Top 10 Darkest & Creepiest Songs in Musicals

[@Linaxtic]

It never made it to Broadway, but there's a phenomenal musical called Ride the Cyclone, about a group of 6 teenagers who died in a tragic accident when the Cyclone rollercoaster at the fair derailed. They find themselves in a sort of purgatory where they have to compete in a song competition to win the chance to come back to life. You see their memories, their hopes, their dreams...all except for one girl, known only as Jane Doe. When the accident happened, she was decapitated, and because no one knew who she was, she has no memories of her life. Her song, The Ballad of Jane Doe, is incredibly powerful and haunting, and in a later version of the show, the actress playing her performs half of the song while in a flight rig, even singing upside down in mid-air.

[@SlavicFoxYT]

OMFJSHDJDHSB RIDE THE CYCLONE YES YES YES

[@mithramusic5909]

That scene is fantastic

[@ernieb6680]

So haunting!

[@X_Someone]

omg I love that show

[@vincentlarson4068]

I've seen clips of it. it seemed fantastic

[@Nurichiri]

While not "creepy" per se, "All You Want To Do" from Six is really dark. One of the actresses who plays the character is fine when no one applauds at the end of the number as it means the song has gotten to the audience.

[@Linaxtic]

oh god yes. The stark difference between the original London cast version and the live Broadway version is just...so chilling.

[@chronicallykat4920]

Not me bursting into tears thinking about this song.

[@etumoi]

Omg when I first heard this song the transition from playful to a broken mood really gave me chills

[@jellydoggodj8640]

Honestly its still one of my favorites from Six

[@tyorkshirelass]

For me what makes All You Wanna Do creepy is the choreography. Specifically the ending, where the others' hands are all over Howard and you realise just how young and vulnerable she really is. The first time I saw it I cried because I didn't know what was coming. The second time I cried because I did.

[@trinaq]

"Our Love is God" is so unnerving, and is the moment where Veronica realises how unhinged JD really is. In some versions, she actually says "Our Love is Gone."

[@SlavicFoxYT]

IT REALLY IS THOUGH BUT IT TICKLES THE BACK OF HIS BRAIN

[@Army_Dog]

I love it tbh

[@carolineelstrom4003]

I can’t believe this didn’t mention “The Ballad of Jane Doe” from Ride the Cyclone. By far the creepiest and most haunting song I’ve ever heard.

[@englishatheart]

But it isn't creepy. It's a great song, but not creepy. Then again, people claim Talia is "beautiful" as well. The music is catchy, no doubt, but none of it gave me goosebumps.

[@wildhorse101]

I would say pretty much the entirety of Sweeney Todd is disturbing. Fogg's Asylum/City on Fire was the one that creeped me out the most.

[@mervyngreene6687]

Actually, Judge Turpin's song "Joanna," is creepy as heck. It has been omitted from a lot of productions.

[@iz3569]

Personally, I’d say “A Little Priest” is the most disturbing. I know it kind of upbeat, but I remember watching it and thinking “omg who wrote this do they need help”

[@mervyngreene6687]

@@iz3569 What about the song that opens Act 2. Especially the line "bless my eyes. Fresh supplies!"

[@thrifty_pear]

as someone who just got done doing sweeney todd i hope i thoroughly scared the crap out of the audience for city on fire it was so much fun

[@stuckonaslide]

almost every song is disturbing in its own way. even the "non"-disturbing ones are freaky from lyrics or the score itself

[@caltoonfangirl7109]

Even though it isn’t dark on the surface, I feel like, “All You Wanna Do,” from “Six,” is dark in it’s own way. It’s all about Catherine Howard and her failed relationships (which may or may not have come from her being sexually assaulted and taken advantage of.)

[@englishatheart]

Don't hate me, but it's "its own way." No apostrophe in possessive pronouns. No hate meant.

[@englishatheart]

Also, she quite clearly states she consents to sleeping with those men. They didn't force her, but they did use her. We can't apply today's morals and laws to the past.

[@caltoonfangirl7109]

@@englishatheart No offense taken. I didn’t know about the consent part.

[@Beth-zs2jr]

@@englishatheart I mean, starting at age 13 in the 1500s, there was no such thing as 'consent'. It was "this is your job as a woman, be thankful we didn't kill you sooner"

[@wmg93]

“Unworthy of Your Love” from Assassins is one of the most terrifying songs ever written. Two characters ready to do anything for the object of their obsession.

[@brettswartz4382]

Yes! I was about to make the same comment. I'm surprised "Unworthy of Your Love" didn't make the list. Actually, just about any song from Assassins could be considered dark and creepy.

[@TheTurkaderr]

Agreed!!! I adore Assassins and it does not get enough attention. That was one of those songs that you cannot believe Sondheim got away with, but it's so amazing!! My favorite song from the show is " There's another national Anthem " which I think is equally disturbing. And " Something Just Broke " is a beautiful song.

