horror sound stories Asbjoern Andersen


It's Halloween, and to get you in that spooky mood, here are 11 A Sound Effect stories behind the sound for some of the scariest horror movies and series out there. Hope you enjoy the reads - Happy Halloween from all of us at A Sound Effect!
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Zombie sound effects library
Halloween:


The original Halloween is one of my favorite horror movies, and the 2018 version of Halloween (a direct sequel to the original movie) just premiered to great reviews, and is number one at the US box office right now.

This interview gets you the story on how sound supervisors Will Files and P.K. Hooker found brutal sonic inspiration in Michael Myers’ no-frills method of murder – and used that to create a soundscape that’s equally simple yet savage.
 

Read the in-depth interview

The Haunting of Hill House:


Audience reactions to Netflix’ new horror series The Haunting of Hill House have been strong, with horror legend Stephen King hailing it as close to a work of genius.

Many reviewers are particularly praising the sound design for the series – and it’s a great pleasure to present this interview on how its powerful sound was made, as told by Emmy-award winning supervising sound editor/sound designer Trevor Gates.

 

Read the in-depth interview

Hereditary:


Hereditary Sound

Hereditary is being hailed as one of the best horror movies in recent years, and it sounds fantastic.

Here’s the in-depth story on how the sound team at Parabolic NY carefully controlled the tension in Hereditary with sound.

They also discuss the finer points of the sounds of gore, how you make a room tone sound evil – and a sinister sonic element heard throughout the film that you probably haven’t noticed.

Read the in-depth interview

The Nun


The nun soundThe Nun is the latest installment in The Conjuring’s horror universe, and it was a huge hit at the box office.

In this exclusive interview, supervising sound editors Bill R. Dean and Ron Eng tell the story about its scary sound – covering everything from recording bells and homemade crosses, designing demon vocals, how they used the Dolby Atmos surround field, to how the jump-scare scenes never got old (especially for one re-recording mixer).

Read the in-depth interview

A Quiet Place:


A Quiet Place Sound

Sound and silence are key elements in A Quiet Place, and for sound designers Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl it was an incredibly thrilling – and challenging – project to work on. Here’s how they created the crucial sound of A Quiet Place:

Read the in-depth interview


Popular on A Sound Effect right now - article continues below:


Trending right now:

  • Foley Sound Effects Grenade Foley Play Track 1374 sounds included $15

    A focused collection of grenade foley, captured with precision using replica units. This library provides the essential, clean sounds of tactical handling, interaction, and impacts.

    Recorded at 96kHz/24-bit across various surfaces including steel plates, carpet, wood floorings, soil, and grass, this library offers variation for different environments. The recordings feature grenade shakes, surface impacts and rolls, pin pulls, spoon lever ejections, spoon drops, and tactical gear foley, all captured with Lewitt LCT 540 S and Shure SM7B.

    This is a practical toolkit for sound designers working in film, games, and other media, providing a tonal and versatile foundation for building realistic military action.

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  • Car Sound Effects Toyota MR2 1984 sports car Play Track 228 sounds included, 44 mins total $65

    All files are recorded 32bit, 192 kHz, with RØDE NTG1, Line Audio Omni1 and FEL Clippy XLR EM272 microphones, Sound Devices MixPre-6 II recorder. Library contains wav files of driving, interior and exterior foley, mechanical and electrical sounds. It is also available in UCS.

  • Hello Creators!

    Here’s my new pack “Cartoon Voices”.

    Cartoon Voices  ·  The Sound Guild

    I hope this voices will help you give more life to your characters in your project. There’s different voices for different situations: emotions, attacks, hurt, laughs, coughs, efforts, dialogues, surprise, upset, question, etc…
    They can be used in different styles of video games or other media projects.
    These 109 sounds can be used in a variety of situations, I put a name to the SFX but this doesn’t mean it can’t be used in other contexts.
    All this sounds have been recorded with a professional voice actor.
    I hope you enjoy implementing this voices in your project!

    Check all my packs on Asoundeffect

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  • Animal Sound Effects Collections Botswana Play Track 49+ sounds included, 136 mins total From: $60

    Botswana Faunethic sound library is a unique collection of 49 sounds recorded through several national parks of the country (Okavango, Chobe,…). All these sounds has been recorded and produced with high quality equipment in multichannel.

