Long before radio became mainstream entertainment, Edgar Allen Poe was already writing for the airwaves. Throughout the last decade of his life, his poetry and prose bristled with words and phrasing ...

This article was featured in One Great Story, New York’s reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly. Horror movies are a tennis match between the haunting absence of sound and ...

‘Sound Effects No. 13 – Death & Horror’ courted controversy upon its release in 1977—but despite graphic track titles like “Red Hot Poker Into Eye” and a campaign to have it banned, it became an ...

You know the sound: It's eerie and echoing, and it makes the little hairs on your arms stand up immediately. So many horror movies use it to create a chilling atmosphere, and even some reality shows ...

Movies may be a visual medium, but the best scary flicks will cut right through the hand you instinctually put over your eyes. It could be a music swell or a small sound effect or a single spoken word ...

Hiding under a pillow during a horror movie can be an effective strategy for filtering the most brutal moments in a film. But often, even behind tightly closed eyes, you can't escape the suspense, ...

The brain has evolved to interpret these irregular sounds as potential danger, triggering that instinctive “fight or flight” response. It’s the reason the screeching violins in the movie “Psycho” or ...

If you want to know what it sounds like to root around in someone’s chest cavity without the bloody mess, a grapefruit will do just fine. Tear, compress, and squish it in your hands. With a little ...

Do you have more splintering? IS there anything like ‘straining at the door panel?'” asks Lawrence Kasdan. His sound designer, Bob Grieve, suggests that the music is too loud; the audience won’t catch ...

An aural history of scary movies, and the Foley art and design that make them great. By Jordan Crucchiola vulture animal bureau Fear the Chamois It’s arguably the most versatile object in the Foley ...