[@TheBohemianchick]

Yes! Almost anything from Assassins could be in this list..

[@peggyknecht5551]

One of the creepiest songs that I ever heard is the reprise of " Not While I'm Around" from Sweeney Todd. I literally start yelling "Run, Toby!" Another creepy song is "Hello Little Girl" from Into the Woods.

[@TheTurkaderr]

I always thought the reprise of " Johanna " was the most disturbing song in the show since he's basically killing the entire song, and all of the other demented things happening in that song like his wife ranting.

[@peggyknecht5551]

@@TheTurkaderr Let's just say there are quite a few creepy songs in that show. Mia Culpa makes me want to vomit. I actually like the show, though. The music is beautiful, even if it's dark. The same with Jekyll and Hyde.

[@casseopia13]

@@peggyknecht5551eugh not mea culpa i’m traumatized from that 😭

[@l.m.hammond1927]

I know that it's often cut from productions, but I think "Mea Culpa (The Judge's Johanna)" from Sweeney Todd should have been mentioned on this list. It's about a man lusting over a girl he has raised since she was an infant and "loved like a daughter" and decides the only way to get out of that messed up situation is to marry her after whipping himself numerous times!

[@asterismos5451]

YES

[@peggyknecht5551]

That and the reprise of "Not While I'm Around." I yelled "Run, Toby!!"

[@mervyngreene6687]

YES!

[@casseopia13]

FR

[@cedgson91]

Agreed

[@ernieb6680]

What about "The Dark I Know Well" from Spring Awakening. As a survivor of the same situation, the song brings tears to my eyes and goosebumps at the accuracy of it all.

[@TheTurkaderr]

I know, right ? I was very surprised nothing from SPRING AWAKENING made this list. That whole show is disturbing, but beautiful.

[@alexowen5987]

Hadestown just speaks to today's world in a way no other musical does... Hope to be able to see it live one day. 😢

[@itselleee]

the cast album is amazing but you should definitely try to see it live!! it's breathtaking

[@katiekat44]

It was absolutely phenomenal. Absolutely see it if you ever get the chance

[@WelcomeApathy]

I saw it on tour and it was breathtaking! The staging is amazing and it is just so good!

[@lanadelreyisgod22]

My cousin was in the cast and I got to see her a few month ago!! It was so good, such an amazing experience!

[@lightworthy]

seriously, especially the likening of eurydice’s fall to the underworld to a sexual assault in some metaphors in flowers, it’s always felt so s-ecuadorean to me and so raw and true to life now. it’s absolutely my favorite ,usical now, i saw it twice when it came to my town!

[@mixofreak]

StarKid has some very spooky songs in some of their musicals.

[@tabby5228]

Yes, agree completely. Let it out always gives me chills.

[@rachelklotz8452]

Yes! Also "Do You Want To Play"!

[@mixofreak]

@@rachelklotz8452 absolutely!

[@toxicsugarart2103]

Wiggle wiggle wiggly will wiggle tonight

[@strangeandinteresting]

@@rachelklotz8452 The way Kim delivers "Little girl... Sweetheart... Califoooooorniaaaaa....." gives me actual *chills.* They need to give her more horror roles, she's very good at being scary.

[@zackrules4797]

Don't Feed the Plants in the original ending of Little Shop of Horrors is incredibly dark musical number where Audrey II has grown around America and the world to devour unknowing towns people and wage a war.

[@rosykindbunny1313]

My town's high school did that show a few years ago. I hadn't seen it before, so when I saw them do that ending, I was like, "Really? That's it? They lose?"

[@JonazDrumBrain]

It's not really an alternative ending, since it's the original ending of the musical. The ending where they live happily ever after was technically the alternative ending which was only made because of the reception the film got at test screenings, where people didn't like the fact that the main characters just died at the end of the film (and would have caused the movie to not be released).

[@josephwest124]

It may not be as "dark" or "creepy" as some of the songs on this list, but "As Long As He Needs Me" (from "Oliver!") is incredibly creepy when you consider the song is being sung by an abused woman declaring how she'll stand by her man no matter what. The song *is* beautiful but the lyric in the show's context is really creepy and when you consider that domestic abuse was a subject that virtually no one spoke about openly in the 1960s when the musical was written and first performed, it's probably understandable that folks didn't really think too hard about what Nancy was saying. But now? We know there are more forms of abuse beyond just physical ("Who else would love him still/When they've been used so ill" could mean either physical or verbal abuse) and the ending ("I won't betray his trust/Though people say I must") expresses words that sound like they come from every domestic abuse victim ever.

[@TheTurkaderr]

" As long as he needs me " is the best damn song in that show, and I do find it much more disturbing, since she is saying " well, he beats me, but hey that's life, as long as he needs me ", it's right up there with CAROUSEL for domestic abuse.

