Top 10 Creepiest Audio Recordings
Normally, when visualizing a sense of horror and dread, we tend to imagine it visually. In other words, we picture a three-dimensional gruesome scene, such as a dead body or the sudden appearance of a monster.But what about sound?
Sound plays a critical role in creating a sense of dread, making us feel insecure, weak, and horrified. While some tragic or mortifying acts in history were not captured on camera as images or videos, they were preserved in audio recordings. These haunting recordings are often available on the internet, through platforms like YouTube or similar sites.
Many of the events and acts included here occurred years ago, but their chilling impact endures. Which of these do you think will rob you of your sleep?
"Take our life from us. We laid it down. We got tired. We didn't commit suicide. We committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world."
This is what Jim Jones, founder of the People's Temple in Jonestown, Guyana, recited as he delivered a dark final speech about his beliefs while committing one of the largest mass-suicides/mass-murders in history. After a shooting at the Port Kaituma airstrip by People's Temple members, which killed five people, including Congressman Leo Ryan, Jones addressed about 900 people. He questioned how capitalism was evil and claimed the world was in ruins. He argued with Temple member Christine Miller about the need to leave this world through suicide.
In the middle of the speech, grape-flavored Flavor Aid, laced with cyanide, Valium, chloral hydrate, and Phenergan, was brought in to be given to the residents and believers in Jonestown, many of whom were children. Those who objected were either forced to drink the poison or shot dead, and the poison would take effect within five minutes.
The entire speech was recorded and is over 40 minutes long. The argument between Jones and Christine Miller can be heard midway. What is truly disturbing is the amount of applause Jones received from the Jonestown population, while Miller was booed, despite her logical stance. The most upsetting part is near the end of the tape, when Jones makes a "revolutionary speech" while children cry about the taste of the poison, unaware at first that they would die within minutes. Later, they sobbed after realizing their fate. In the end, Jones, with his speech, led to the death of around 900 people, all followers of his "beliefs." Jones himself died from a gunshot wound to the head, though it is unclear whether it was suicide or murder. What remains is a speech that continues to be mortifying and traumatizing, a testimony to how a voice can delude and eventually kill.
During the Vietnam War, the United States Army decided to study Vietnamese culture to devise a plan to terrify and distract their opponents, hoping to defeat and conquer them. The Americans learned that the Vietnamese believed if the deceased were not buried in their homeland, their souls would wander aimlessly, moaning and screaming in agony. The US Army then created and altered many sound recordings in the Vietnamese language as a scare tactic to mentally and emotionally attack Vietnamese soldiers. These recordings, featuring the supposed sounds of "dead" Vietnamese souls wailing in anguish and muttering about their loved ones, were broadcast via well-placed audio players and sometimes helicopters, effectively distracting and scaring the opposing forces. However, the Vietnamese did fire back at US soldiers. The audio recording is authentic and terrifying, reminiscent of a horror movie.
The exorcism of Anneliese Michel is probably the most famous due to its origin, controversy, and being considered proof that demons and supernatural horrors exist. Anneliese sadly died in 1976 from starvation, likely caused by malnutrition, isolation, and the exorcism. The audio recorded during one of her exorcism attempts is haunting, terrifying, and upsetting, given the mortifying situation Anneliese went through.
This phone call occurred during 9/11. Kevin Cosgrove was a business executive trapped in the South Tower during the attack. He called his wife first before contacting 911. He mentioned struggling to breathe and described the appearance of the room he was in, along with three other people, just seconds before the South Tower fully collapsed. Cosgrove's scream of "OH GOD! OH! -" was recorded before the line was immediately cut.
"Castrato" is derived from the word "castrate." A castrato is an adult individual who sings with a high pitch, akin to a child's voice. Historically, castrati were boys who were castrated before puberty to preserve their high-pitched singing voices. This practice was largely abandoned by the 20th century.
There are solo recordings by Alessandro Moreschi, the last known castrato singer and the only one to make solo recordings. His singing conveys a sense of anguish, which can be both upsetting and haunting at times.
The Cassini-Huygens space probe reached Saturn around 2002, where it picked up intense radio emissions around the planet that were then converted into sound. The result sounds like something from a sci-fi horror movie. If you don't want to go to Saturn, this audio recording will remind you why.
Played this and Pluto at the same time. It was absolutely horrifying.
Paul Michael Stephani was an American serial killer who murdered three women and attempted to kill two others between 1980 and 1982. What's disturbing is that whenever he committed a murder, he contacted the police, seemingly sobbing heavily as he confessed, often going into detail, such as mentioning using an ice pick and describing his victims. It's very odd and mind-numbing when a police operator gets to talk to a serial killer on the phone.
"The Original Night Stalker" was the alias of a serial killer and rapist in California who killed 12 people and raped about 50 women between 1978 and 1986. Unfortunately, he was never caught. An audio recording captures him contacting what appears to be one of his future rape victims, constantly breathing and muttering, "Gonna kill you."
A six-year-old girl named Lisa Floyd made a 911 call, sobbing uncontrollably. She spoke to the operator about her stepfather severely beating her and later her little sister, repeatedly urging the operator to send the police. Years later, Lisa is now an advocate for Childhood Domestic Abuse, using her experience to build a better character and help others who have undergone similar situations.
In my opinion, they're creepier than Saturn's. In fact, they're the spookiest in the solar system. Saturn's are just winds, Venus is scorching hot, Neptune's are just wind, and the Sun is powerful energy. But what is Pluto?
The Newcomers
In 1860, French printer and bookseller Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville invented a device known as the Phonautograph. This was revolutionary for its time, as it could record sound through a visible medium, though it could not play it back. Scott de Martinville sang "Au clair de la Lune" into the Phonautograph. It wasn't until 2008 that the audio recording was made playable and shared on the internet. The recording can seem quite eerie when heard.
Honestly, the more I learn about this, the more unsettling it becomes.
This is what happens if you're too devoted to dangerous things. I know Crimson already knows about this one. A guy was devoted to bears, lived with them or something, and wasn't prepared when he was inevitably attacked.
So strange and chilling. Seriously, Jupiter's scary enough. We don't need sound making it worse.