    This collection offers a wide diversity of soundscapes and animals sounds such as:

    -Bush, savanna and forest soundscapes.
    -Hippopotamus grunt and vocals.
    -Elephants vocals, showering and drinking.
    -Zebras and impalas fighting.
    -Lion chasing an elephant during one night.
    -Birds and insects at different perspectives.
    -Villages

    If you want to hear more about this field recording trip, feel free to check this post.
    The multichannel version contains 40 tracks in native 4.0 and 9 tracks recorded in stereo only.

    This library provides authentic and interesting sounds, recorded with DPA, MBHO and Neumann mics powered by an Aeta 4minX.
    All Faunethic tracks includes metadata carefully edited, compatible with Soundminer, Soundly and Basehead.


Latest releases:

  • Quietsub FX Complete Bundle

    Quietsub FX is a library of 15,055 sound effects at 24 bit 96,000 BWF. The library is organized into a number of collections related to specific categories, and a large miscellaneous category. The library was recorded to be as comprehensive as possible with an emphasis on quality and choice for users.

    The Complete Bundle includes the following parts:

    Quietsub FX gives you a wide ranging library of sound effects. Production of the library focused on creating high quality and choice for users, which ultimately is what creators want. This package is ideal for film, video, radio, podcast, and wherever sound effects are used.

    All files include metadata.

  • Quietsub FX Transportation

    An extensive collection of 1,321 Transportation sounds. If it has means of movement to carry people or goods, whether by engine or human propulsion, you’ll likely find it here.

    This collection comes in two parts. The transportation portion, and Transit Chimes.

    Transit Chimes: Transit Chimes are the sounds you hear all the time on public transportation. Dings, dongs, attention getters. This collection of 70 sound effects gives everything you need to satisfy your craving for these noises. Use them in your productions, or start your own transit system.

    Transportation: People are always going somewhere. And they sure make lots of noise doing it. Just about anything that moves people or freight can be found here.

    Recording for this category is outside the studio affair. A tremendous amount of time driving and walking around, as well as planting yourself in strategic locations where vehicles do their thing.

    • Cars general
    • Classic cars
    • Sports cars
    • Boats
    • Aircraft
    • Bicycles
    • Buses
    • Motorcycles
    • Trucks general
    • Garbage Truck
    • Highway and street backgrounds
    • Traffic sounds

    This extensive collection touches all the bases.

    Files are 24-96000 BWF with metadata.

  • Quietsub FX Video Transition Sound Effects

    A great collection of 128 Video Transition Sound Effects. These are designed to be used at video edit points to add impact.

    Video Editors will enjoy these video transition effects. In recent years, sound effects began appearing in videos to accompany the actual visual edit. This was the inspiration for creating this collection.

    There’s no better way to add depth to video edits than with short sounds and ramps. These work great with short video breakup visuals and flashes.

    This collection is made up of various wipes and transitions.

    Cut away. Chop, Hack etc. These sounds will make those video transitions more interesting.

    Files are 24-96000 BWF with metadata.

  • Quietsub FX Sci-Fi Sounds

    A collection of 192 Sci-Fi Sounds.

    There’s lots of science fiction out there, but still no little green men. Possibly that’s what makes sci-fi so popular. The dream of something you think may exist, but cannot be proven. Sci-Fi, of course, has its own sounds. In this collection of 183 sound effects, you will find most of what you will need to outfit your next spacecraft.

    Included in this collection:

    • Alien interiors
    • Blasters
    • Backgrounds
    • Space ship sounds

    Files are 24-96000 BWF with metadata.

  • Quietsub FX Mechanical Parts

    A collection of 159 mechanical sounds made by small motors. This is the result of a massive editing job involving small metal and plastic parts, and any other item made by humans and others.

    Stuff that clicks, winds, and moves by itself.

    This collection covers the world of small mechanics. Sounds in this collection include:

    • Clicking
    • Cranking
    • Metal levers
    • Metal movement
    • Winding
    • Running
    • Slowing
    • Squeaking

    You can get all wound up with this kind of thing. Something for any mechanical mind.

