Horror films are known for their unique ability to brand images and sounds into our minds. I’ll never unsee the cliff scene from Midsommar (2019) or some of the more brutal traps from the Saw franchise.

A popular online movie forum user asked fellow horror fans about the most terrible and memorable sounds from horror movies. Many horror lovers came together to suggest the most harrowing noises in horror.


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  • Get Out (2017)

    Image Credit: Universal Pictures.

    In the film that gave Jordan Peele his start as a fantastic horror filmmaker, a young couple travels to the girlfriend's family home for a weekend when things quickly turn sinister.

    The sound of the spoon clinking against the teacup in the hypnosis scene stays with many viewers. "I frequently stir my tea while I'm drinking it," shares one fan, adding that the sound always reminds them of Get Out.

    โ€Get Out is a zombie movie. But no one noticed.ย Read more.

  • Ju-On: The Grudge (2002)

    Image Credit: Lions Gates Films.

    In a house haunted by a terrifying spirit, anyone who enters the building faces her wrath. When the spirit hides just around the corner or in the closet, she often makes a horrible gurgling throat noise that almost sounds like a door creaking open.

  • Silent Hill (2006)

    Image Credit: Alliance Atlantis.

    When a mother with a terminally ill daughter seeks out a faith healer as a last resort to save her daughter's life, they find themselves stuck in a strange town where reality shifts into a terrifying and deadly darkness at the sound of a siren. For many fans of the film, these sirens' wails are burned into their minds.

  • Annihilation (2018)

    Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.

    In Annihilation, rescuers enter a testing zone filled with terrifying mutant creatures. When a mutant bear rips open the throat of one of the investigators, it takes on the sound of her screams when it roars. "The bear's imitation of a human scream was one of the most poop-my-pants sounds I've ever heard in a horror film," writes one viewer.

  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

    Image Credit: United Artists.

    When a small town is overtaken by aliens who steal the bodies of humans, its remaining inhabitants must search for a way to evade the extraterrestrials. At the film's end, one of the main characters approaches another only to realize the aliens got him when he lets out a terrible screech.

  • Psycho (1960)

    Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.

    Alfred Hitchcock's famous film Psycho's most famous scene etched the violin music one fan describes as sounding like, "RIEEEE RIEEEE RIEEEEE" into every viewer's head. I know my mom showered with the curtains open for years after seeing Psycho.

  • Day of the Dead (1985)

    Image Credit: United Film Distribution Company.

    This classic zombie horror film takes place amid the zombie apocalypse, where a group of soldiers and civilians trapped in a silo fight to save the remainder of humanity from a terrible fate.

    The zombies in the film are vicious and, at one point, rip a character's head off his body. As his vocal cords tear in half, his scream shifts to a higher pitch that stays with viewers years after they watch the movie.

  • The Babadook (2014)

    Image Credit: Umbrella Entertainment.

    When a mother and son grieving the loss of their husband and father discovers a strange book in their home, they unknowingly unleash a terrifying spirit. One of the scariest things about the monster, known as the Babadook, is the deep, throaty noise he makes when he shouts his name.

  • Mother! (2017)

    Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.

    Mother! is an eerie psychological horror film about a couple in the midst of a home renovation when fans of the man's art visit the home in droves and destroy the renovation progress.

    At the same time, the woman has a baby, and its father decides to show it off to his fans, who swarm the baby and accidentally break its neck. The sound of an infant's neck snapping made one moviegoer gasp along with everyone else in the theater.

    This thread inspired this post.

  • Candyman (1992)

    Image Credit: TriStar Pictures.

    When a graduate student investigates a local legend in Chicago's housing projects, she discovers that the Candyman is after her. She hears disturbing messages from the Candyman, such as when he calls after her with equally poetic and horrific monologues. After viewing the film, that voice stuck with me and many other horror fans.

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