The majority of creepy metallic noises in horror movies are made by this instrument: The Waterphone

[DainBramaged]

[L0oniX]

1. These are the sounds that play back 24/7 in Rand Paul's head. n/t

[Blue Owl]

6. What hideousness lies beneath that home-perm...

n/t

[Left Coast2020]

11. And Ted Cruz too.

[LongTomH]

21. Who knows.....what evil lurks in the hearts of these men?

MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

[Voice for Peace]

2. eek... gave me the creeps just watching the video

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. The theremin is another instrument used for creepy effects.

Everything sounds creepy when played on the theremin.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

4. The inspiration for this...

[FailureToCommunicate]

18. Is there a better instrument for scary science fiction movies...

(in the hands of Bernard Hermann)?

[Hydra]

5. Wicked cool!

The person playing it hit many of the nice creep factors methods

[ChazInAz]

7. Don't leave it at that.

How do you make one?

[fierywoman]

8. oh, there are lots of ways to make creepy sounds on many instruments!

I'm a professional violist and have played on many horror movie soundtracks (like all of the Grudges!) -- One of the creepiest sounds ever is a section of string players (40 or 50) tapping our strings with our (calloused) fingertips. Personally I am too scared to watch the films I've played the score to !

[Union Scribe]

9. Very cool!

I made some pretty horrifying sounds with an oboe in high school, but none of them were intentional

[Iggo]

14. I played sax and I sat next to the oboe and bassoon players.

My ears are ringing just thinking about that split reed squeak.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

10. I think I want one

Will I be horrified to learn how much they cost?

[BlueStreak]

13. Waterphones are in the $300 - $1000 range

Theremins run about the same. What you get for $350 (with either instrument) is basic but functional. I have a Theremin. It requires a great deal of skill to play well (which I don't.)

One aspect of Theremins that has limited its popularity is that it is not usually practical to play in a live setting. You need a clear space of about 5 feet around the player so as not to interfere with the electrical signals. That pretty much rules it out in clubs and smaller stages.

[SeattleVet]

15. There's the guy in Japan that has built a single-antenna theremin into Matryoshka dolls

He has a pretty good following, and some of them are very good!

Here is a large ensemble doing Beethoven's 9th:

[TexasTowelie]

16. Have you heard of the Octopus Project out of Austin? I've had to pleasure of watching Yvonne play

the theremin live. Check this out at about the 8:00 mark:

[BlueStreak]

19. The original inventer makes them in small quantities

as functional art pieces for $1100 - $1700. I guess there are some really big ones that cost more than that.

http://www.waterphone.com/prices.php

[DainBramaged]

20. lESS THAN $2000

http://www.waterphone.com/prices.php

[Rozlee]

12. Argh!

I got flashbacks of everything from 'Psycho' to 'C.H.U.D.'

[BumRushDaShow]

17. OMG this is probably the most fascinating thing I've seen

in a long time!

Thank you DB and others here who posted about these types of instruments!