort of black magic ritual.
Blood Red Sandman - Lordi
Two years before they became arguably the most unlikely winners of the Eurovision Song Contest in history, Finnish heavy metal band Lordi made an ultra-creepy video for their 2004 single Blood Red Sandman. In classic 80s horror movie style, the video features several youngsters venturing to a cabin in the woods, only to be tormented by monsters - played by the famously monstrous band themselves.
Can I Play with Madness - Iron Maiden
Heavy metal icons Iron Maiden have always leaned heavily on horror-based imagery, so naturally they've made a few spooky videos. The promo for their 1988 single Can I Play with Madness boasts the final performance from late Monty Python star Graham Chapman, as an uptight, heavy metal-hating teacher who plummets into a dark underworld where he witnesses bizarre, occult goings-on.
Diary of a Madman - Gravediggaz
One of the key bands in the 'horrorcore' rap scene of the 90s, New York's Gravediggaz specialized in hip hop with a heavy emphasis on horror-based imagery and dark, violent themes. Their 1994 breakthrough single Diary of a Madman is lyrically blood-curdling enough on all on its own, even without the appropriately creepy video.
Are You Ready for Freddy - The Fat Boys
Hip hop trio the Fat Boys enjoyed a big hit in 1988 with an unlikely collaborator in Robert Englund, aka Freddy Krueger of A Nightmare on Elm Street. The single Are You Ready for Freddy appeared on the soundtrack of A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, and features a creepy video in which Freddy himself stalks the band in a creepy old house.
A Nightmare on My Street - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
1988 gave us not one, but two classic rap tracks about Freddy Krueger, as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince had a hit in A Nightmare on My Street. They were then sued by studio New Line Cinema over the unauthorized use of Freddy iconography, so the spooky video was banned for many years, but was rediscovered and uploaded to YouTube in 2018.
Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden
Grunge icons Soundgarden had their most enduring hit in their 1994 single Black Hole Sun. The song itself has a somewhat sinister vibe, but the video from director Howard Greenhalgh takes the creep factor to another level, with nightmarish visions of a seemingly ordinary suburban community growing ever more exaggerated and distorted as it is pulled into a black hole.
The Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson
From the beginning, Marilyn Manson set out to be synonymous with the term 'shock rock,' with a heavy emphasis on provocative and horrific imagery. 1996's The Beautiful People proved the band's breakthrough hit, thanks in no small part to director Floria Sigismondi's suitably sinister video loaded with bizarre, nightmarish visuals, which proved hugely popular with MTV audiences.
One - Metallica
The very first music video by Metallica, One was released in 1989. The video intercuts between black and white footage of the band performing the song, and scenes and dialogue from 1971 film Johnny Got His Gun, detailing the song's bone-chilling concept: the plight of a wartime soldier severely wounded in action and left without limbs, sight, speech or hearing.
3am - Eminem
Rapper Eminem has always delved into the dark side with his lyrics, and his 2009 single 3am pushes that further than most. Told from the perspective of a psychotic serial killer, the video shows Eminem breaking out of a mental institution and committing multiple gruesome murders. Reportedly Eminem and director Syndrome literally shot their scenes at 3am.
Look What You Made Me Do - Taylor Swift
The imagery in Taylor Swift's video for her 2017 single Look What You Made Me Do has been widely analyzed by fans and critics - but while its overall meaning may be complex, we can all agree that the pop superstar makes for a surprisingly creepy zombie when she bursts out from her own grave.
Jeremy - Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam's early hit Jeremy was inspired by the tragic true story of a child suicide. The 1992 music video explored this in a haunting fashion, but its original ending - which showed the boy shooting himself - was cut by MTV. As a result, the video and the song have often been misinterpreted as being about a school shooting, an equally unnerving concept.
Freak on a Leash - Korn
Korn were one of the biggest bands of the nu-metal era. The video for 1999's Freak on a Leash combined live-action footage with animated scenes directed by renowned comic book creator Todd McFarlane, featuring eerie moments of Children of the Corn-esque children whilst exploring the very real horror of gun violence.
Going Under - Evanescence
Millions of us aspire to rock superstardom, but rock superstars are always going to pains to show us how nightmarish is. Take the video for Evanescence's 2003 single Going Under, which shows the band doing your standard famous person stuff - getting dolled up, giving press conferences, doing a gig - only for the makeup artists, journalists and audience to turn into horrible demonic entities.
