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immolate_the_silenceCollection: Trope Bingo
Prompt: Haunted House
Notes: Given how much I love music, I thought why not create a playlist for this fun little trope? In the process, I actually found songs by bands I've never heard of or in certain genres that I would normally never listen to and now love. Thanks, Trope Bingo!
Oh, and you can listen to the playlist HERE.
1. Mister Memory by The Comsat Angels
~In the place where you used to be
There's a noisy ghost, a restless space
...
He's a haunted house - Mister Memory
Will you lay the ghost, will you set him free~
Mister Memory is the focus in this song, a haunted house housing a ghost who has lost himself/herself and whom the singer begs the audience to set free. Ok, I've always been terrible on decoding songs, but this song could also be about a person's memories being like a haunted house, trapping them until there's only chaos and noise, and how that person is desperately reaching out for someone to set him/her free. Specifically, someone left the singer and caused them to feel like this shell of a person; therefore, they're begging to be released from loss and torment. Yeah, let's go with that.
Overall: The singer feels like he's trapped in a haunted house, that house being all his bad memories.
2. Masterpiece of Loneliness by John Waite
~Well I climb the stairs in this haunted house
To find your spirit everywhere
...
And I stand there in the kitchen light
With your ghost and memories~
I love love love this song. It's clear that the singer has lost someone dear to him and he's revealing that his heart is lonely, hence the song title and the chorus. He still lives in the same house that he once lived in with this person, this silent, empty house where he can still see and sense them everywhere. As the song progresses; however, we realize that the singer wanted freedom and perhaps regrets it now, suggesting that the loss might have been his choice. Even so, the chorus is haunting and heartbreaking as the singer paints himself: a figure in a landscape, or rather, a masterpiece of loneliness.
Overall: In a house haunted by the singer's choices and losses, he continuously paints his now haunted self.
3. Haunted House by Ryan Adams
~Welcome to my haunted house
I live here alone, ain't no one else
...
The cracks in the windows and the spiders they crawl
Across the lattice from 1924~
A great progression from the last song, the singer reveals how he doesn't want to live in his haunted house anymore. He lives alone as his friends "all disappear one by one," with no one remaining in contact with him, and he also remarks how short but still sweet life is but how there's nowhere to fall, perhaps meaning no room to make mistakes. Alternately, the haunted house is a metaphor for someone being trapped by their choices and even their mistakes, much like the first song.
Overall: The singer doesn't want to remain in their haunted house anymore, which symbolizes their past choices that have led them to alienation and isolation.
4. Dracula Teeth by The Last Shadow Puppets
~I wake up in an ice cold sweat and my skin starts to creep
You're hovering above my bed looking down on me
Haunted house sound effects
Dracula Teeth~
The imagery in this song is definitely fit for a haunted house: "I drift away with silver faces on display," "you're hovering above my bed," "the floorboards creak," "threatening behavior" and of course the song title. Basically, the singer is being haunted/hunted by something, most likely a vampire given the song's title, but also perhaps a ghost. "Pinball machines on mute" emphasizes the silence of the room/house, and "I wake up in an ice cold sweat" suggests that perhaps the singer is simply dreaming or imagining his dread and the things he's seeing. Either way, it's a perfect, funky little haunted house song.
Overall: The singer seems to be trapped in a nightmarish loop in a haunted house, being terrorized by a vampire or ghost.
5. Baby You're a Haunted House by Gerard Way
~I'll be the only one who likes the things you do
I'll be the ghost inside your head when we are through
Sometimes you scare me, but I come around to you
I'll say hello hello hello and I'll find a way to scare you too~
I admit, this was the first song that came to mind with this trope/prompt. This song is, at its heart, a love song, with the singer confessing to his lover that they'll always be in love, even when their lover is dead. "Better find another superstition" seems to suggest that the singer's lover shouldn't bother coming up with excuses for the two of them to not be together. In a way, the title and the chorus (the singer telling his lover that they are a haunted house) might mean that the former is so in love with the latter that it's like the lover has the singer trapped in that love, or rather, trapped in them. Any way you spin it, you can't deny that it's a damn catchy song.
Overall: The title definitely fits the haunted house trope. Additionally, the singer has an all-consuming love that could be said to trap him and that sometimes even scares him; hence, his lover being a haunted house.
6. The Ghost of You by My Chemical Romance
~And all the wounds that are ever gonna scar me
For all the ghosts that are never gonna catch me
...