[@xdashlydia]

"As long as he needs her, she gets to live" is how I've heard it described.

[@ReneeCamus]

Yikes, that IS chilling! I hate to say Oliver! is one of the big gaps in my musical theatre knowledge. I had no idea that's what that song was about. And yeah, the song What's the Use of Wondrin' from Carousel is so achingly beautiful, but it has the most effed-up message ever.

[@lizanna6390]

I remember watching bits of Oliver in school when we were learning about Victorian times. One thing I remember a teacher saying. 'Just need to fast forward through Nancy's song about she loves Bill even though he knocks her around, never forget what happened because she didn't leave him' lead to a discussion as a couple of us thought it was a bit victim blamy

[@ReneeCamus]

Wow, that's interesting,@@lizanna6390. I'd like to have heard that discussion.

[@HaileyRaceThorntonVA]

“The Factory Girls/ Come Up to My Office” from “Parade” is not only creepy but also deeply disturbing, but that could be said about many songs in that show as it was based off of a true story after all, I just particularly remember that song being incredibly sinister when we did the show in my High School

[@hannahm36790]

“Parade” is one of my favorite musicals of all time I think that song is definitely darker but so is “Sh’ma” and “Interrogation: I Am Trying to Remember”

[@miketron]

I was thinking the same thing. I saw the tour in 2000 and left the show thinking about how chilling that number was. The subject matter alone is disturbing enough, but then add those harmonies and it takes it to another level.

[@KZ1211-t2q]

Far darker than Molasses to Rum from 1776 is Momma Look Sharp. It's got a haunting melody, was filmed for the movie in low light, and is about a dying soldier hoping his mother will find him in time to say goodbye. In what is mostly a humorous script, it provides a very sobering look at the horrors of war.

[@Beth_Alice_Kaplan]

Agreed. They’re the ”hair-stand-on-end-twin-numbers” from 1776.

[@WelcomeApathy]

See, I would argue that both are equally dark, they're just different subject matter and presented differently. One's about slavery and one's about the horrors of war. One covers hypocrisy and one covers loss. They both are incredibly intense, Molasses to Rum is more aggressive, Momma Look Sharp more haunting. Both are equally dark about terrible things. It's really cool how such an overall upbeat musical can have two such powerful songs that are still so different. It probably helps that they are so different, in order to make their points in separate ways. I really enjoy 1776.

[@glszq4]

Yeah, another line that pops into my mind often during these times: "Most men with nothing would rather protect the possibility of becoming rich than face the reality of being poor." It helps me understand why some people staunchly vote against their own interests.

[@yuutafan]

When I saw the revival in 1997, they actually ended Act 1 with "Momma Look Sharp" and it just left you feeling so gutted as you went into intermission. I thought it was just such a dark and interesting choice to make. It then started Act 2 with "Cool Considerate Men" which is dark in its own way.

[@madamemaximoff9838]

Darkest musical theater song in my opinion is “There’s a World” from Next to Normal, it shows how manipulative Gabe is because Diana is on her lowest point and Gabe is telling her to come with him (come with him into the afterlife because Gabe is dead and is trying to make his mom attempt to take her own life), it’s dark and hauntingly sad as Gabe sings in a lullaby type way telling Diana to come with him so they can be together.

[@krock2669]

I would've been beyond shocked if a song from Sweeney Todd wasn't featured on this list. Great pick for number 1. That song manages to be haunting, disturbing, and eerily beautiful all at the same time

[@EllieC130]

I love Lonely Room because it's one of those songs that just weeps with nuance, doesn't expect you to like Jud, still makes you pretty scared of him, but also gives you this very heartbreaking sympathy for his background. I think anyone who's ever felt rejected by the world, even if it's only a small world, can relate a little to that inability to break through.

[@TheWiseGrif]

I would've included "Who's Crazy/My Psychopharmacologist And I" from Next To Normal, and "Edges Of The World" from Fun Home

[@cazia9]

I saw the film version of Little Shop of Horrors as an 8 year old and man did Suppertime stick with me for a long long time

[@kiradattei]

Between most of the themes in Sweeney Todd featuring the Dies Irae in some form and my certainty that it was Sondheim seeing how many songs about stalking he could fit into one musical, pretty much any song could have taken the top spot here. 🙂😂

[@WillScarlet16]

The finale of 'That's What He Said' from 'Parade' is the most terrifying thing I've heard in any Broadway show.

[@lys8351]

Omg yes JD is such a complex and insane fucking character... Our love is god is insane and Ryan (who originated the role) absolutely nailed it.. (Also meant to be yours is absolutely insane and one of the hardest numbers to perform)

[@celestite]

Very good list! I'd have to add "Madame Guillotine" from Scarlet Pimpernel, "I'm Alive REPRISE" ("The medicine failed and the doctors lied!") from Next to Normal and "Say The Words" from the demo reel for the unreleased Outlander musical.

