# The 26 Most Iconic Horror Movie Themes

> Two notes can empty a beach and a whispered syllable can clear a campsite. Synth pulses, Latin choirs and nursery rhymes all made this cut, and each one still raises the hair on your arms.

*By YPB Team · Published October 26, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-26-most-iconic-horror-movie-themes*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Halloween** — score 1000/1000
   John Carpenter's piano-and-synth theme in 5/4 time from his 1978 slasher, built on a relentless repeating figure.
2. **Jaws** — score 991/1000
   John Williams' two-note ostinato from 1975 that turned an unseen shark into the most famous threat in film music.
3. **Phantasm** — score 693/1000
   Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave's 1979 synth-and-organ theme, a cult favourite that echoes Tubular Bells.
4. **The Thing** — score 617/1000
   Ennio Morricone's minimalist, heartbeat-like 1982 synth theme for John Carpenter's Antarctic shocker.
5. **Beetlejuice** — score 573/1000
   Danny Elfman's manic 1988 carnival-style theme for Tim Burton's horror comedy.
6. **Suspiria** — score 573/1000
   Goblin's 1977 prog-rock theme for Dario Argento, mixing celesta, bouzouki and whispered vocals.
7. **Us** — score 524/1000
   Michael Abels' 2019 score, whose horror-choir 'Anthem' and twisted 'I Got 5 on It' remix went viral.
8. **Candyman** — score 524/1000
   Philip Glass's 1992 organ-and-choir score that gives the slasher a haunting, almost sacred grandeur.
9. **The Amityville Horror** — score 469/1000
   Lalo Schifrin's Oscar-nominated 1979 score, built around a creepy children's-choir lullaby.
10. **It Follows** — score 469/1000
   Disasterpeace's pulsing 2014 synth score that nods to Carpenter while sounding fully modern.
11. **Deep Red** — score 407/1000
   Goblin's breakout 1975 prog-rock theme for Dario Argento's giallo Profondo Rosso.
12. **The Omen** — score 335/1000
   Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar-winning 1976 score, led by the Latin chant 'Ave Satani'.
13. **Poltergeist** — score 335/1000
   Jerry Goldsmith's 1982 score, best known for the innocent lullaby 'Carol Anne's Theme'.
14. **Friday the 13th** — score 335/1000
   Harry Manfredini's 1980 score, famous for the whispered 'ki ki ki, ma ma ma' motif that signals the killer.
15. **The Exorcist** — score 335/1000
   The 1973 film made the opening of Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' a byword for dread.
16. **Psycho** — score 335/1000
   Bernard Herrmann's all-strings 1960 score, whose screeching violins in the shower scene became horror shorthand.
17. **Saw** — score 335/1000
   Charlie Clouser's 'Hello Zepp', the pounding 2004 cue that plays over every twist ending in the franchise.
18. **A Nightmare on Elm Street** — score 335/1000
   Charles Bernstein's 1984 synth theme, paired with the children's 'One, two, Freddy's coming for you' rhyme.
19. **The Shining** — score 335/1000
   Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind's droning electronic take on 'Dies irae' over Kubrick's 1980 opening drive.
20. **Rosemary's Baby** — score 253/1000
   Krzysztof Komeda's 1968 lullaby, hummed by Mia Farrow, that sounds sweet and sinister at once.
21. **Carrie** — score 253/1000
   Pino Donaggio's 1976 score for Brian De Palma, swinging from dreamy romance to shrieking Psycho-style strings.
22. **Get Out** — score 253/1000
   Michael Abels' 2017 Swahili-chant cue 'Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga', which warns the hero to run.
23. **The Fog** — score 253/1000
   John Carpenter's eerie 1980 synth score for his ghost-ship tale set in a Californian fishing town.
24. **Dawn of the Dead** — score 156/1000
   Goblin's driving 1978 score for George A. Romero's shopping-mall zombie classic.
25. **Hellraiser** — score 156/1000
   Christopher Young's lush 1987 orchestral score that treats Clive Barker's Cenobites like gothic royalty.
26. **Creepshow** — score 0/1000
   John Harrison's playful, creepy 1982 piano theme for the Romero and Stephen King anthology.

Tags: movies, music, horror, soundtracks