And all the things that you never ever told me
And all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me~
Yes, progressing into an another, albeit earlier Gerard Way song. This song is first and foremost about loss, the long, hard, grief-stricken and haunted road toward acceptance of that loss. The chorus is a heartrending repetition of how a girl that the singer loves will never be coming home, yet how he still can't forget her. He dwells on all the things that they never told each other and all the smiles of hers that he will never see again. Unable to let go of her, he can't move past his pain and the song quickly morphs into shocking suicidal ideation: the could i's and should i's, "if I fall," "I never said I'd lie and wait forever" (he'll end his life now to be reunited with her rather than wait an eternity), and "for all the ghosts that are never gonna catch me" (he can't bear to be haunted by her and their memories anymore, so he'll end his life and forever escape those ghosts).
Overall: The singer is trapped in his pain and grief over the loss of his lover and opts to end it rather than remain trapped in his life, kinda like being trapped in a haunted house.
7. In the House, In a Heartbeat by John Murphy
The first instrumental piece for this playlist and an incredibly worthy one at that. This mesmerizing and powerful piece from the film 28 Days Later makes you feel every ounce of fear as you run through a haunted house where you are being chased, feet thumping, heartbeat pounding, terror coursing through your veins like liquid fire. The song starts off quiet and slow as you realize where you are and what's happening, then picks up quickly in speed, fueling your adrenaline.
Overall: This is the song where you realize you're trapped inside a haunted house and there's no way out, so just let your pulse pound and keep running.
8. Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus
and
9. Bela Lugosi's Dead by Chvrches (cover of the above)
~The virginal brides file past his tomb
Strewn with time's dead flowers
Bereft in deathly bloom
Alone in a darkened room~
For the Bauhaus version, the whole song has these scratchy, eerie, industrial sound effects in the background, almost making you feel like you're in a haunted house. This song is about, well, just look at the title. Bela Lugosi, widely known for his performance as Dracula, is being paid homage for his portrayal. The song mentions black capes and bats, victims that have been bled and the black box Bela (Dracula) lies in lined in red velvet, and dead flowers being laid on his tomb which isn't outside but instead "alone in a darkened room." Bela (Dracula) being both dead and undead (aka a vampire) reflects the state of his house: haunted and full of other dead things. The Chvrches version is more upbeat and smooth, but with some creepy sound effects as well.
Overall: The singer informs the audience that Bela (Dracula) is dead, or rather, undead, the tomb he lies in resting in his darkened, haunted house.
10. Dead Souls by Joy Division
and
11. Dead Souls by Nine Inch Nails (cover of the above)
~Figures from the past stand tall
And mocking voices ring
Imperialistic house of prayer
Conquistadors who took their share~
This is definitely more of an unconventional fill for the haunted house prompt, the only line that vaguely suggests it being "Imperialistic house of prayer," or a haunted church; however, the song's title and the repetition of "they keep calling me" suggests that the singer is being haunted by something, tormented by mocking voices and people from his past towering over him. "A dual personality, a strange but true reality" suggests that maybe a new part of himself has been unleashed and is the one haunting him. And "conquistadors who took their share" implies that there are people who have preyed on him, taking what they wanted and perhaps leaving him with nothing. The Nine Inch Nails version is a lot louder and more in your face, but it definitely sends chills down your spine.
Overall: The singer is continuously being haunted (in a haunted church) by the mysterious "they," likely "dead souls" who want him to join them in death.
12. Burn by The Cure
~Just paint your face, the shadows smile
Slipping me away from you
Oh it doesn't matter how you hide
Find you if we're wanting to~
In this song, the singer is losing the person he loves piece by piece, the shadows stealing her away from him. He knows that he doesn't stand a chance against them but even so, each night he burns away in agony, calling her name, falling desperately after her, trying to catch her. He dreams of the day that his world will end so that he can be brought back to her. Haunted by these shadows, by the things that take her away from him, he can never truly rest, much like a ghost. Like the song above, it might not be set in a haunted house but very well could be, suggested by the shadows continuously following the singer and the repeated mentions of sleep and dreams. Like one would be trapped in a haunted house, he is trapped in the same dream, the same moment, where he burns and burns and burns away from her.
Overall: The singer is trapped in a vicious cycle, or rather, haunted house of torment and loss.
13. Haunted by Gary Numan
~And this is not my voice, not my face, not my life
It belongs to you
...
All I live for, takes me away from you
All I'd die for, takes me away from you~
This playlist just couldn't be complete without this amazing Gary Numan song, although despite the title, it requires some deeper digging to find the haunted theme. The song really seems to be about how the singer is shattered and haunted because he cannot be with the one he truly loves, circumstances and his choices always ripping him away from them. Yet, he also seems to be trapped in a vicious cycle that revolves solely around his lover, suggesting that perhaps they are the one haunting and tormenting him: "and you will not believe ... the things I've done / all in your name" (what does his lover drive him to do?), "this is not my voice / not my face / not my life / it belongs to you" (does his lover so completely rule him?), and the very first lines "I can not be saved / not by you / not by God / I want to bleed" (has his lover so corrupted him that not even God can save him, does the singer wants to completely destroy himself so that his lover can no longer lay claim over him?).
