How to Write a Song About Paranormal Experiences

You want a song that gives your listener goosebumps and also a lyric line they can text about at 2 a.m. You want eerie atmosphere, a story that feels real even if it involves a floating toaster, and a hook that people hum while waiting for a bus. This guide brings ridiculous honesty, practical songwriting craft, and a toolbox for turning ghost stories into songs that actually land.

This is written for artists who like big feelings, strange nights, and lyrics that do not sound like they belong to a romanticized cemetery catalogue. Expect concrete exercises, melody and harmony suggestions, production touches to create creep, and lyric prompts that are specific enough to avoid all the paranormal clichés you secretly hate.

Why write about paranormal experiences

Paranormal stories are about two things that listeners love. The first is mystery. Mystery creates questions that a song can tease and never fully answer. The second is vulnerability. When people tell ghost stories they are really admitting fear, shame, grief, or a memory that will not let go. Use the strange event as a window into a human reaction. The song becomes useful for both the listener looking for spine tingles and the person who wants to feel seen when something weird wrecked their night.

Real life example

• Your friend leaves their phone on the table and at 3 a.m. you get a selfie of a chair that was empty. No filters. You do not call them. This is a fertile seed for a chorus that is half humor and half fear.

Pick the emotional center first

Before you write a single spooky adjective, write one sentence that states the real feeling. The paranormal detail is the seasoning. The emotional center is the meal.

Examples of core emotional promises

• I keep looking for proof so I can stop feeling ridiculous.
• I heard her voice from the attic and I finally forgave my father.
• Something wakes me at three a.m. and it is not loneliness anymore.

Turn that sentence into a title idea. Short is good. Strange is fine. The title must feel singable and carry weight when you repeat it in the chorus.

Choose your approach to the paranormal

Not every supernatural subject needs the same musical treatment. Pick a tonal map first so the rest of the song does not fight itself.

Cold factual

Feels like a field recording or documentary. Use spare production, lots of concrete detail, and an observational narrator. Great for songs about UFO sightings, EVP which stands for Electronic Voice Phenomenon, or a landlord who refuses to fix a haunted boiler.

Personal confession

First person, intimate, a little ashamed and very human. Perfect for sleep paralysis, poltergeist type stuff where the singer is the one losing stuff or losing sleep.

Campfire creep

Storyteller voice with a wink. This is the voice you use when you want crowd participation. Think call and response. This approach works for live shows and for songs that flirt with horror and comedy.

Ambiguous reality

Make the listener question whether the event was real or a memory. This is powerful because it keeps people listening for clues. Use unreliable narrator tactics and leave a twist at the end.

Choose a structure that serves tension and reveal

Paranormal songs benefit from an architecture that controls information. You want to tease, then reveal, then twist. These three structures are reliable.

Structure A Verse Pre Chorus Chorus Verse Pre Chorus Chorus Bridge Chorus

Use this for emotional songs where the chorus is the emotional payoff. Keep the first verse concrete and the second verse with a twist or new detail.

Structure B Intro Hook Verse Chorus Post Chorus Verse Chorus Bridge Double Chorus

Use this when you have a melodic hook or a chant that can be repeated between sections. The post chorus can be a spooky vocal mantra.

Structure C Narrative Chain Verse Verse Bridge Chorus Outro

Use this for pure storytelling where the chorus arrives late as a moral or a line that reframes the story.

Lyric craft for paranormal songs

Paranormal language can collapse into tired imagery fast. Your job is to keep the weird while keeping the human. Here are devices that work.

Specific concrete detail

Replace abstract adjectives with objects and actions. Instead of saying I felt haunted use The kettle rattled even when the stove was off. Objects make the scene believable. Specificity also helps listeners place themselves in the moment.

Time crumbs and place crumbs

Add a time like three a.m. and a place like basement stairs. Time crumbs are great because they carry associations. People know how their brain changes at 3 a.m.

Unreliable narrator

Make the singer question reality. Include lines like Maybe I slept or Maybe the radiator was making a noise. The doubt makes every later confirmed detail more unsettling.

Visible action over description

Show a hand moving a curtain. Show the narrator recharging a phone with trembling fingers. Actions pull the listener into the scene and avoid introspective lectures.

Ring phrase

Repeat a small phrase at the start and end of a chorus so the memory hooks. A ring phrase can be a title or a two word chant like stay out or show me.

Callback

Call back to an earlier image with one altered word. The change feels like a reveal. Example line in verse one The porch light shakes. In verse two The porch light is right again but my keys are gone. The small change makes the story move.

