These songs strike a creepy chord. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most spine-tingling show tunes that could easily feature on the soundtrack of our nightmares.
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00:00 "But when they reach the scene of crime,
00:03 Macavity's not there."
00:05 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:08 for the most spine-tingling show tunes that could easily feature
00:11 on the soundtrack of our nightmares.
00:14 "I'm here!
00:15 I'm here!
00:16 I'm here!
00:17 I'm never dead!
00:18 I'm here!
00:19 I am the guilt inside your head!"
00:23 Number 10.
00:24 Dead Mom - Beetlejuice
00:26 "But dead mom, I gotta ask, are you really in the ground?
00:33 Yes, I feel you all around me."
00:36 Leave it to an ancient demon to interrupt a somber occasion to draw attention back to
00:40 himself.
00:41 But that's exactly what Beetlejuice does when he explains the whole being dead thing.
00:45 "That's the thing with life, no one makes it out alive!"
00:50 And while that's creepy in a more kooky way, Lydia's solo "Dead Mom" later on leaves us
00:55 feeling more ill at ease.
00:57 Lydia misses her late mother, and she's frustrated that her dad's forcibly trying to move on.
01:01 "Daddy, pull it forward.
01:04 Daddy, get it through the core."
01:08 She implores her mom to help her through the loss.
01:11 It's a dark recognition of the grief cycle and how everyone handles it differently.
01:15 Sung with a fervor from the depths of her soul, Lydia's sorrow leaves audiences with
01:20 goosebumps.
01:21 "Go and save the things that change.
01:25 Whatever it takes to make him say your name, dead mom."
01:32 Number 9.
01:33 Molasses to Rum, 1776.
01:34 "You dance with us, we dance with you, in molasses and rum and slay."
01:47 1776 follows the Founding Fathers in the lead-up to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
01:54 In one of its darkest, yet most powerful moments, Edward Rutledge, a delegate from South Carolina,
02:00 sings about how the sanctimonious Northern colonies claim their anti-slavery, but continue
02:05 to profit from it.
02:06 "Tisn't morals, 'tis money that saves.
02:09 Shall we dance to the sound of a profitable pound?"
02:17 The lyrics call out false virtue, while the melody mirrors the atrocities of the slave
02:21 trade.
02:22 The song packs a strong political punch that feels as bleakly relevant today as it did
02:27 when the musical first premiered in 1969.
02:29 "Hail slavery, the New England dream."
02:34 It's striking, commanding, and devastatingly unsettling.
02:38 Sing well, this song can make listeners' hair stand on end.
02:42 "Hail Boston, hail Charleston, who stinker the most?"
02:58 Number 8.
02:59 "Down Once More, Track Down This Murderer, The Phantom of the Opera."
03:02 "Down once more to the dungeons of my black despair.
03:09 Down we plunge to the prison of my mind."
03:14 During the eerily charged "The Point of No Return," Christine realizes that her co-star
03:19 isn't who she expected.
03:20 "At the point of no return, the final threshold, the final threshold, the final threshold,
03:21 we've reached the point of no return, the final threshold."
03:29 She unmasks the Phantom, inciting his outrage.
03:33 As he forces her to his lair, he sings about how his seat of sweet music's throne is actually
03:37 a prison separating him from an unforgiving society.
03:41 The song is filled with so much anger, resentment, and pain.
03:44 Layered on top of the chorus's mob cry, it's terrifying.
04:05 It also leads to the final confrontation, where the Phantom forces Christine to choose
04:10 between him and Raoul.
04:11 It had us wishing we'd booked the matinee because we weren't getting any sleep with
04:15 the Phantom's chilling voice inside our minds.
04:20 "It's over now.
04:28 The music gone bad."
04:40 Number 7.
04:41 "Tomorrow Belongs to Me."
04:42 "Cabaret."
04:43 "The sun on the meadow is summery warm.
04:44 The staff in the morning's front's free."
04:57 This song is so bone-chillingly terrifying because it highlights just how dangerous political
05:02 indifference can be.
05:03 While Sally Bowles tells audiences that life is a cabaret, something far more sinister
05:08 is happening outside the Kit Kat club.
05:10 We see a young man singing a folksy-sounding tune.
05:29 But soon enough, we discover this isn't your average patriotic song.
05:33 And as more voices join the chorus, the tone becomes increasingly ominous and its message
05:38 ever more threatening.
05:39 It exemplifies how the Nazis commandeered German culture and indoctrinated much of its
05:44 coming-of-age population.
05:50 Unfortunately, some far-right groups have since begun using the song for their purposes.
06:04 Showing its message remains frighteningly relevant today.