No Surprises - Radiohead
Radiohead have never exactly been the most upbeat fellows. Their 1997 single No Surprises is, on the surface, one of the British indie rock band's gentlest songs, yet the video is 100% pure nightmare fuel. Recorded in a single shot, singer Thom Yorke has his head in what looks like a goldfish bowl that slowly fills with water until he is completely submerged.
Closer - Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails' 1994 song Closer was always going to be a controversy-courter based on the lyrics alone (even if you've only heard the chorus, you know what we're talking about). It made sense, then, that director Mark Romanek made a similarly dark and confrontational music video loaded with alarming, unsettling and provocative imagery. Uncut broadcasts of the promo were rare back in the 90s.
Dark All Day - Gunship
Dark All Day, the title track from the second album by British synthwave band Gunship, pays lyrical homage to beloved 1987 horror movie The Lost Boys. The band took it to the next level by enlisting Tim Cappello, The Lost Boys' famous saxophonist, to guest on the track. The part-animated video features scores of vampires, and the musicians performing in a torrential rain of blood.
Breathe - The Prodigy
British electronica act The Prodigy presented a unique mix of mainstream-friendly dance music with dark, confrontational elements. This was brilliantly encapsulated in the memorably unnerving video for their 1997 single Breathe, which features vocalists Keith Flint and Maxim looking deranged and dangerous in a scuzzy, roach-laden apartment building whilst various phobias come to life all around them.
Bones - The Killers
For their 2006 single Bones, indie rockers The Killers enlisted a music video director who most definitely knows a thing or two about the macabre: esteemed filmmaker Tim Burton. The resulting promo pays homage to the iconic skeletons of stop-motion animation legend Ray Harryhausen, as a pretty young couple shed their skin together.
Bury a Friend - Billie Eilish
Contemporary pop sensation Billie Eilish played things distinctly creepy in the video for her 2019 single Bury a Friend. The singer-songwriter has said the song was inspired by her own experience of sleep paralysis, hence the sinister video casts her as a monster under the bed, followed by all many of strange, confrontational imagery to set the skin crawling.
Dream Warriors - Dokken
Freddy Krueger pops up in yet another music video, for the theme song to A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, from big-haired 80s metallers Dokken. The video splices footage from the 1987 horror sequel with specially reshot moments showing the band themselves entering the movie and fighting back against Freddy himself.
I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) - Meat Loaf
Rock singer Meat Loaf always had a theatrical persona rooted in Gothic melodrama, and this was played out full throttle in the video for his 1993 comeback single I'd Do Anything for Love. Directed by future blockbuster filmmaker Michael Bay, the video casts Meat Loaf under heavy make-up as a lovelorn beast in a lonely castle, evoking the spirit of classic horror movies.
From the Cradle to Enslave - Cradle of Filth
British metal band Cradle of Filth have always been big fans of shock-horror tactics, and this has played a big part in their music videos, most notably 1999's From the Cradle to Enslave. Heavily censored on mainstream TV, the promo is bursting with gore, nudity and provocative imagery. The video's director, Alex Chandon, later cast the band in cult horror movie Cradle of Fear.
Kids - MGMT
The video for US indie rock band MGMT's 2008 single Kids provoked controversy with its footage of a toddler who frequently appears to be in genuine fear and distress. And who could blame the little guy, considering the hideous oversized puppets frequently stalking him throughout the video? The nightmarish creations included here would be enough to terrify most grown-ups, never mind actual children.
Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All) - Type O Negative
Peter Steele, front man of Goth rockers Type O Negative, was by nature a pretty spooky guy. As such, all they needed to do to give the band a creepy video was to shoot him in black and white close-ups, lit from below. This helped make Type O Negative's 1993 single Black No. 1 a Halloween classic for hard rock fans.
Things That Go Bump in the Night - Allstars
British quintet Allstars were pretty much the definition of a here-today, gone-tomorrow pop band, breaking up in June 2002 after barely a year on the scene. However, they recorded an all-time Halloween classic in their 2001 single Things That Go Bump In The Night, which has a suitably spooky video inspired by the ghost-hunting TV shows of the era.
Pet Sematary - The Ramones
After Stephen King littered his 1983 novel with references to the Ramones, the pioneering punk rockers returned the favor by writing and recording the title track to the 1989 Pet Sematary movie. The video looks like something Ed Wood might have directed with its cardboard tomb stones, but it still effectively captures a B-movie horror charm.