[@marikatemoore5110]

Yes! Madame Guillotine from Scarlet Pimpernel!! That & Falcon in the Dive

[@nicolebezeau1174]

This isnt a song per se, but the overture to phantom is definitely scary in my mind. The opening chords that come from an organ (or electronic keyboard that sounds like one, please correct me if you wish haha) always send chills down my spine

[@kimtaylor3515]

Totally agree

[@actuallyabby]

It never fails to send chills through my body, and it's my favorite show!

[@WillScarlet16]

'Last Midnight' from Into the Woods 'Another National Anthem' from Assassins 'Tevye's Dream' from Fiddler on the Roof 'Past the Point of No Return' from Phantom of the Opera 'The Crow' from Zorba the Musical 'Southern Days' from The Scottsboro Boys 'Forever Yours' from Once on This Island 'Evil' from The Witches of Eastwick 'Come Look at the Freaks' from Side Show 'The Smell of Rebellion' from Matilda

[@danielakasalova1160]

"The dark I know well" from Spring Awakening is the most disturbing song I personally have ever heard

[@SuperMarioJustin4]

If you think “Suppertime” is creepy, you should listen to “Now! (It’s Just The Gas)”.

[@itselleee]

UGHHHH YES I LOVE LITTLE SHOP

[@SuperMarioJustin4]

@@itselleeeNO WAY! I’M CRAZY OBSESSED WITH IT!

[@adrienfoisy9448]

I’m seymour, my friend Orin is right beside me, we have math class together, and we LOVE this song ❤

[@spidermandoesntdodrugs]

Ughhhh my school is doing little shop and I got Orin which is all fine and dandy but Seymour is literally my dream role so I’m super pissed about it But I’ve always planned on doing theater for a career, so I’m confident I’ll get Seymour somewhere else someday

[@Toca_factory]

Oh, how I love Orin's laughter 🤩

[@JamesBrown-ij1px]

Great picks! 'Sweeney Todd' definitely takes the #1 spot!

[@shlouise]

'Dog Eats Dog' from Les Mis always gives me the heebie jeebies!

[@dawnieb.7394]

Another commenter here mentioned how many people take "Everything's Coming Up Roses" out of context and sing it as if it's supposed to be a jolly happy song; I'll say the same thing about "Memory" from CATS. That song is full of misery and the pain of remembering better days gone by. I always go back to the original, with Betty Buckley singing it like no one has since. For dark, I'd throw in "Lovely Ladies" and "Javert's Suicide" from Les Miserables.

[@surfer_playss124]

The most haunting song I know is Epiphany from Sweeney Todd, the song shows all of Sweeney’s pain and anger and goes on a rage and singing about wanting to Kill everyone

[@lys8351]

I don't feel like dead mom is scary? I feel like its more a sad song...

[@PseudoPasCreatif]

Yeah me too, I feel like 'Good Old Fashionned Wedding' (even if it's not on the cast recording album) or 'The Whole Being Dead Thing' would fit better !

[@WelcomeApathy]

I think it's more dark than creepy. Probably why it was so low on the list, because it only really covered one part of the criteria.

[@adrienfoisy9448]

It’s actually really disturbing if you actually think about it really deeply. Her mom is dead. The song is about how she is talking to the ghost of her dead mom eluding to the motif of ghosts and death in the musical later and honestly to me that is really scary as someone who is even pretty okay with watching scary movies like Coraline.

[@Maya-zh6sk]

the title of the video says darkest songs, it is most definitely dark

[@Buggy-su4oy]

The song "Ready...Set...Not Yet" From Beetlejuice ending with Adam and Barbara's deaths is very dark.

[@strawberrysoulforever8336]

The song itself has a darkness that doesn't come from their deaths. The musical is very up-front about them dying in a few minutes. That makes their declaration that they're not ready for further commitments like a baby is made darker because the audience knows they won't ever get to that point.

[@d.phantomfan1216]

You could probably do a list with the Heather's musical by itself

[@kathleencummings8081]

I've always loved 1776, and John Cullum's rendition of "Molasses to Rum to Slaves" is chilling.

[@cair124]

I'd be very interested to see the latest version with the non-traditional casting, especially this song.

[@ReneeCamus]

@@cair124 It was so great, with really interesting new arrangements and instrumentation. I'm really hoping they filmed it or something, but I don't know.

[@AlexielHellsing2]

The Joanna song sung by Judge Turpin about how he wants his underaged ward is one of the most disturbing songs in Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Also The Ballad of Jane Doe is haunting and existentially unnerving.

[@ginebradoz881]

"Uninvited" from Jagged Little Pill creeps me out for how real it is.

[@ReneeCamus]

That is such a brilliant moment in the show. Incredible choreography!