06:13 Number 6.
06:14 "Why We Build the Wall."
06:15 "Hadestown."
06:16 "Why do we build the wall, my children, my children, why do we build the wall?"
06:25 You might be thinking that this song was inspired by a certain recent US administration.
06:29 But no, it was actually penned about a decade earlier.
06:32 "That song is one of those songs that kind of wrote itself.
06:36 And I've been playing that song for years and years and never expected it to feel new
06:41 again."
06:42 Still, it's rather alarming how timely it is.
06:45 Even the call and response between Hades and his followers feels eerily current.
06:50 Indeed, Hades joins a long history of fear-mongering leaders seeking totalitarian control.
06:55 "How does the wall keep us free?
07:01 How does the wall keep us free?
07:04 The wall keeps out the enemy."
07:07 He uses his walled-in world to brainwash his followers and keep them in line in exchange
07:11 for perceived stability.
07:13 The somberific melody and Hades' hypnotic voice are trance-inducing.
07:16 "The enemy is party, and the wall keeps out the enemy.
07:17 And we build the wall to keep us free.
07:28 That's why we build the wall.
07:29 We build the wall to keep us free."
07:33 Do you find yourself absentmindedly singing along with the workers?
07:36 Creepy, isn't it?
07:37 Just the fact that it seems so real makes it all the more chilling.
07:41 "We build the wall to keep us free."
07:50 Number 5.
07:51 Our Love is God - Heathers the Musical
07:53 "But when the morning comes, we'll burn it down and then we'll build the world again.
08:04 Our love is God."
08:06 We can't talk about Heathers without taking a moment to spotlight Dead Girl Walking.
08:11 "Before they punch my clock, I'm snapping off your window lock.
08:19 Got no time to knock, I'm a dead girl walking."
08:20 But somehow, that isn't the musical's creepiest number.
08:23 Taking a direct quote from the 1989 black comedy,
08:26 "Our love is God.
08:28 Let's go get a slushie."
08:31 The writers penned a romantic ballad, Our Love is God, with a very menacing undertone.
08:36 However, those undertones soon become more apparent.
08:39 "We're what killed the dinosaurs.
08:41 We're the asteroid that's overdue."
08:47 By the end, even Veronica can't really ignore the red flags anymore.
08:51 "I worship you.
08:52 I'd trade my life for yours.
08:53 We'll make them disappear.
08:54 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
08:55 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
08:56 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
08:57 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
08:58 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
08:59 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:00 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:01 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:02 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:03 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:04 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:05 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:06 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:07 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:08 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:09 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:10 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:11 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:12 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:13 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:14 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:15 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:16 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:17 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:18 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:19 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:20 We'll plant a garden in the sky.
09:21 It mirrors his psyche and takes audiences to a really dark place.
09:25 We'll watch the smoke pour out the doors.
09:30 Bring marshmallows, we'll make s'mores.
09:33 We can smile and cuddle while the fire roars.
09:35 Number 4.
09:36 Lonely Room, Oklahoma
09:38 The floor creaks.
09:42 The door squeaks.
09:46 There's a field mouse a-nibbling on a broom.
09:51 Judd Frye is a lonely and troubled farmhand who's developed an obsession with Laurie.
09:56 If you've only seen the 1955 film adaptation, you might not be familiar with this song.
10:01 It's quite bleak, so we wouldn't be surprised if that's why they chose to omit it.
10:05 And the curls I want and the fray of my arms and her warm soft arms keep me warm.
10:14 But in the musical, it follows poor Judd is dead, which sees Curly cruelly taunt the farmhand.
10:22 Poor Judd is dead.
10:24 Poor Judd Frye is dead.
10:29 All gather round his coffin now and cry.
10:36 This only makes Judd more resolute to gain Laurie's affections.
10:40 The lyrics of Lonely Room depict a man who wants to be loved.
10:43 I'm awake in a lonely room.
10:53 But it's sung with an ominous intensity, making our skin crawl.
10:57 We can't help but feel uneasy over what drastic steps he might take to achieve his goal.
11:02 Get me a woman to call my own.
11:16 Number three, Confrontation, Jacqueline Hyde.
11:20 To the day that I...
11:25 Do you really think that I would ever let you go?
11:31 In Facade, audiences are put on edge as the ensemble points out that we all hide behind
11:35 a mask of sorts to fit in.
11:37 But when Mr. Hyde comes alive, he has no interest in hiding.
11:41 Instead, he ponders why being bad feels so good.
11:44 But blazing with light, it's the feeling of being alive.
11:50 To lose evil but truly alive.
11:52 Lucy also contemplates her entanglement in his dangerous game.
