9 brutally-effective horror sound design techniques – by horror master Alessandro Romeo

When it comes to crafting terrifying sound effects, few people do it better than Alessandro Romeo. He's worked on countless trailers for movies such as Alien: Romulus, The Exorcist: Believer, Hereditary, The Nun, Candyman, and Alien: Covenant + he's released a number of frightening sound libraries on Sampletraxx - and now he's back with even more under his new Horrorsound.org label.

In this exclusive guide, he shares some of his inventive approaches and techniques he's using to make his horror sounds stand out - techniques you can use for your own nightmare-inducing sound design projects as well:

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Some of my sounds have very little headroom, which can be seen by the close proximity of the peak and RMS levels on the meter. There are certain sounds like braams, alarms, and other danger-related elements, that benefit from minimal headroom. I often use sine waveshaping to enhance their energy and presence while maintaining their core frequency.

I typically stack a couple of Native Instruments Absynth instances in effect mode, using the oscillator module as a stereo audio input. The Sine waveshape is my favourite for its “transparent” results, but the possibilities are endless with the variety of built-in and custom waveshapes available. You can go from hard and soft clipping to overdrive and distortion using triangle, square, and sawtooth waves to produce varying degrees of energy and a lot of different other shapes that are present in Absynth.

I also use to insert an Eventide Black Hole reverb between them to create space and reduce the harshness that can sometimes occur when using two waveshapers in stack, in particular on sounds with high harmonic content.

My sound pack Desert Trash, a collection of hard-hitting signature sounds, has been widely treated using stacked waveshapers. This allowed me to created a richer and dynamic sounds that stand out without overwhelming other elements in the mix.
 

In horror music and sound design, pitch bend enhance dramatic moments by building suspense and creating sudden shifts. This technique is perfect for creating stronger intensity and keeping listeners engaged.

By rapidly bending the pitch of samples, especially on the attack of massive hits and impact sound effects, you can mimic DJ vinyl scratches or create unnatural shifts in pitch and dynamics. I use this technique to add tension and energy to sound design.

I personally prefer to manage pitch bend by hand instead of using automation. This gives me more control and expression. Alternating sharp rises and drops in pitch simulates forward and reverse scratches, creating a pressurized, tightening and disorienting sound that is ideal for horror sound design.
 

I love using frequency shifters for a variety of tasks:

1) For smoothing out bad resonances, I often use a frequency shifter to find the right spot in a more musical way, especially when dealing with mid-low and bass frequencies. This technique is particularly effective for creating boom, low end elements and sustained sounds that aren’t tied to a specific key or tonal center.

2) When I need to pitch shift an impact sound effect without degrading the attack, sometimes I prefer using a frequency shifter over traditional pitch shifting. This depends largely on the harmonic content of the sound. Applying a frequency shifter can shift the pitch while preserving a cleaner attack, maintaining the clarity and definition of the sound’s initial impact. Many sounds from my latest Boom sound pack have been processed using this technique.

3) I generally avoid using a frequency shifter on sounds with prominent high frequencies, as this can introduce an electronic or robotic sound that I find undesirable for my productions. For atonal effects on warm and chilling sounds such as atmospheres and pads, I often use a frequency shifter paired with playing adjacent semitones.

I love using convolution to create texture around sounds. While I do use it as a reverb, I primarily appreciate its ability to create a unique sonic environment. Izotope Trash 2 has some excellent convolution options for this purpose.

My favourites include “Body,” for heavy-weight sounds such as bass, brass and heavy hits. For adding texture and topping elements, I prefer the “mechanical” and “vowels” options.

An effective approach I use involves feeding different input tracks with the same sound. I then load different convolutions, one set to provide the bottom part of the spectrum and another set for the mid/ top frequencies.
 

I enjoy reversing the process of creating sound effects that work well together as a kit. Instead of making samples to construct a song, I begin by composing the song itself and then, I creatively stem one-shot samples from the finished composition.

I begin by creating a short track or cue using my raw field recording and then apply chains of effects to process my sounds, transforming them into sound design elements. This process follows a similar structure to my usual approach of creating a trailer track.

Once I’ve achieved a satisfactory result, I extract individual sounds from the cue. This reverse approach ensures that the resulting sounds harmonize well, as they originate from a balanced “enviroment”.
 

I love creating signature sounds, as they serve as the most recognizable elements in sound design cues.

A signature sound is essentially a leitmotif in sound design and itʼs used to reinforce its presence or significance within a narrative. Unlike traditional musical leitmotifs, which are often melodic, signature sounds are subtle audio cues woven into the sound design
to enhance storytelling, particularly in horror.

Metals and string instruments are excellent choices. In my sample packs, Horror Metals and Circus you’ll find a variety of signature sounds. The key aspect is the instant recognisability, a significant impact that evokes a specific emotional response and create a more immersive experience for the audience.
 

When designing sustained sounds such as atmospheres and textures, I like combining adjacent semitones and get disturbing, off-balance sound that is perfect for horror.

By playing two samples that are a semitone apart (for example, C and C#), you lose the clear sense of pitch and instead create a jarring, unsettled tone. The clash between the two close frequencies leads to an unstable sound that lacks harmonic resolution, making it feel tense and unnatural.

The result is a sound that doesn’t fit into traditional musical structures, creating a sense of tonal ambiguity. This uncertainty in pitch is key for horror sound beds, atmospheres and textures.

Playing two adjacent semitones together creates dissonance, which is perfect for generating unsettling and eerie tones often used in horror sound design. This dissonance results from the close frequencies clashing, which produces a beating effect, a wobble in pitch.

A simple yet effective trick for adding weight and presence to sound effects is to layer the same sound spaced by one or two octaves, as you do in music arrangements.

For instance, if I have a signature sound that works in the high-mid register but lacks body, I duplicate it onto another track and shift it down by one or two octaves. Alternatively, I layer three tracks across three octaves and pan them widely to achieve a fuller, more spacious sound.

In Ableton Live, I typically warp the samples in Complex Mode, which I find to be the most musical and artifact-free. Then, I shift the octave as needed. This approach generally works better for down pitch shifting. Take a listen to the Desert Trash demo to get an idea of this technique.
 

I’ve experimented extensively with this unconventional technique to achieve unexpected results. By placing the razor on various surfaces, such as inside an oven, a washing machine, wooden surfaces and metal shelves, I’ve been able to generate new waveforms that can serve as starting points for my sampler. Razor derived waveform are great for bass lines and arpeggiator, percussions and experimental noise effects.

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