[@harrywu4]

A little priest is not even mentioned is a crime😢

[@professionalvampire1]

It was (very) briefly alluded to, but only those who know the show or movie would notice. I agree that it's a shame it wasn't mentioned - it's my favorite song in the show.

[@asterismos5451]

I think it's more funny than creepy. Dark humour, sure, but not actually creepy.

[@NancyPollyCy]

Okay, yes, you got a couple good ones from Little Shop of Horrors, but I think you miss the creepiest ones. Take "Downtown" for example. The juxtaposition of Alan Menken's upbeat Motown-ish tempos with Howard Ashman's deliciously dark lyrics never fails to amaze me. "Downtown, where the cabs don't stop. Downtown, where the food is slop. Downtown, where the hopheads flop in the snow, down on Skid Row." You just know that's what life for the working poor is like. And the scariest thing of all? That this is the team that turned out "Little Mermaid"!

[@strawberrysoulforever8336]

The song is actually called "Skid Row (Downtown)".

[@Sojoboscribe]

@@strawberrysoulforever8336 It's also the first sign we get of how dark it's going to get. Seymour literally says "I'd move Heaven and Hell to get out of here." That's about as prophetic as the bit in Damn Yankees! when Joe says "I'd sell my soul for one long ball player." You can see the Faustian situation shaping up.

[@strawberrysoulforever8336]

@@Sojoboscribe Well, that's exactly what the musical's trying to say to us. Seymour was not an evil person as much as a desperate one, but did evil things out of desparation.

[@Sojoboscribe]

@@strawberrysoulforever8336 Yes. Of course, since his decisions in the original musical doom not only him and everyone he knows, but the entire human race. So you can almost get a truly bleak idea that "No matter how bad off you are, ANY attempt to try and improve your situation is ultimately wrong and evil." It's a bit like looking at Hans Christian Andersen's story "The Red Shoes" any trying to work out exactly WHERE the girl got on the "wrong" path? When she left the old woman to go to the ball when she lied to her to get the red shoes, or when she accepted the ORIGINAL pair of red shoes from the cobblers wife so she'd stop having her bare feet cut by the stones in the road?

[@strawberrysoulforever8336]

@Sojoboscribe Oh yes, poor Karen. Her only crime was that she loved to look pretty in her shoes and apparently she had to be punished by losing her feet altogether, then she taught Sunday school and everyone loved her except when the children talked about pretty clothes, and then she repented and was rewarded by dying and going to heaven. She was a little selfish and a little vain, but really, can we say we wouldn't want to wear pretty shoes to a party?

[@mimikrue]

A couple that I like: Me and the Sky from Come From Away is one that sticks out to me, it isn't creepy, and, in fact, builds hopefully throughout it, reaching a peak that is suddenly and jarringly interrupted by rising panic as the singer catches up to the more recent present and begins singing about the flight right before her and other pilots were notified that American airspace was closed and they had to land in newfoundland (if you don't know, Come From Away is set during 9/11 and is based on stories from real people who were on planes that day or who lived on the island that the planes had to land on) Overture and Requiem from the Death Note musical are choir pieces at the start and end that are haunting Overture has an eery instrumental and the sound of a clock ticking, then the ensemble begin chanting Kira (the name given to the protagonist in the original series by the general public after his many many murderers). Requiem is a slow end, beginning with the line "Sleep now, here among your choices, then drift away", it also emphasises the insignificance of all the main characters in the long-run, linking back to the song 'Hurricane' where the protagonist describes himself/his power as a powerful natural disaster by, instead, saying "Feel every gentle breeze, Whisper through the trees, As the seasons turn" There's a comment about The Ballad of Jane Doe pretty high up so I won't talk about that but - from the same musical, Ride the Cyclone - there's a song called "Fall Fair Suit" It's one of the, I think 4, opening songs that have been used for RTC and my personal favourite. Like all the songs in RTC, high pitch, drawn out "Ah" sounds are used to symbolise screaming because all the main characters die on a rollercoaster at the start of the show. Fall Fair Suit is haunting, it's pretty likely that people will have heard part of it since "Falling through the air I wonder how can this be fair" is a part of the song that got fairly popular. Anyway, parts that stand out to me, personally, are: when Ricky Potts - who is mute and uses mobility aids because of an unnamed degenerative disease - starts singing as he can only talk and sing after they get to the afterlife so that's the moment that he dies, and the background "Ah"s sung by Jane Doe who is not on stage for this song as she fell out of the cart and was decapitated, hence why she's unidentifiable.