Overall: The singer is haunted by the things he's done for his lover, but also by the fact that all the things he wants, needs and lives for ultimately take him away from them. His lover is a haunted house, haunting him, corrupting him, but yet unable to hold him completely, perhaps his body but not his soul.
14. The Ghost in You by The Psychedelic Furs
and
15. The Ghost in You by Counting Crows (cover of the above)
~Inside you the time moves and she don't fade
The ghost in you, she don't fade
...
Ain't it just like rain
And love is only heaven away
What a great 80s song. I feel that the singer's statement of "the ghost in you / she don't fade" could be referring to the younger, more innocent side of the person he's singing about, stating that while time moves inside of them, aging them, they are still that younger person at heart, or rather, the ghost of their younger self still resides in them. Maybe an even better interpretation would be the opposite, how the haunted and tragic past of the person the singer speaks about resides like a ghost in them, no matter how much time goes by, and the singer is begging them to hold on and not give up. The Counting Crows version offers an even more emotionally fragile feel.
Overall: The person the singer sings of is like a haunted house, housing the ghost of, perhaps, their tragic past, which they can't escape despite the passing of time.
16. Colorblind by Counting Crows
~I am taffy stuck and tongue tied
Stutter shook and upright
...
I am folded and unfolded and unfolding
I am colorblind~
I feel like this sad little song could be about a person that is essentially so depressed and lost that they have become haunted with the ghosts of that depression, like a house would be haunted by the spirits of those plagued by depression, fear, grief, etc. The singer keeps begging for someone to "pull me out from inside," meaning that they have become so lost inside themselves that they can't find a way out. Additionally, "I am covered in skin / No one gets to come in" emphasizes how they have become a shell of a person, just like a haunted house would be a shell of its former state. Perhaps like a ghost would, the singer also keeps repeating that he is ready and he is fine, perhaps wanting to let go entirely or break out of his shell. Like a ghost loses all clarity and touch with the world, becoming in a sense colorblind, so does the singer.
Overall: The subject of the song has become haunted, much like a haunted house. They feel trapped inside themselves due to depression, grief, etc. tormenting and trapping them, turning them essentially into a ghost.
17. If I Had a Heart by Fever Ray
~This will never end, cause I want more
More, give me more, give me more
...
If I had a heart I could love you
If I had a voice I would sing~
This song is the epitome of desperation and longing, with the singer wanting more than what they have, proclaiming that they are unable to love because they have no heart, unable to sing because they have no voice, and unable to essentially come back down and connect with earth because their legs are not long enough, or because they are too far gone from humanity. Sound like a ghost, someone who has lost all touch with humanity that they are unable to connect with them or speak to them? The singer, or ghost, has become trapped in this cycle of desperation and longing, wanting more of it because they cannot let go.
Overall: The singer has become a ghost, trapped inside what they have become, much like a haunted house would trap them.
18. 1. Ghosts I by Nine Inch Nails
and
19. 2. Ghosts I by Nine Inch Nails
These two are the perfect songs for a haunted house, or rather, a spooky playlist. While both instrumental, these two tracks are so beautifully constructed, filled to the brim with such potent emotions as heartbreak, terror, longing and loss. In the first track, there are even screams of absolute terror in the background, like a real ghost is coming towards that person. It's definitely enough to send chills down your spine. Despite how spooky these tracks are, I also picked them because I feel they could be from a ghost's perspective, how they are terrified and heartbroken during their death, and grief-stricken and longing to return back to their former selves in their afterlife, these emotions driving them insane.
Overall: These tracks, much like their titles, seem to be from a ghost's tragic perspective.
20. My Life as a Ghost by Tanya Donelly
~In this my life
My happy life as a ghost
I've been lifting out the stains from the stones
Planting flowers where you'll never find my bones~
Exactly like the title, this song focuses on the subject's life as a ghost, albeit a happy one as she is able to remain with the one she loves. This is a sweet and strange but still sad little song as the singer almost seems to be saying goodbye before she becomes a ghost with "this perfect day / we make our way to the end of it / with perfect grace / I lay my head in your lap and walk away." Perhaps she is terminally ill and means to make the most of the time she has left with her lover, with every moment being perfect, including the moments after she dies and becomes a ghost. Then again, when she speaks of "lifting out the stains from the stones" and "planting flowers where you'll never find my bones," perhaps her lover doesn't know she is dead.
Overall: The singer describes her happy life as a ghost as she remains with, or rather, haunts her lover. She haunts their home as she mentions planting flowers, "stars shooting home" and begging to stay with her lover.