Prosody and voice choices

Prosody is how words fit rhythm. Say your lines out loud at normal speech speed and find the stressed syllables. Align those stresses with musical strong beats. If the heavy word lands on a weak beat the sentence will feel off even if you cannot say why.

Tip: Use short words on fast beats and longer vowels on held notes. If the title is long, make sure it either sits on a phrase with space or on a repeated chant so the ear can catch it.

Harmony and melody ideas for spooky feelings

Music theory can give you instant atmosphere. You do not need a degree. Use a few simple tools to make the melody sound eerie and interesting.

Minor keys and modal colors

Minor keys naturally sound darker. The Aeolian mode is the natural minor scale. The Phrygian mode has a lowered second which sounds ancient and uneasy. Use Phrygian if you want a medieval or uneasy vibe.

Harmonic minor and augmented seconds

Harmonic minor raises the seventh scale degree which creates a leading tone and a slightly exotic sound. Use it for tense lines or to punctuate a chorus turn.

Tritone and dissonance

The tritone interval is the flattwelve interval. It sounds unsettling and was nicknamed the devil in music history. Use it sparingly as a point of tension before resolving to a safer interval.

Drones and pedal tones

Hold a single bass note under changing chords. Drones create a sense of something ancient and immovable. They also give you a great bed for distant vocal textures.

Simple spooky chord progressions

• i bVI bVII i minor loop. This gives a cinematic minor wandering feeling.
• i iv i bVII. Use for moody verse with a small rise into the chorus.
• i bII i. Small bII or tritone touch creates unease then pulls back.

Topline and melody methods that work for eerie music

1. Vowel pass. Sing on vowels over a loop. Record. You are looking for shapes where your voice slides or breathes strangely. Those moments are candidates for title placement.
2. Rhythmic map. Clap the rhythm of the phrases you like. Paranormal songs can use stretched timing, so leave one or two beats where the singer can whisper or pause.
3. Title anchoring. Place the title on a note that either sits in a drone or leaps dramatically. The contrast creates memorability.
4. Prosody check. Speak lines and mark stresses. Align strong words with strong beats.

Arrangement and production tricks to create creep

Production sells the supernatural. You can write a great lyric and melody and then ruin it with flat production or you can lift a simple demo into real scare territory with a few choices.

Space and silence

Insert a single bar of near silence before the chorus or before the last chorus to make the listener lean in. Silence is a hook because the brain expects sound.

Reverb and distance

Use long reverb tails on a vocal to make a voice feel like it is coming from upstairs or behind a wall. Apply a short, unnatural slapback on ad libs to make them feel like echoes. Reverb sends a message about where the sound lives in the imaginary room.

Reverse textures

Record small sounds and reverse them to create rising swells that feel unnatural. Reverse a breath or a metallic scrape and put it as a lead into the chorus for an odd tension lift.

Field recordings and found sound

Include real world sounds like a radiator clank, a distant siren, or a neighbor's dog recorded on your phone. Layer these under the chorus to create authenticity. If you use a recording that was captured in a real creep moment, label it in your notes so you do not forget why you chose it.

Vocal processing

Try subtle pitch shift on background vocals. Create a doubling effect where the double sits slightly out of tune. Use formant shift to make harmonies sound thinner or more alien. If using Auto-Tune or pitch correction understand that it has two modes. The subtle mode corrects tuning while preserving expression. The extreme mode becomes an effect and can be useful for sci fi voices.

Quick term explainers

• DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation. This is the software where you record and arrange your song. Examples include Ableton, Logic, FL Studio, and Reaper.
• MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It is a language that controls virtual instruments. You can draw in a spooky arpeggio with MIDI if you cannot play it live.
• EQ stands for equalization. It is how you shape the tone. Cut some midrange to make things sound distant. Boost a little high end to add air on a phantom vocal.
• BPM means beats per minute. Slower BPMs allow more space for breathy lines and spooky pauses.
• EVP stands for Electronic Voice Phenomenon. It refers to alleged voices caught on recording devices. If your song mentions EVP explain it or make it part of the story so listeners who do not know the term are not confused.

Lyric exercises and prompts specific to paranormal themes

Do ten of these in one session and you will have usable lines for verses, pre choruses, and potential hooks.

• Write one line that names the object that moved during the night. Ten minutes.
• Write a chorus that repeats the time of night. Keep it to three words repeated in different ways. Five minutes.
• Write a verse entirely of camera shots. For each line write what the camera shows. Ten minutes.
• Write a list of five things that were missing the morning after. Make the last item surprising. Five minutes.
• Write a conversation between you and a voice you heard. Keep it under eight lines. Five minutes.
• Write a line that admits you lied about being brave. Keep it honest. Three minutes.
• Write a line that uses a mundane object as a haunted symbol. Example the coffee mug knows my secrets. Ten minutes.
• Write a chorus without the words ghost, haunted, or spirit. Make it feel paranormal without naming it. Ten minutes.