[@mimikrue]

To add, after scrolling down a little and seeing someone mention Starkid: Black Friday from,, Black Friday In this song Lex, one of the main characters, thinks she's going to die, without ever having reached her dreams, and without her loved ones. She begins, slowly, with "Is this what I lived for? To be choked in a toy store, While staring into hell. There's something that's beautiful, Being awake for my funeral, You can close the casket now." it's haunting and nearly always makes me cry even though the song itself is surrounded by the comedy elements of this show. It hits hard when she references her "I want" song Califor-M.I.A and sings, "Still, I wasn't the angel heaven sent, To break through my cliché boundaries", "The dreamer has dreamed her dream", "Should I never have wanted? I never even got started, Or were the decks always just this stacked" and, the one that gets me most, "Only my ashes will see the sea". I'm trying to hold back from quoting the whole song I just really like it okay, and this part I'm not going to cut: Lex has a little sister, Hannah, who she practically parents because their father is absent and their mother is an alcoholic who may as well be absent, the song has been building up to this point but now it quiets a little and she sings "At first I didn't know what she was to me, At first I didn't know why I cared, Or why I wanted, To hold her and rock her to sleep, Did I need her more than she needed me? Maybe I'm wrong, She can go on her own, But I'm leaving"

[@SUNflower1271-yt9zh]

Tomorrow Belongs To Me sent shivers up my spine when I heard it in the movie for the first time

[@Beth_Alice_Kaplan]

I always forget “Lonely Room”is missing from the film because my high school drama club did Oklahoma one year and left it in (which was impressive for my school).

[@melissataube3832]

Songs that i find haunting for various reasons: Dangerous game from jekyll and hyde Its quiet uptown from Hamilton (it cuts me deep because it reminds me of my neices death) Music of the night from phantom of the opera So many from les mis So many sweeney todd songs Memory from cats

[@kimberlymichelle1188]

Your Daddy's Son from Ragtime. The melody is so haunting and if sung right the darkness and pain lyrics a bone chilling.

[@katfairy1969]

And Coalhouse’s Soliloquy, which is an even darker reprise.

[@Amoeba_underthesea]

I'm making this comment before watching the video, but two I feel should definitely be considered is "The Chokey Chant" from the Original Matilda as well as "The Destruction" from both the original and 2013 Carrie. Both are so incredibly dark and scary and brilliant! Edit: A bit sad Chokey Chant didn't make the list, but I am happy that a Carrie and BMC song got an honorable mention! Both are super creepy:)

[@supimreallytired]

I did Matilda and I feel "Chokey Chant" isn't that creepy, but it could've just been our silly choreography.

[@TheWerequat]

Played properly, Everything's Coming Up Roses from Gypsy is downright terrifying

[@mervyngreene6687]

ESPECIALLY the Rosalind Russell/Lisa Kirk version from the movie.

[@TheWerequat]

@mervyngreene6687 Oh, no...Tyne Daley. Scared the crap outta me.

[@tabby5228]

First time I saw the song performed scared the heck out of me.

[@TheWerequat]

@@tabby5228 It's supposed to

[@ReneeCamus]

Yes! It's so fascinating to me how people listen to and use that song out of context as this cheery, "you can do it," "isn't life great?" kind of song, when they have absolutely no idea how chillingly terrifying it is within the context of the show. It's kinda hilarious, really. :)

[@Ezraspainter]

The Ballad Of Jane Doe would match so well because her higher notes represent her screams and the song represents her anger and sadness of not knowing who she is

[@stardust1815]

I personally think "now, it's just the gas" is the creepiest song from Little Shop

[@Toca_factory]

I agree with you

[@rixx46]

I saw CONFRONTATION in the original production with Linda Eder - the performance was amazing! I WISH they had captured the original Broadway cast on video instead of The Hoff!

[@lyndajaeger4477]

I did too! Back in 98. I've been obsessed with the musical since then! Confrontation blew me away! We listened before we went but I assumed it was 2 people! Also, Linda Eder is a goddess and owned that role!

[@jacobsustersic8711]

Okay, I love Sweeney. But, if we're going to pick a Sweeney song, I'm surprised they didn't go with "Johanna (Mea Culpa)". Maybe that was *too* dark and creepy for this list 😬

[@msFiBi]

No "The Ballad of Jane Doe" from Ride of the Cyclon? THE MOST ever disturbing song to me...

[@melaniegilbert3226]

Had a friend who got a set of razors and would sing My Friends to them daily. His roommate asked him to move out after a few months.

[@garrettbiehle9714]

"Die Moritat" from Three-Penny Opera should be here. It's in German, and it's old, but it has a translation. The song opens the show, and it introduces the main character Mack the Knife, telling stories about how he owns the police and commits murder and rape with impunity.

[@samuelcollantes1175]

In my opinion "Farquaad's lament" should've been on this list. But anywho, happy friday morning, Emely. Take care and God bless you, greetings from Colombia to you as well.

[@adrienfoisy9448]

YESSSS

[@PrinceTrexus]

"Kim's Nightmare" from Miss Saigon gave me chills watching it it was crazy how creepy they were able to make it especially with Thuy's ghostly makeup

[@Amywinehousefan4ever]

It never was on broadway but but there is a horror rock musical called “Repo! The genetic Opera” and some songs are pretty creepy

[@teresaellis7062]

Okay, now I need to go and watch something super cheerful! Yipes!