21. Your Ghost by Kristin Hersh (feat. Michael Stipe)
and
22. Your Ghost by Greg Laswell (cover of the above)
~So I pad through the dark and call you on the phone
Push your old numbers and let your house ring 'till I wake your ghost
...
It's the blaze across my nightgown, it's the phone's ring
I think last night you were driving circles around me~
The singer of this beautiful song sings about her lover, who has become a ghost. She is unable to let go of him and has to constantly wake his ghost, calling him on the phone and trying to lock him away safely in her closet. She doesn't care whether he tries to harm her or swears off his love for her because she simply cannot let him go. Her house has become haunted with the ghost of him and moreover, the ghost of him that she herself constantly tries to wake. The "driving circles around me" most likely refers to the ghost, her lover, unable to let go of her as well. The Greg Laswell version is no less haunting and powerful.
Overall: The singer cannot let go of her lover's ghost, wanting to waken him in the house she has been abandoned in.
23. Strange and Fascinating by Taproot
~Shadows cast a golden grey, preparations made
So calm, yet violent winds they play
...
Elevator take me high, 14 stories, 2nd door he lies
I found his body breathless, I found the place obscene~
One could either interpret this song, focusing on a burial, about a person being haunted by those who he has lost or that person actually being the dead one, trapped in a reality they cannot escape. Either way, the singer has become haunted by who he has lost and what he has become. He constantly asks himself "am I awake?," and even though he feels alive he still dwells on the fact that he will die someday. Shadows, "violent winds" and darkness plague him, and while he tries to look away from the recent dead, tries to flee, it seems like he is unable to, perhaps because he is the recent dead. The whole mood of this song and the way it's sung is also spooky and haunting, making it perfect for this playlist.
Overall: As a living being, the singer is unable to escape his ghosts, or as a ghost he is unable to escape his haunted room where his own body lies, his own personal graveyard and tomb.
24. Living Rooms by Revis
~So what if I wanted to ask you
If I could meet you there
...
The way our languages fade in through
An empty living room~
Maybe not an obvious choice, but the song and the band are one of my favorites. Singing of living rooms, the singer begs his lover to go inside the room and stay because he is coming in after her, trying to salvage their relationship. Their whole relationship almost seems centered around this living room, albeit an empty one that she nonetheless surrounds. The singer remarks that "for you I could not be more gone," perhaps suggesting that he will sacrifice himself to be with her in the afterlife, residing in that living room with her forever. He also wonders if this has been her purpose all along. It's a long way to take a song, but for me it sorta fits.
Overall: The singer, trying to rekindle his relationship with his dead lover, is about to enter her world/afterlife, via entering his living room in a house which she haunts.
25. We Don't Belong Here by Taproot
~She's standing by her lonesome in this dead end empty space
The heavens cry upon her and wash our sins away
...
Bury the sunset, deep horizon, 6 feet separate
But I wanna go and you wanna stay~
Yes, another one by Taproot and in the same album, an album that to me is very excellent and very spooky. Just look at the title of this one! Much like Strange and Fascinating, this song also gives off some creepy, off-putting vibes, with the lyrics and the singer's almost taunting crooning. This song centers on a gathering of people that have evidently been through something horrible together and are brought together "to say that we remember." The "she" referred to in the song seems to be a ghost, perhaps even a girl they all killed given the rain washes the sins of the gatherers away. The singer wants her to know that she's not alone, and only later realizes that they never should have come. Nonetheless, "she guides us into the light," or afterlife, even as she remarks in sinister fashion that "you don't belong here."
Overall: A gathering visits a haunted graveyard; whereupon, the ghost of the girl they killed drags them 6 feet under to stay.
26. Creeping in My Soul by Cryoshell
~Here I am, I am lost in your land
And I hope you will be, creeping in my soul
...
Shadows are fleeing from the light
My nightmares can begin~
A perfect song for a haunted house! And a perfect song to end this playlist, with the ghosts creeping in your soul evidently there to stay. In this song, the singer laments her endless battles just to stay alive and how the darkness and whatever hides in the darkness keeps chasing her everywhere she goes: "out of darkness, they come crawling." She's begging someone she knows and trusts, perhaps a ghost, to hear her and wake her up, thus saving her. She wants this person to forever creep in her soul, protecting her from becoming too lost in the darkness, or rather, too lost inside herself if she is, in fact, a ghost.
Overall: Either a ghost is begging to be woken up from the nightmare that has become her life, or the singer is hiding out in the haunted land of a ghost, begging for them to protect her by forever creeping in her soul, becoming a part of her.
And that concludes this playlist! It's fairly long, I know, but who really wants to leave a haunted house once they enter it? :D
Thanks for listening!