Examples and before and after lines

Work on small rewrites to see how to move from vague to specific.

Before I am haunted by you.

After Your lighter sits on the mantel cold and upright like an accusation.

Before Something woke me up last night.

After My phone lit seven missed calls from a number that never rings during the day.

Before The house felt wrong.

After The wallpaper buckled like a folded map and the clock forgot to tick between two and three.

Hook crafting for paranormal songs

The hook needs to be singable and image heavy. If the hook is a question that the verses refuse to answer you will keep your listener engaged.

Hook recipes

1. One image or object. Keep it specific.
2. One small action. Make it repeatable.
3. One emotional line that reveals why you care.

Example hook seed

The porch light shivers. I do not go outside. I leave the key where it is.

Melody diagnostics for eerie effect

• Start low. Keep verses in a narrow range to create intimacy. Let the chorus step up a third for release.
• Use small intervals in the verse and a leap into the title. The leap feels like shock.
• Allow breathy phrasing. Sometimes a whispered line is more effective than a belt.
• Use unresolved endings on the verse. Let the verse end on a chord tone that wants to go somewhere and then let the pre chorus push it into the chorus.

Arrangement maps you can steal

Atmospheric story map

• Intro with field recording and distant piano motif
• Verse one with voice close and dry bass drone
• Pre chorus adds filtered snare and a rising reversed swell
• Chorus with full reverb, vocal double, and a suspended chord on the last line
• Verse two adds a new detail and a subtle harmony
• Bridge drops into near silence with a single whispered line and a ticking sound
• Final chorus returns with an extra countermelody and a doubled phrase that shifts one word

Campfire chant map

• Cold open with a chant hook
• Verse with acoustic guitar and vocal in the midrange
• Chorus group chant with call and response
• Short breakdown with spoken story line
• Final chorus with crowd style shouts and a closing hum

Songwriting workflows for fast completion

1. Lock your emotional center sentence. Write it at the top of the page.
2. Choose your approach and structure. Map the story beats you need to land.
3. Make a two chord loop to play while you free sing vowels for two minutes. Mark melodic gestures.
4. Write verse one with three concrete details. Run the crime scene edit. Replace abstract phrases with objects.
5. Draft a chorus that repeats the title or a ring phrase. Keep it short and image heavy.
6. Build a pre chorus that increases motion into the chorus. Use short words and rising melody.
7. Record a rough demo with one field recording and send to a friend who likes true crime or ghost stories. Ask what line they can still hum after an hour.
8. Revise the line that confuses people. Tighten imagery. Ship the demo and celebrate with a tea or beer or both.

How to make a paranormal song feel true instead of cheesy

Cheese comes from over explanation and obvious adjectives. Avoid grand statements that have no weight. Live inside small moments where the weird touches everyday life.

Do not lean on these clichés

• The curtains moved by themselves and I screamed. That is fine as a raw report but do not leave it there.
• The house is haunted. Again fine. Follow it with one real consequence like I changed the locks on a dream.

Do embrace these details

• A single object moved but everything else stayed. That is creepier than chaos.
• A voice that says a mundane line like dinner is ready. The banality makes the event feel real.

Legal and ethical notes for writers

If you use real recordings you made that include other people, get permission before releasing. If you use field recordings from the internet check the license. Creative Commons content often requires attribution. When you reference true events or a private person consider their privacy and the potential harm of telling a story that might be traumatic. Songs can heal and they can hurt. Choose carefully.