[@Blvdymelody]

I’m surprised that no Hamilton songs were added!!! Satisfied, it’s quite uptown, and the world was wide enough are great examples!!

[@steveguti6452]

Urgent emergency please join me in prayer for all those affected children families animals devastating dire situations in Israel Palestine & the whole world they desperately need your prayers please pray for them God bless you all 🙏.

[@rosebookfan7677]

✝️🙏💜

[@yeahnoonecaresifyouarefirst]

🙏🇮🇱🇺🇲🇨🇺🇵🇪

[@peggyknecht5551]

Praying for Israel!

[@brodyquest02]

this isn't broadway, but there's a musical called the guy who didn't like musicals. i'd say the most chilling song i know, despite sounding so cheery on the outside, is inevitable, where there is a callback to almost every song prior, sung by the protagonist. however, singing in this musical means that your body has died and been taken over by a singing alien hive mind trying to take over the world. so when paul, the guy who didn't like musicals, starts singing songs that he never heard before, you know he is truly gone

[@paloma-alfaro]

yesss

[@strangeandinteresting]

Man, Inevitable. There's nothing like that brief half-second when you first watch it, and you're relieved he's alive... Only to remember what singing *means* in this musical. "Emma... I'm sorry... You loooooost...."

[@josefk7437]

Pretty much every song from Dear Evan Hansen was dark and creepy. The title character was very creepy. He did not intend for his lie to be told, but he should have been caught sooner. It made no sense for Zoe to not be creeped out by him. She actually knew the dead guy and should not have fallen for anything Evan claimed. Evan did not do his research.

[@KMD-o8x]

"My Sister's Hot!!!"

[@hattyg123]

I'm surprised nothing from Next to Normal made it onto the list - not very creepy but one of the darkest musicals in my opinion

[@strawberrysoulforever8336]

I'm Alive is super threatening.

[@trash9893]

Spring Awakening's "The Dark I Know Well" deserved to be on here. That song is so dark and horrifying.

[@Beth_Alice_Kaplan]

“Molasses to Rum” just forces the goosebumps. The first time I heard it I wanted to crawl under a blanket.

[@WelcomeApathy]

The first time I saw 1776 was a community theater production, and I so wish they filmed the actor singing Molasses to Rum. It was honestly one of the best performances I've seen live! It made 1776 a favorite from that point onward. I love any production of it, as long as they nail that song.

[@benjamminservices5635]

Sondheim's musical, Assassins has a treasure trove of dark songs, but I think the creepiest in this collection would have to be the John Hinkley and Squeaky Fromme duet, "Unworthy of Your Love".

[@oliviawilkerson2801]

"Cup of Roasted Coffee/Cup of Poison Coffee" from The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals should be on here.

[@DrNedcase]

The Judge's Johanna is far more creepy than anything Sweeney Todd sings. I've just finished a run playing the Judge in Sweeney. I was at a theatre party last week and someone said to me 'I know you. You were that creepy judge' and visibly shivered. That's ultimate creep. Funny, she didn't speak to me much after that!

[@DewFletch]

No mention of literally any mention from Assassins the Musical?! It’s literally all crazy and depressive from the characters pov

[@gekigangar4223]

Unworthy of Your Love from Assassins still disturbs me to this day.

[@randalsspinkle]

I know that it's not a Broadway musical but I have two from "The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals". Inevitable (which is fun and dark) and America Is Great Again (which is just dark).

[@rosykindbunny1313]

Spoilers: That realization in Inevitable that Paul is now one of them... *shivers*

[@randalsspinkle]

@@rosykindbunny1313 seriously. My first reaction was literally "wait wait wait no what!"

[@Bayougirl78]

Macavity will always be my favorite song from "Cats". So dramatic, so bluesy and mysterious. Such a banger, lol!

[@ingridfong-daley5899]

The theme song from "Mad Monster Party" feels like it could go on a list like this.

[@byuftbl]

Few people know about this musical (technically rock opera) called Deep Love and basically the entire thing is creepy. It’s about a ghost who is controlling and won’t let his living wife fall in love with anyone else. But when she does, he is angry as she vowed not to even if he died. And the man she falls in love with has an ex-lover who is still in love with him. The ghost, “Old Bones” knows all this and tries to play everyone against each other so he can have his wife to himself. The creepiness is there in many songs with Old Bones, but near the end as both female characters reach desperation points they have some dark songs, and then oh there’s the suicide song that’s creepy too. It’s the best musical not many know about. It comes out on October 10th on Spotify and other streaming platforms so if that kind of dark rock opera interest you, check it out

[@illyrose-e8e]

a good song I think should of been on here is "hello little girl" from into the woods, I find the song quite disturbing because of the fact its about eating a little girl, but also how mr wolf isn't just eating her he is making her feel comfortable, and trust him before he does it.

