Using sound effects in scary music is a key factor when creating a genuinely scary atmosphere for the person watching. It’s important that the sound effects are high quality, if the screams or creaky door effects are unrealistic, it’s hard to build tension and actually make the audience jump. The background music and sound effects used are what make horror films as scary as possible. For example, distant creepy movements and eerie haunting winds are what build up the spooky atmosphere.

Sound effects that mimic human fear, including pulsing heartbeats and slow and heavy breathing, also increase the level of scariness. Take a look at some of these horror sound effects.

By adding dynamics into the music, it makes parts of the movie feel a lot more intense and builds on the suspense, really getting you on the edge of your seat. By lowering a piece of music during an intense scene where you know something is about to happen, and then having a huge burst of music or loud effect suddenly come on – that’s what makes us jump out of our seat!

As we know the music is such an essential part of making scary movies actually scary, however are moments of silence just as creepy? Lots of horror movies include periods of complete silence - leaving us waiting for something to happen, and being able to hear ourselves crunch down on that piece of popcorn. Moments like this draw the audience in and make us feel like we’re part of the movie. Take a look at the film ‘A Quiet Place’ where the entire concept of the film is based around pure silence.