50 lyric prompts to jumpstart a paranormal song

• The clock stopped at the exact minute you left.
• Your voicemail plays a message from someone you are still supposed to be mad at.
• A neighbor waves from a kitchen that has been empty for years.
• You wake up with someone else s hair on the pillow.
• There is a snowman on your lawn in July.
• The radio only plays one old song and it says your name between verses.
• Footprints go to the door and stop.
• The painting blinks when you walk by.
• Your reflection stays after you leave the mirror.
• The dog refuses a room that used to be their favorite.
• Someone has been leaving your childhood toys in a line.
• A phone call with no voice but breathing that matches yours.
• A lamp flickers in Morse that spells a memory.
• You find a list of dates that have not happened yet.
• A voice says goodnight from the roof.
• Your name appears in frost on the inside of a window in August.
• The elevator takes you to a floor that is not on the panel.
• Your keys are chilling in the freezer.
• A smell of perfume that belongs to someone who left ten years ago.
• A lullaby plays when no music is on.
• Someone rearranged your grocery list to spell a sentence.
• The streetlights blink in time with your heartbeat.
• A voicemail of you that you never left.
• The sky turned wrong during your commute.
• There is a second shadow under your chair that moves to a different beat.
• Your car remembers someone else driving it.
• A photograph where the face in the background is the house you grew up in.
• A whisper that only knows your childhood nickname.
• Stairs that make the sound of rain even though the house is dry.
• A neighbor who swears the light in your attic was not there before.
• Someone left your childhood diary with a new line written in it.
• A box of letters that are addressed to you in handwriting you do not recognize.
• A notice that your address is no longer listed in directories that still list you.
• Your shadow waves when you are still.
• A reflection that smiles at the wrong time.
• Two clocks that agree only when you are alone.
• The smell of smoke in a house that passed inspection last week.
• Your name carved into a tree that was not there when you were a child.
• A voice on the line saying I waited. I am glad you are awake now.
• Lights that follow your steps down the street only when you look back.
• A childhood toy that has grown older handwriting on it.
• The same dream visited twice with new furniture each time.
• Your mother s recipe being recited by a stranger at a midnight bus stop.
• A pen that writes things you did not intend to write.
• Someone knocked at the door and left without ringing.
• Your friend sends a photo of the room you are sitting in from across town.
• You receive a postcard from a town you thought you forgot.

Common songwriting mistakes when dealing with the paranormal and how to fix them

• Mistake: Listing spooky things without emotional stakes. Fix: Tie each strange image to a human reaction.
• Mistake: Over explaining so the mystery evaporates. Fix: Keep one secret. Let the listener fill the rest.
• Mistake: Using clichéd words like haunted without context. Fix: Use an object or small action instead of the word haunted.
• Mistake: Too many scenes that confuse the story. Fix: Limit to three key moments and escalate between them.

Publish ready checklist

1. Can you say the emotional center in one sentence. If not, rewrite until you can.
2. Is there a concrete image in every verse. Replace any abstract line with an object or action.
3. Does the chorus have a ring phrase or repeated element. Add repetition if the chorus is intangible.
4. Is the production serving atmosphere. Add one field recording or one reversed texture if it feels flat.
5. Did you test the song on three listeners who like true crime or weird fiction. Note the lines they hum back and tighten those lines.

Paranormal songwriting examples you can model

Theme: The house remembers a conversation you never had.

Verse: The kettle remembers the night you lied about leaving. Steam writes the shape of your excuse on the window. The cat watches like it keeps score.

Pre: There is a sound above the plaster like someone turning a page quietly and wrong.

Chorus: The house says your name in the rooms you used to borrow. I listen to the echo like it is giving me permission to forget or remembering instead.

Bridge: I go upstairs with a flashlight and find my handwriting on the wall that I never wrote. I press my palm to it and feel someone else s pulse.

Frequently asked questions about writing paranormal songs

How do I make a paranormal song that is believable

Make the weird matter emotionally. Use one strange event and show its consequence. Keep details specific. Use field recordings for authenticity. Avoid lists of spooky adjectives. Focus on what the event does to a person s day the next morning.

Can I write a funny song about ghosts without losing the vibe

Yes. Use camp or a sardonic narrator. The trick is to keep one sincere emotional thread so the listener still cares. Comedy works best when it reveals truth. If the joke is the only point, the song will feel like a gag rather than a story.

What scales create a spooky sound

Minor scales create darkness. Phrygian adds an uneasy lowered second. Harmonic minor has an exotic tension because of the raised seventh. Triadic dissonances like the tritone create a sense of the uncanny. Use them as color not as the entire language.

How do I record a field sound and make it usable in a song

Record with your phone or a small recorder. Move closer to the source for clarity. Normalize the level and trim the clip. Apply EQ to remove low rumble and add reverb to place it in the mix. If it is too loud or too distracting, lower the volume and automate it to appear in small moments.

Is it okay to use real ghost stories as inspiration

Yes but be mindful. If the story involves real people and trauma request permission or anonymize details. If a story is public domain or from folklore, acknowledge your source if it matters to the integrity of the song.

How do I avoid sounding cheesy when I sing about ghosts

Sing with honesty not theatrics. Keep the delivery conversational. Use whispered lines and close mic technique to create intimacy. Reserve big vocal moments for the emotional payoff, not for shouting the word ghost.

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