    Files are 24-96000 BWF with metadata.

Need specific sound effects? Try a search below:


Annabelle: Creation


annabelle creation soundIt’s a great pleasure to share the story behind the sound for Annabelle: Creation, which went straight to the top at the US box office.

In this in-depth interview, supervising sound editor/sound designer Bill R. Dean shares how they used sound to really ramp up the fear factor in the movie – and what it took to create that sound.

You also get an exclusive video clip with Bill R. Dean, on a rather novel sound design approach for the movie (involving light bulbs, filament and synth sounds).

Read the in-depth interview

It Comes At Night



Psychological horror movie It Comes at Night is proving very popular with both critics and moviegoers – and below, supervising sound editor/re-recording mixer Damian Volpe and re-recording mixer Robert Fernandez share the full story behind the film’s tense and unnerving sound:

Read the in-depth interview

Alien: Covenant


alien covenant sound designRidley Scott’s Alien: Covenant is the latest installment in the legendary, genre-defining sci-fi franchise.
And this interview gets you the inside-story behind the sound for the much-awaited movie, as told by Oscar-nominated supervising sound editor/sound designer Oliver Tarney and sound designer Michael Fentum.

Here, they discuss their approach to sound design on Alien: Covenant, from building on original Alien sound concepts to creating new sounds for the Neomorph, the Covenant ship, the radio transmissions from the Prometheus, and more.

Read the in-depth interview

Blair Witch


Blair Witch sound
The original Blair Witch Project movie made a huge splash when it premiered back in 1999, and now there’s a sequel out, simply entitled Blair Witch.

I’m very excited to be able to share the inside-story behind the sound for the new film – and without further ado, here’s the interview with Blair Witch supervising sound editor/re-recording mixer Andy Hay:

Read the in-depth interview

Lights Out


Lights out sound
Lights Out by David F. Sandberg has received lots of praise for its great scares – and a truly unsettling story, too. Here, Jennifer Walden speaks with Lights Out’s award-winning sound designer and supervising sound editor Bill R. Dean. He shares the team’s approach to horror sound, how they used dynamics to create some very effective scares, the surprising sources for some of the movie’s signature sounds – and much more:

Read the in-depth interview

The Conjuring 2


The Conjuring 2 sound
James Wan’s spine-chilling horror movie The Conjuring 2 went straight to number 1 at the box office. And here, supervising sound editor/sound designer Joe Dzuban shares the story behind the creative sound work, the value of temp mixes – and how the right talents (and tools) can take horror sound to the next level:

Read the in-depth interview

 

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THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:
 
A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

  • Foley Sound Effects Grenade Foley Play Track 1374 sounds included $15

    A focused collection of grenade foley, captured with precision using replica units. This library provides the essential, clean sounds of tactical handling, interaction, and impacts.

    Recorded at 96kHz/24-bit across various surfaces including steel plates, carpet, wood floorings, soil, and grass, this library offers variation for different environments. The recordings feature grenade shakes, surface impacts and rolls, pin pulls, spoon lever ejections, spoon drops, and tactical gear foley, all captured with Lewitt LCT 540 S and Shure SM7B.

    This is a practical toolkit for sound designers working in film, games, and other media, providing a tonal and versatile foundation for building realistic military action.

    50 %
    OFF
  • Door Sound Effects Locks & Doors Play Track 100 sounds included, 7 mins total $18

    This library gathers recordings captured with a contact microphone on various types of doors and locks. It includes wooden, metal, and plastic doors, as well as gates, residential doors, and office doors.

    The recordings highlight the internal mechanisms of locks: opening, closing, locking, unlocking, clicks, and latch movements. The collection also features isolated key handling and keychain sounds.

    The set provides detailed and usable sound material for sound design, post-production, or mechanical analysis.

  • “European Birds 2” is a sound library containing many recordings of 56 different species of birds, with a focus on isolated recordings of individual birds. All sounds were recorded in England, and all recorded species can be found in continental Europe. Many recorded species can also be found in varying areas of Asia.