11:55 It's a sin with no name.
11:57 Like a hand in a sling.
11:59 And our senses proclaim, it's a dangerous game.
12:03 But does it get darker or creepier than Confrontation?
12:09 Jekyll and Hyde fight for control in the ultimate fight between good and evil.
12:13 Oh, I'll live inside you forever.
12:18 No!
12:19 With Satan himself by my side.
12:24 And since both roles are typically played by the same actor,
12:27 the way it plays out on stage is spectacular.
12:30 We all have to silence our inner voice sometimes.
12:33 But this is like something out of an anxiety-fueled nightmare.
12:36 Take all your evil deeds and rot in hell!
12:38 I'll see you there, Jekyll.
12:42 Never!
12:42 Number 2.
12:49 Supper Time.
12:50 Little Shop of Horrors.
12:51 He's got your number now.
12:54 I saw everything.
12:56 Who knows just what you've done?
12:58 Look, it's there in the title.
13:00 No one was expecting songs about sunshine, rainbows, and smelling roses.
13:04 Instead, we get a number about cold-blooded dentist
13:07 Oren Scrivallo that's equal parts disturbing and total bop.
13:11 I am your dentist.
13:13 And I enjoy the career that I've picked.
13:17 I'm your dentist.
13:20 And I get off on the pain I inflict.
13:24 But we know one bloodthirsty plant who knows how to deal with his type.
13:27 Yeah, Audrey 2 convincing Seymour to go along with its plan is morbid.
13:31 If you wanna be the top, then you really gotta justify.
13:35 Keep your breath in, hold your eye.
13:39 A lot of folk deserve to die.
13:40 They deserve to die!
13:42 Wait, wait, wait a minute!
13:44 But things get even worse when Seymour's boss, Mushnik,
13:47 wants answers regarding Oren's disappearance, only to become Tooey's next meal.
13:51 "Come on, come on, ain't no time to be squeamish.
13:55 Come on, come on, I swear on all my sport.
14:00 When he's gone, the world will be yours."
14:04 "Okay, Seymour, let's-"
14:05 And what about when the plant takes things into its own stems,
14:08 binds, tentacles, and lures Audrey into its trap, too?
14:12 We don't know about you, but we pretty much cleared our homes of all plants after that.
14:16 "Just knock. Knock."
14:18 "Summertime."
14:25 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
14:29 The Pitiful Children - Be More Chill
14:31 The squip taking over is more chilling than chill.
14:34 "And get inside the brain, let's save the pitiful children. Whoa."
14:40 Spooky Mormon Helldream - The Book of Mormon
14:43 An eerily hilarious send-up of the dream sequence.
14:46 "Down, down thy soul is cast, from the earth when Sporky fell.
14:52 The path of fire leads thee to spooky Mormon Helldream."
14:58 Kiss of the Spider Woman - Kiss of the Spider Woman
15:01 Once you're in her web, there's no way of escaping her kiss.
15:05 "And you're aching too, but you're caught in the web of the spider woman.
15:14 In her velvet cape, you can scream, but you cannot escape."
15:25 My Name - Oliver
15:27 Bill Sykes - the name that leaves theatergoers cowering behind their playbills.
15:31 "Rich men hold their five-pound notes out. Saves me emptying their coats out.
15:41 They know I could tear their throats out just to live up to my name."
15:48 And Eve was weak.
15:50 Carrie - Carrie's Mom's Fight Song Against the Crimson Tide
15:54 "You're a woman now. Pray to heaven for your wicked soul.
15:58 The raven came to plague the world. Its name was sin. It's not a sin.
16:02 Its name was sin. Oh mama, it's not a sin. Begin!"
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16:21 Number 1. My Friends - Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
16:36 The show's opening number introduces us to Sweeney Todd,
16:39 a barber we eventually learn is seeking revenge on Judge Turpin, who destroyed his family.
16:44 He meets Mrs. Levitt, a pie shop owner, who reunites him with his razors.
17:06 Let's just say when a man sings a number dubbed "My Friends" to a collection of blades,
17:11 it's time to back away.
17:12 That's especially true when he sings about them dripping rubies and
17:32 isn't talking about precious gems. Later on, when the judge escapes his clutches,
17:36 Todd has an epiphany that all mankind should pay for their sins.
17:40 An eerily short amount of time later, he and Mrs. Levitt devise their plan.
17:53 We've been carefully scrutinizing the ingredients of all pies ever since.
17:58 "At last, my arm is complete again!"
18:03 Which song leaves you sleeping with the light on? Let us know in the comments.
18:07 "Say 'ahhh!' Now spit!"
18:12 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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18:22 [Music]