Five songs inspired by horror movie villains
Over the years, many rock musicians have incorporated elements of classic horror into their music or performance to push their capabilities for shocking people even further. Whether it be Norman Bates from Psycho, or Friday the 13th‘s Jason Vorhees, several iconic horror villains have been sources of inspiration for musicians.
Since Elvis Presley began shaking his hips on stage, rock and roll music has demonstrated an ability to shock. Over the years, rock icons have continued to provoke audiences, taking theatric inspiration and incorporating it into their performances.
Artists such as Screamin’ Jay Hawkins would emerge from coffins and let off smoke bombs, and punk rockers such as Iggy Pop would perform as though they were possessed by the scariest entities thinkable – throwing their bodies around the stage, smearing food or even injuring themselves.
As Halloween approaches, here are five songs that were directly inspired by classic horror villains.
Five songs inspired by horror movie monsters:
‘Psycho Killer’ – Talking Heads (Norman Bates, Psycho)
Talking Head’s biggest hit, ‘Psycho Killer’, was originally written “entirely as a joke” after frontman David Byrne was inspired to create his own “really rude” song like Alice Cooper. Sung from the perspective of a guilt-ridden serial killer, “I can’t seem to face up to the facts/ I’m tense and nervous, and I can’t relax”, the song has been covered countless times and remains the band’s most recognisable work.
The band revealed that they were inspired by horror movie villains such as Norman Bates from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Some fans even think that the “fa fa fa” lines are a reference to Bate’s stuttered delivery of the word “falsity” in the film, although this has never been confirmed. Byrne has stated that “Everybody sort of roots for the bad guys in movies,” which inspired him to pen the track, alternating between French and English lyrics to convey the instability of a murderer’s mind.
‘Psycho’ – Elvis Costello (Norman Bates, Psycho)
In 1981, Elvis Costello covered ‘Psycho’, originally written by Leon Payne in 1968. Just like ‘Psycho Killer’, the track is sung from the perspective of a Norman Bates figure. Inspired by the Hitchcock film’s ability to unsettle by portraying a ruthless killer as a timid and strange man that is obsessed with his mother, the lyrics of ‘Psycho’ are particularly unnerving due to their one-sided dialogue with the speaker’s “mama.”
Therefore, when he sings lyrics such as “Oh, don’t hand me Johnny’s pup, mama/ ‘Cause I might squeeze him too tight” and “I woke up in Johnny’s room, mama/ Standing right there by his bed/ With my hands around his throat, mama”, their child-like nature makes the song all the more terrifying.
‘Nosferatu’ – Blue Oyster Cult (Count Orlok – Nosferatu)
Nosferatu brought director F.W. Murnau to acclaim, despite making his adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula without permission. In fact, the late author’s estate sued Murnau and demanded all copies of the film be destroyed. Somehow, several prints of the German Expressionist classic survived, and it is now regarded as one of the most influential films of all time.
Not only has Nosferatu inspired filmmakers, but it also sparked a bolt of creativity into the minds of Blue Oyster Cult, whose song of the same name details some key events in the film. Opening with the lyrics, “Deep in the heart of Germany/ Lucy clutched her breast in fear”, the band explores the relationship between Count Orlok (Dracula) and his victim Lucy.
‘He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)’ – Alice Cooper (Jason Voorhees, Friday the 13th)
After a three-year hiatus from the music industry, Alice Cooper returned with the aptly-titled ‘He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)’, the lead single from his album Constrictor. Inspired by Friday the 13th villain, Jason Voorhees, Cooper sings, “Did you hear that voice?/ Did you see that face?/ Or was it just a dream?/ This can’t be real.”
The song was used as the theme for Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, and has gained cult popularity amongst slasher fans, despite only moderate chart success. Two other songs by Cooper feature in the film, ‘Teenage Frankenstein’ and ‘Hard Rock Summer’.
‘I Was A Teenage Werewolf’ – The Cramps (Tony, I Was A Teenage Werewolf)
In Gene Fowler Jr.’s 1957 horror film I Was A Teenage Werewolf, a troubled teenager named Tony is transformed into a werewolf after a hypnotherapist uses him as a guinea pig for his new serum. The Cramps, who were frequently inspired by sci-fi and horror, made a parody of the film in their song of the same name.
Lux Interior sings comical lines such as “I was a teenage werewolf/ Braces on my fangs” and “You know, I have puberty rights/ And I have puberty wrongs/ No one understood me” as his voice becomes increasingly erratic. Reverberating guitar makes the perfect accompaniment for a satirical take on the embarrassments of adolescence.
