Halloween is just around the corner, and the days are getting colder and darker here in Denmark.
So I dimmed the lights, sat down with a cup of the blackest coffee we have in the studio and picked out some of the libraries that would work particularly well for horror projects.
They’re great for those of you working on projects where you want to give your audience the chills – and perhaps make them jump a bit.
Oh, and at the end of this guide, I’ll tell you how you can make eight creepy horror sound effects yourself. But let’s start out with the 13 libraries first – here we go:
And in Bruce Bueckert’s Scream library, you get no fewer than 441 vocal sound recordings (screams + many other strange vocal sounds) to work with.
His Blades library gives you sheath sounds, blade scrapes, clanks, hits, schings, and yes, even scissors snipping (!). A total of 260 sounds are included.
Need more sounds?
If you need more sounds for your project, be sure to check out the many other sound libraries on A Sound Effect – click below to continue exploring:
Hope you found something useful above! If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also create your own horrifying sound effects from scratch. Here are some ideas for doing just that, courtesy of David Filskov’s great list of sound effect ideas, and some clever sound designers:
How to create your own horror sounds
Bats flying
I used an umbrella opening and closing rapidly for the sound of bats flying one time… turned out great. I think I had to filter out some of the low frequency material, though.
-Tim Clarke
A pair of leather gloves flapped about is a good substitute for wings flapping when a bat takes off.
– Garry Taylor
Blood and guts being torn out
I know how to make a nice sound of blood and guts being torn out. Just make a milk pulp, put it into your mouth, and then try to say “Ghhhh”. Mix it with the end section of any water splash sample or add a sample where you’re moving out your hand from a bucket of water.
– Adam
Gore and squidge
Wet wash leather – fantastic for gore and squidge.
– Mark Estdale
Fruits! Especially tomatoes (for splatters) and potatoes (for wet crunchy sounds). Another classic is making a goo with eggs and dip rags and paper towels into them and play.
– Gustaf Grefberg
Rat shrieks
Pitched-up chickens.
– Ben Burtt
Up-pitched kittens. Especially the screechy ones.
– Gustaf Grefberg
Stone coffin opening
Slide off the top of a toilet tank.
– Ben Burtt
Spirits screaming
Dolphin and sea-lion cries, other animal screams and human vocalizations.
– Ben Burtt
Tentacles, sliding
Get a few day’s worth of stubble on your face. Go somewhere real quiet and record running your hand and arm under your chin – it mixes in nice with the hairs on your arm. Or as I just found out, get a mouse mat with a rubberized or cloth surface and rub that under your chin :-) To further this idea maybe put some shaving gel on and take a credit card and lightly rub it across? That way you get bristly with a bit of slime.
– Dave Sullivan
Having just eaten a bowl of macaroni and cheese shells, I have to say it’s the most convincing tentacle sound I’ve ever heard. It also made the bowl harder to finish :-)
– Jay Semerad
Vocalization of monster
Metal pressed against dry ice.
– Paul Arnold
Slide a straw up or down in a McDonald’s large drink plastic lid. Try pitching it down and stretching it – and voilá! McZilla.
– Max Hodges
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Pipe Noise & Flow is a sound effects library built around the hidden voices of pipe systems, large and small. Captured over several years across industrial plants, residential buildings, factories, sewers, underground tunnels, caves and public infrastructure, this collection brings together a wide range of sonically rich material.
You’ll hear water, gas, and air moving through pipes made of metal steel, copper, aluminium, plastic, glass, concrete, and stone. There are massive flows and subtle trickles, bursts of pressure, hollow resonances, eerie whistles, and the strange tonalities that emerge when systems crack, leak, or fail. Many recordings feature broken or deteriorating pipes, full of texture and unpredictability. While there is plenty of industrial and subterranean grit, you’ll also find more subtle sources like kitchen sinks, bathroom plumbing, and everyday interior systems; sounds that can lend realism or eeriness to intimate scenes.
This library is designed to be flexible and inspiring. Use it to create detailed ambiences for sci-fi, horror, and post-apocalyptic settings, to build layered mechanical textures for machines and user interfaces, or to design unique elements for hybrid weapons, alien devices, strange creatures or abandoned environments. Whether you need the realism of urban infrastructure or the surreal qualities of a forgotten machine, Pipe Noise & Flow offers an unexpected toolkit full of possibility.
What’s inside:
- Flowing water, rushing air, and gas movement through pipes
- Large industrial pipes, small tubing, and flexible hoses
- Pipes made of metal, iron, copper, aluminium, plastic, glass, concrete, and stone
- Broken, leaky, and deteriorating pipes with rich textures
- Interior plumbing: kitchen sinks, bathroom drains, home radiators
- High-pressure bursts, trickles, drips, and hissing valves
- Tonal and pitched pipe resonances, drones, and hums
- Mechanical rattles, clangs, gurgles, and thumps
- Subterranean ambiences and underground utility spaces
- Studio performances exploring controlled flow and resonance
- Eerie whistles and howling vents for otherworldly design
- Abstract textures and tonalities ideal for creature sound design
- Inspiring source material for sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and surreal soundscapes
- Useful elements for user interface design, machine textures, and hybrid weapons
- Ready-to-layer assets for creating atmospheres, backgrounds, and special effects
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Footsteps Sound Effects MachinEra: Robotic Movements Play Track 166 sounds included, 3 mins total $54A dynamic collection of robotic sound effects capturing the essence of synthetic motion—from heavy mech footsteps to agile servo twitches. Organized into Robot_Big and Robot_Small, this pack delivers detailed mechanical gestures that give life and character to any robot—ideal for film, games, animation, and futuristic sound design. Bring your bots to life with authentic movement, precision, and personality.
🤖 What’s Inside?
✔️ Robot_Big: Heavy robotic footsteps, mechanical stomps, structural clanks, and full-motion sequences for large-scale machines.
✔️ Robot_Small: Servo-driven motions, nimble joint movements, mechanical twitches, and intricate robotic details.Useful for films, video content, and games, this pack provides ready-to-use, professionally designed sound effects, tailored for creators who need polished sounds without extra processing. The Ultra High Resolution version may contain more variations and audio files than the High Resolution pack, with pristine 192 kHz quality that ensures excellent flexibility for projects requiring additional processing.
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A high-octane collection of sci-fi engine sounds designed to power futuristic vehicles, starships, drones, and advanced machinery. With layered boosts, charged accelerations, and energetic propulsion, this pack delivers cinematic engine sounds with punch and scale—perfect for games, trailers, film, and sci-fi storytelling. Give your machines the roar of tomorrow.
🚀 What’s Inside?
✔️ Engine Boosts: Aggressive power surges, acceleration bursts, energy charges, and propulsion blasts.
✔️ Sci-Fi Motions: High-velocity thrusts, futuristic drives, and stylized engine pulses.Useful for films, video content, and games, this pack provides ready-to-use, professionally designed sound effects, tailored for creators who need polished sounds without extra processing. The Ultra High Resolution version may contain more variations and audio files than the High Resolution pack, with pristine 192 kHz quality that ensures excellent flexibility for projects requiring additional processing.
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