Prompt: Haunted House
Notes: Given how much I love music, I thought why not create a playlist for this fun little trope? In the process, I actually found songs by bands I've never heard of or in certain genres that I would normally never listen to and now love. Thanks, Trope Bingo!
Oh, and you can listen to the playlist HERE.
1. Mister Memory by The Comsat Angels
~In the place where you used to be
There's a noisy ghost, a restless space
...
He's a haunted house - Mister Memory
Will you lay the ghost, will you set him free~
Mister Memory is the focus in this song, a haunted house housing a ghost who has lost himself/herself and whom the singer begs the audience to set free. Ok, I've always been terrible on decoding songs, but this song could also be about a person's memories being like a haunted house, trapping them until there's only chaos and noise, and how that person is desperately reaching out for someone to set him/her free. Specifically, someone left the singer and caused them to feel like this shell of a person; therefore, they're begging to be released from loss and torment. Yeah, let's go with that.
Overall: The singer feels like he's trapped in a haunted house, that house being all his bad memories.
2. Masterpiece of Loneliness by John Waite
~Well I climb the stairs in this haunted house
To find your spirit everywhere
...
And I stand there in the kitchen light
With your ghost and memories~
I love love love this song. It's clear that the singer has lost someone dear to him and he's revealing that his heart is lonely, hence the song title and the chorus. He still lives in the same house that he once lived in with this person, this silent, empty house where he can still see and sense them everywhere. As the song progresses; however, we realize that the singer wanted freedom and perhaps regrets it now, suggesting that the loss might have been his choice. Even so, the chorus is haunting and heartbreaking as the singer paints himself: a figure in a landscape, or rather, a masterpiece of loneliness.
Overall: In a house haunted by the singer's choices and losses, he continuously paints his now haunted self.
3. Haunted House by Ryan Adams
~Welcome to my haunted house
I live here alone, ain't no one else
...
The cracks in the windows and the spiders they crawl
Across the lattice from 1924~
A great progression from the last song, the singer reveals how he doesn't want to live in his haunted house anymore. He lives alone as his friends "all disappear one by one," with no one remaining in contact with him, and he also remarks how short but still sweet life is but how there's nowhere to fall, perhaps meaning no room to make mistakes. Alternately, the haunted house is a metaphor for someone being trapped by their choices and even their mistakes, much like the first song.
Overall: The singer doesn't want to remain in their haunted house anymore, which symbolizes their past choices that have led them to alienation and isolation.
4. Dracula Teeth by The Last Shadow Puppets
~I wake up in an ice cold sweat and my skin starts to creep
You're hovering above my bed looking down on me
Haunted house sound effects
Dracula Teeth~
The imagery in this song is definitely fit for a haunted house: "I drift away with silver faces on display," "you're hovering above my bed," "the floorboards creak," "threatening behavior" and of course the song title. Basically, the singer is being haunted/hunted by something, most likely a vampire given the song's title, but also perhaps a ghost. "Pinball machines on mute" emphasizes the silence of the room/house, and "I wake up in an ice cold sweat" suggests that perhaps the singer is simply dreaming or imagining his dread and the things he's seeing. Either way, it's a perfect, funky little haunted house song.
Overall: The singer seems to be trapped in a nightmarish loop in a haunted house, being terrorized by a vampire or ghost.
5. Baby You're a Haunted House by Gerard Way
~I'll be the only one who likes the things you do
I'll be the ghost inside your head when we are through
Sometimes you scare me, but I come around to you
I'll say hello hello hello and I'll find a way to scare you too~
I admit, this was the first song that came to mind with this trope/prompt. This song is, at its heart, a love song, with the singer confessing to his lover that they'll always be in love, even when their lover is dead. "Better find another superstition" seems to suggest that the singer's lover shouldn't bother coming up with excuses for the two of them to not be together. In a way, the title and the chorus (the singer telling his lover that they are a haunted house) might mean that the former is so in love with the latter that it's like the lover has the singer trapped in that love, or rather, trapped in them. Any way you spin it, you can't deny that it's a damn catchy song.
Overall: The title definitely fits the haunted house trope. Additionally, the singer has an all-consuming love that could be said to trap him and that sometimes even scares him; hence, his lover being a haunted house.
6. The Ghost of You by My Chemical Romance
~And all the wounds that are ever gonna scar me
For all the ghosts that are never gonna catch me
...