     

    Includes:

    • Pleasing sounds from songbirds such as Robins, Blackbirds, Finches and Wrens
    • Familiar sounds of Pigeons and Doves
    • A variety of water birds including Moorhens, Coots, and Geese
    • Raspy calls of Crows and other birds from the corvid family
    • Melodious birds of open farmland, such as Skylarks and Yellowhammers
    • Chaotic songs of summer migrant warblers
    • Forest birds such as a Tawny Owl, Cuckoo and Green Woodpecker
    • and more! (For a full list of species, see the contents summary)

     

    Features: 

    • 950+ audio files in 24 bit 96kHz quality
    • WAV format
    • “Multi” and “One Shot” files provided
    • UCS compliant file naming and metadata, allowing for easy searching in sound library management tools
    • Available for commercial or personal use without attribution

     

    View a summary of included sounds here

    View a full list of included files here

Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • Quietsub FX Complete Bundle

    Quietsub FX is a library of 15,055 sound effects at 24 bit 96,000 BWF. The library is organized into a number of collections related to specific categories, and a large miscellaneous category. The library was recorded to be as comprehensive as possible with an emphasis on quality and choice for users.

    The Complete Bundle includes the following parts:

    Quietsub FX gives you a wide ranging library of sound effects. Production of the library focused on creating high quality and choice for users, which ultimately is what creators want. This package is ideal for film, video, radio, podcast, and wherever sound effects are used.

    All files include metadata.

  • Quietsub FX Transportation

    An extensive collection of 1,321 Transportation sounds. If it has means of movement to carry people or goods, whether by engine or human propulsion, you’ll likely find it here.

    This collection comes in two parts. The transportation portion, and Transit Chimes.

    Transit Chimes: Transit Chimes are the sounds you hear all the time on public transportation. Dings, dongs, attention getters. This collection of 70 sound effects gives everything you need to satisfy your craving for these noises. Use them in your productions, or start your own transit system.

    Transportation: People are always going somewhere. And they sure make lots of noise doing it. Just about anything that moves people or freight can be found here.

    Recording for this category is outside the studio affair. A tremendous amount of time driving and walking around, as well as planting yourself in strategic locations where vehicles do their thing.

    • Cars general
    • Classic cars
    • Sports cars
    • Boats
    • Aircraft
    • Bicycles
    • Buses
    • Motorcycles
    • Trucks general
    • Garbage Truck
    • Highway and street backgrounds
    • Traffic sounds

    This extensive collection touches all the bases.

    Files are 24-96000 BWF with metadata.

  • Quietsub FX Video Transition Sound Effects

    A great collection of 128 Video Transition Sound Effects. These are designed to be used at video edit points to add impact.

    Video Editors will enjoy these video transition effects. In recent years, sound effects began appearing in videos to accompany the actual visual edit. This was the inspiration for creating this collection.

    There’s no better way to add depth to video edits than with short sounds and ramps. These work great with short video breakup visuals and flashes.

    This collection is made up of various wipes and transitions.

    Cut away. Chop, Hack etc. These sounds will make those video transitions more interesting.

    Files are 24-96000 BWF with metadata.

  • Quietsub FX Sci-Fi Sounds

    A collection of 192 Sci-Fi Sounds.

    There’s lots of science fiction out there, but still no little green men. Possibly that’s what makes sci-fi so popular. The dream of something you think may exist, but cannot be proven. Sci-Fi, of course, has its own sounds. In this collection of 183 sound effects, you will find most of what you will need to outfit your next spacecraft.

    Included in this collection:

    • Alien interiors
    • Blasters
    • Backgrounds
    • Space ship sounds

    Files are 24-96000 BWF with metadata.

  • Quietsub FX Mechanical Parts

    A collection of 159 mechanical sounds made by small motors. This is the result of a massive editing job involving small metal and plastic parts, and any other item made by humans and others.

    Stuff that clicks, winds, and moves by itself.

    This collection covers the world of small mechanics. Sounds in this collection include:

    • Clicking
    • Cranking
    • Metal levers
    • Metal movement
    • Winding
    • Running
    • Slowing
    • Squeaking

    You can get all wound up with this kind of thing. Something for any mechanical mind.

    Files are 24-96000 BWF with metadata.


   

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