[@whitneyryangarrity5265]

One Halloween - Applause, London Underworld - Baker Street, Katinka/The Darkness - Charlotte Sweet, The Spring of Next Year - Dear World, Do the Necronomicon - Evil Dead, Dream Sequence - Fiddler on the Roof, We Must Not Look - Goblin Market, Something is Coming to Tea - High Spirits, To Measure the Darkness - Into the Light, Judas' Death - Jesus Christ Superstar, etc.

[@derekeb1]

I’m going for darkest, and I think Requiem from Dear Evan Hansen should be there.

[@Starkidfan27]

not on Broadway, but I can think of several creepy songs from musicals made by a group called starkid. some of their creepiest work is 1. pretty much any song from the hatchetfield trilogy 2. but especially made in america 3. the summoning 4. kick it up a notch 5. twisted you should check them out, they're the whole reason I'm into musical theater!

[@paloma-alfaro]

HAHA I was waiting for someone to mention starkid. Spies are forever, too, as well as wagon on fire and black friday, do you want to play? and let it out are my top picks for hatchetfield creepyness

[@sunflower_woman1481]

For me Epiphany from bare: A Pop Opera is really dark. This whole musical is very sad in general but this opening song with it's catholic nighmare fills me with dread

[@toxicsugarart2103]

HERE FOR THE CARRIE MENTION ❤ though imo I Remember How Those Boys Could Dance is creepier than And Eve Was Weak. Margaret has all the best songs, I just love how they fleshed her out in the musical compared to the book and movie.

[@carolinecheney]

I love Dead Mom, Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer, Our Love Is God, Confrontation and The Pitiful Children! They're all great!

[@gmmartines7331]

Levi Stubbs did such an amazing job in Little Shop of Horrors I cant hesr anyone else voice Audrey II

[@gl_ckenspiel11]

There is the one cast of Phantom that is my favourite, it's from the 25th anniversary in the Royal Albert Hall

[@lys8351]

Yeah phantom and Cabret should be on the list haha 😭😭😭

[@lys8351]

Cabaret

[@NineDuesseldorf]

As a German, "Why We Built The Wall" would first and foremost remind me of the Berlin wall.

[@whatisthisalgorithm]

I'm from the US and that song still reminded me of Berlin. Mainly because predates the 2016 election, though.

[@Amywinehousefan4ever]

I would also think of “The Destruction” from “Carrie the musical is quite creepy

[@logicalnonsense4546]

I still shudder at the thought of being a young child watching Temper Temper being performed in Mary Poppins. Other honorable mentions I would like to add are Quiet from Matilda (the lyrics pretty much capture what anxiety does to the brain in its peak moments), Shine a Light (reprise) from Heathers (a girl metaphorically/literally telling her best friend to do a sewer slide), and pretty much the entire 2nd half of Willy Wonka (I don't think any of those kids survive the stage adaption)

[@strawberrysoulforever8336]

However, I think the creators were working from the assumption that the kids survived because the book shows them, mostly disfigured but well and able to go on with their lives.

[@LiviaPaikos]

Hellfire has left the chat

[@asterismos5451]

I'm hoping it's excluded because it debuted as a movie and not a stage show? But the title doesn't say stage musicals and it's not clarified in the video.... My #1, anyway.

[@RasheedaParker-qn9ec]

Awesome 🤩

[@eriksokolowski1701]

"The Dark I know well" from Spring Awakening isn't exactly creepy but it's dark.

[@theswayz8550]

How did you omit The Madness of King Scar from Lion King?

[@baliyae]

Lonely Room is definitely creepy. It makes you really hate Jud.

[@gmmartines7331]

Omg Sophia Anne Caruso has SUCH a beautiful voice

[@BeyondBaito]

Kinda wish "Charming" or "Letters" from Great Comet was included as the songs are basically the plot to push Natasha to ditch her betrothed and run off with a married man who also sleeps with his sister because her husband is an alcoholic.

[@Kevin-MichaelWolfer-o5l]

"Kill the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast didn't even get an Honorable Mention?...

[@gloomystorm2292]

One I thought of was “You Will Still Be Mine” from Waitress. Even though it was a love song, when you think of Jenna’s situation and listen to that song, it turns more creepy, almost like he (I forgot his name) is saying that she can’t escape him, no matter how hard she tries

[@ZachSmith-go9uk]

The Phantom of the Opera theme song from The Phantom of the Opera puts chills in everyone’s spines. That should definitely be up here

[@bethcoddington2150]

Interesting, I have been on the right for a number of years and never once heard Fatherland sung as our Anthem. LOL True Americans Despise Hitler and most of those are more center to center right. This is an entertaining channel.

[@travichka1]

How did American Psycho (the musical) not make this list???

[@Maya-zh6sk]

they made that a musical? wow