And all the things that you never ever told me
And all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me~
Yes, progressing into an another, albeit earlier Gerard Way song. This song is first and foremost about loss, the long, hard, grief-stricken and haunted road toward acceptance of that loss. The chorus is a heartrending repetition of how a girl that the singer loves will never be coming home, yet how he still can't forget her. He dwells on all the things that they never told each other and all the smiles of hers that he will never see again. Unable to let go of her, he can't move past his pain and the song quickly morphs into shocking suicidal ideation: the could i's and should i's, "if I fall," "I never said I'd lie and wait forever" (he'll end his life now to be reunited with her rather than wait an eternity), and "for all the ghosts that are never gonna catch me" (he can't bear to be haunted by her and their memories anymore, so he'll end his life and forever escape those ghosts).
Overall: The singer is trapped in his pain and grief over the loss of his lover and opts to end it rather than remain trapped in his life, kinda like being trapped in a haunted house.
7. In the House, In a Heartbeat by John Murphy
The first instrumental piece for this playlist and an incredibly worthy one at that. This mesmerizing and powerful piece from the film 28 Days Later makes you feel every ounce of fear as you run through a haunted house where you are being chased, feet thumping, heartbeat pounding, terror coursing through your veins like liquid fire. The song starts off quiet and slow as you realize where you are and what's happening, then picks up quickly in speed, fueling your adrenaline.
Overall: This is the song where you realize you're trapped inside a haunted house and there's no way out, so just let your pulse pound and keep running.
8. Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus
and
9. Bela Lugosi's Dead by Chvrches (cover of the above)
~The virginal brides file past his tomb
Strewn with time's dead flowers
Bereft in deathly bloom
Alone in a darkened room~
For the Bauhaus version, the whole song has these scratchy, eerie, industrial sound effects in the background, almost making you feel like you're in a haunted house. This song is about, well, just look at the title. Bela Lugosi, widely known for his performance as Dracula, is being paid homage for his portrayal. The song mentions black capes and bats, victims that have been bled and the black box Bela (Dracula) lies in lined in red velvet, and dead flowers being laid on his tomb which isn't outside but instead "alone in a darkened room." Bela (Dracula) being both dead and undead (aka a vampire) reflects the state of his house: haunted and full of other dead things. The Chvrches version is more upbeat and smooth, but with some creepy sound effects as well.
Overall: The singer informs the audience that Bela (Dracula) is dead, or rather, undead, the tomb he lies in resting in his darkened, haunted house.
10. Dead Souls by Joy Division
and
11. Dead Souls by Nine Inch Nails (cover of the above)
~Figures from the past stand tall
And mocking voices ring
Imperialistic house of prayer
Conquistadors who took their share~
This is definitely more of an unconventional fill for the haunted house prompt, the only line that vaguely suggests it being "Imperialistic house of prayer," or a haunted church; however, the song's title and the repetition of "they keep calling me" suggests that the singer is being haunted by something, tormented by mocking voices and people from his past towering over him. "A dual personality, a strange but true reality" suggests that maybe a new part of himself has been unleashed and is the one haunting him. And "conquistadors who took their share" implies that there are people who have preyed on him, taking what they wanted and perhaps leaving him with nothing. The Nine Inch Nails version is a lot louder and more in your face, but it definitely sends chills down your spine.
Overall: The singer is continuously being haunted (in a haunted church) by the mysterious "they," likely "dead souls" who want him to join them in death.
12. Burn by The Cure
~Just paint your face, the shadows smile
Slipping me away from you
Oh it doesn't matter how you hide
Find you if we're wanting to~
In this song, the singer is losing the person he loves piece by piece, the shadows stealing her away from him. He knows that he doesn't stand a chance against them but even so, each night he burns away in agony, calling her name, falling desperately after her, trying to catch her. He dreams of the day that his world will end so that he can be brought back to her. Haunted by these shadows, by the things that take her away from him, he can never truly rest, much like a ghost. Like the song above, it might not be set in a haunted house but very well could be, suggested by the shadows continuously following the singer and the repeated mentions of sleep and dreams. Like one would be trapped in a haunted house, he is trapped in the same dream, the same moment, where he burns and burns and burns away from her.
Overall: The singer is trapped in a vicious cycle, or rather, haunted house of torment and loss.
13. Haunted by Gary Numan
~And this is not my voice, not my face, not my life
It belongs to you
...
All I live for, takes me away from you
All I'd die for, takes me away from you~
This playlist just couldn't be complete without this amazing Gary Numan song, although despite the title, it requires some deeper digging to find the haunted theme. The song really seems to be about how the singer is shattered and haunted because he cannot be with the one he truly loves, circumstances and his choices always ripping him away from them. Yet, he also seems to be trapped in a vicious cycle that revolves solely around his lover, suggesting that perhaps they are the one haunting and tormenting him: "and you will not believe ... the things I've done / all in your name" (what does his lover drive him to do?), "this is not my voice / not my face / not my life / it belongs to you" (does his lover so completely rule him?), and the very first lines "I can not be saved / not by you / not by God / I want to bleed" (has his lover so corrupted him that not even God can save him, does the singer wants to completely destroy himself so that his lover can no longer lay claim over him?).
Overall: The singer is haunted by the things he's done for his lover, but also by the fact that all the things he wants, needs and lives for ultimately take him away from them. His lover is a haunted house, haunting him, corrupting him, but yet unable to hold him completely, perhaps his body but not his soul.
14. The Ghost in You by The Psychedelic Furs
and
15. The Ghost in You by Counting Crows (cover of the above)
~Inside you the time moves and she don't fade
The ghost in you, she don't fade
...
Ain't it just like rain
And love is only heaven away
What a great 80s song. I feel that the singer's statement of "the ghost in you / she don't fade" could be referring to the younger, more innocent side of the person he's singing about, stating that while time moves inside of them, aging them, they are still that younger person at heart, or rather, the ghost of their younger self still resides in them. Maybe an even better interpretation would be the opposite, how the haunted and tragic past of the person the singer speaks about resides like a ghost in them, no matter how much time goes by, and the singer is begging them to hold on and not give up. The Counting Crows version offers an even more emotionally fragile feel.
Overall: The person the singer sings of is like a haunted house, housing the ghost of, perhaps, their tragic past, which they can't escape despite the passing of time.
16. Colorblind by Counting Crows
~I am taffy stuck and tongue tied
Stutter shook and upright
...
I am folded and unfolded and unfolding
I am colorblind~
I feel like this sad little song could be about a person that is essentially so depressed and lost that they have become haunted with the ghosts of that depression, like a house would be haunted by the spirits of those plagued by depression, fear, grief, etc. The singer keeps begging for someone to "pull me out from inside," meaning that they have become so lost inside themselves that they can't find a way out. Additionally, "I am covered in skin / No one gets to come in" emphasizes how they have become a shell of a person, just like a haunted house would be a shell of its former state. Perhaps like a ghost would, the singer also keeps repeating that he is ready and he is fine, perhaps wanting to let go entirely or break out of his shell. Like a ghost loses all clarity and touch with the world, becoming in a sense colorblind, so does the singer.
Overall: The subject of the song has become haunted, much like a haunted house. They feel trapped inside themselves due to depression, grief, etc. tormenting and trapping them, turning them essentially into a ghost.
17. If I Had a Heart by Fever Ray
~This will never end, cause I want more
More, give me more, give me more
...
If I had a heart I could love you
If I had a voice I would sing~
This song is the epitome of desperation and longing, with the singer wanting more than what they have, proclaiming that they are unable to love because they have no heart, unable to sing because they have no voice, and unable to essentially come back down and connect with earth because their legs are not long enough, or because they are too far gone from humanity. Sound like a ghost, someone who has lost all touch with humanity that they are unable to connect with them or speak to them? The singer, or ghost, has become trapped in this cycle of desperation and longing, wanting more of it because they cannot let go.
Overall: The singer has become a ghost, trapped inside what they have become, much like a haunted house would trap them.
18. 1. Ghosts I by Nine Inch Nails
and
19. 2. Ghosts I by Nine Inch Nails
These two are the perfect songs for a haunted house, or rather, a spooky playlist. While both instrumental, these two tracks are so beautifully constructed, filled to the brim with such potent emotions as heartbreak, terror, longing and loss. In the first track, there are even screams of absolute terror in the background, like a real ghost is coming towards that person. It's definitely enough to send chills down your spine. Despite how spooky these tracks are, I also picked them because I feel they could be from a ghost's perspective, how they are terrified and heartbroken during their death, and grief-stricken and longing to return back to their former selves in their afterlife, these emotions driving them insane.
Overall: These tracks, much like their titles, seem to be from a ghost's tragic perspective.
20. My Life as a Ghost by Tanya Donelly
~In this my life
My happy life as a ghost
I've been lifting out the stains from the stones
Planting flowers where you'll never find my bones~
Exactly like the title, this song focuses on the subject's life as a ghost, albeit a happy one as she is able to remain with the one she loves. This is a sweet and strange but still sad little song as the singer almost seems to be saying goodbye before she becomes a ghost with "this perfect day / we make our way to the end of it / with perfect grace / I lay my head in your lap and walk away." Perhaps she is terminally ill and means to make the most of the time she has left with her lover, with every moment being perfect, including the moments after she dies and becomes a ghost. Then again, when she speaks of "lifting out the stains from the stones" and "planting flowers where you'll never find my bones," perhaps her lover doesn't know she is dead.
Overall: The singer describes her happy life as a ghost as she remains with, or rather, haunts her lover. She haunts their home as she mentions planting flowers, "stars shooting home" and begging to stay with her lover.
21. Your Ghost by Kristin Hersh (feat. Michael Stipe)
and
22. Your Ghost by Greg Laswell (cover of the above)
~So I pad through the dark and call you on the phone
Push your old numbers and let your house ring 'till I wake your ghost
...
It's the blaze across my nightgown, it's the phone's ring
I think last night you were driving circles around me~
The singer of this beautiful song sings about her lover, who has become a ghost. She is unable to let go of him and has to constantly wake his ghost, calling him on the phone and trying to lock him away safely in her closet. She doesn't care whether he tries to harm her or swears off his love for her because she simply cannot let him go. Her house has become haunted with the ghost of him and moreover, the ghost of him that she herself constantly tries to wake. The "driving circles around me" most likely refers to the ghost, her lover, unable to let go of her as well. The Greg Laswell version is no less haunting and powerful.
Overall: The singer cannot let go of her lover's ghost, wanting to waken him in the house she has been abandoned in.
23. Strange and Fascinating by Taproot
~Shadows cast a golden grey, preparations made
So calm, yet violent winds they play
...
Elevator take me high, 14 stories, 2nd door he lies
I found his body breathless, I found the place obscene~
One could either interpret this song, focusing on a burial, about a person being haunted by those who he has lost or that person actually being the dead one, trapped in a reality they cannot escape. Either way, the singer has become haunted by who he has lost and what he has become. He constantly asks himself "am I awake?," and even though he feels alive he still dwells on the fact that he will die someday. Shadows, "violent winds" and darkness plague him, and while he tries to look away from the recent dead, tries to flee, it seems like he is unable to, perhaps because he is the recent dead. The whole mood of this song and the way it's sung is also spooky and haunting, making it perfect for this playlist.
Overall: As a living being, the singer is unable to escape his ghosts, or as a ghost he is unable to escape his haunted room where his own body lies, his own personal graveyard and tomb.
24. Living Rooms by Revis
~So what if I wanted to ask you
If I could meet you there
...
The way our languages fade in through
An empty living room~
Maybe not an obvious choice, but the song and the band are one of my favorites. Singing of living rooms, the singer begs his lover to go inside the room and stay because he is coming in after her, trying to salvage their relationship. Their whole relationship almost seems centered around this living room, albeit an empty one that she nonetheless surrounds. The singer remarks that "for you I could not be more gone," perhaps suggesting that he will sacrifice himself to be with her in the afterlife, residing in that living room with her forever. He also wonders if this has been her purpose all along. It's a long way to take a song, but for me it sorta fits.
Overall: The singer, trying to rekindle his relationship with his dead lover, is about to enter her world/afterlife, via entering his living room in a house which she haunts.
25. We Don't Belong Here by Taproot
~She's standing by her lonesome in this dead end empty space
The heavens cry upon her and wash our sins away
...
Bury the sunset, deep horizon, 6 feet separate
But I wanna go and you wanna stay~
Yes, another one by Taproot and in the same album, an album that to me is very excellent and very spooky. Just look at the title of this one! Much like Strange and Fascinating, this song also gives off some creepy, off-putting vibes, with the lyrics and the singer's almost taunting crooning. This song centers on a gathering of people that have evidently been through something horrible together and are brought together "to say that we remember." The "she" referred to in the song seems to be a ghost, perhaps even a girl they all killed given the rain washes the sins of the gatherers away. The singer wants her to know that she's not alone, and only later realizes that they never should have come. Nonetheless, "she guides us into the light," or afterlife, even as she remarks in sinister fashion that "you don't belong here."
Overall: A gathering visits a haunted graveyard; whereupon, the ghost of the girl they killed drags them 6 feet under to stay.
26. Creeping in My Soul by Cryoshell
~Here I am, I am lost in your land
And I hope you will be, creeping in my soul
...
Shadows are fleeing from the light
My nightmares can begin~
A perfect song for a haunted house! And a perfect song to end this playlist, with the ghosts creeping in your soul evidently there to stay. In this song, the singer laments her endless battles just to stay alive and how the darkness and whatever hides in the darkness keeps chasing her everywhere she goes: "out of darkness, they come crawling." She's begging someone she knows and trusts, perhaps a ghost, to hear her and wake her up, thus saving her. She wants this person to forever creep in her soul, protecting her from becoming too lost in the darkness, or rather, too lost inside herself if she is, in fact, a ghost.
Overall: Either a ghost is begging to be woken up from the nightmare that has become her life, or the singer is hiding out in the haunted land of a ghost, begging for them to protect her by forever creeping in her soul, becoming a part of her.
And that concludes this playlist! It's fairly long, I know, but who really wants to leave a haunted house once they enter it? :D
Thanks for listening!
