Look here for royalty-free underscores for Mystery and Suspense. Whether you're working on the scene where a mutilated body is found, or you're designing a video game where the hero sneaks around a deserted space ship, this area will provide sneaky, creepy and suspenseful music tracks. Much of this is orchestral music, but not all. Also electronic and more experimental musical sounds are used to create these tracks; most of which are subtle, ambient underscores, rather than up-front, brash compositions.
Piano, acoustic guitar, acoustic bass, vibes and conga work quickly to put a plan into action... although it may not be the ideal plan. Creates a great sense of movement and motion! In the eclectic style of scores by Thomas Newman, like American Beauty. [Tempo: Medium / 123 BPM]
Drone, windchimes, metal rattles and wood flute in an earthy / earth / tribal track. Haunting, ominous, dark skies. Can be Native American, mid eastern / desert, south american / central america or other indigenous, aboriginal, tribe, primal. Also available in two sub-mixes: One with only the flute by itself, and one without the flute, leaving only the drone and windchimes; great for media underscore use. Mysticism / mystical / ancient / cultural / historical / world heritage. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Ambient/Electronica with guitar. Moody, developing. Slight Peter Gabriel influence. [Tempo: Slow / 120 BPM]
A foreboding and ominous film soundtrack underscore. Deep drums, atmospheric swirls and drones create a ticking, pensive, rhythmic background highly suitable for crime thriller, dark drama, investigative mystery. Hidden clues, a dangerous situation, or perhaps unveiling a dark secret? [Tempo: Medium / 81 BPM]
Dark atmospheric cinematic piece of music with mysterious harmonies and synth sequences great for dramatic suspense movies and videos. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
This is a piece of percussion and electronic music that sounds like a jungle of mystery. In this music, ethnic percussion is accompanied by evolving, ambient sounds, bass and simple, electronic melody. Suitable for action, discovery, suspense and mystery. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
A dark ambience to hi-light the grim features of serious moments. For crime-related scenes and situations, dark drama, psychological drama. Also for scifi. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
An introspective, haunting, film / drama score with a sense of loss, longing and desolation. Cold and dejected. Use for Drama, History, Storytelling. Perhaps true stories, courtroom drama. [Tempo: Slow / 88 BPM]
Busy, high intensity, drum'n bass oriented, electro-static breakbeat sizzler. [Tempo: Very fast / 160 BPM]
Like the awakening of an idea or the start of a great adventure, this bold orchestral piece grows from small beginnings to a huge striving precession that reaches a frantic conclusion at 1:00 returning to its original idea and finally to rest. Suitable for rites of passage sequences or the birth of ideas and on-going initiative. [Tempo: Medium / 67 BPM]
A futuristic and technological vibe rings through this track. Hints of synthwave, cyberpunk, and mystery. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 125 BPM]
A spooky, creepy, darkly atmospheric track in orchestral arrangement. Starting with creepy celeste and evolving into dark, atmospheric orchestral landscape, it makes a great fit for your horror or mystery project. Think classic dark mysteries. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 80 BPM]
This track starts with a strong sense of mystery and tension, like there’s a real danger lurking. Huge action drums come in later, bringing the track to a huge conclusion. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 112 BPM]
Cinematic retro synth wave; this track was created using only two vintage hardware synthesizers; a Moog Minimoog model D and a Prophet 5. Strangely futuristic and vintage at the same time. Ambient / Eerie / Synthetic / Retro / Mystery. [Tempo: Medium / 110 BPM]
Dark, tense, underscore with a somewhat Tribal feel. Can be ancient cultures / religions / mystical world history, or Futuristic / Sci-fi / Adventure. Ethereal pads, tribal percussion, mangled synth sounds. Some chanting, war like vocals also join in towards the end. Available with or without the drums, and with or without the vocals. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 105 BPM]
Slow, sizzling jazz swing. Jazz club, late night city alleys, private detective, smokey atmosphere, etc. [Tempo: Slow / 95 BPM]
Softly played, mysterious underscore with harp and ethnic flute. A feel of the Middle East or North Africa. Exotic, repetitive, pulsating underscore with a slight nerve. Perpaps, Egypt, Sahara or other desert landscape. Mythology, mystery, ancient cultures, far-away places, adventure and discovery. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 118 BPM]
Orchestra with plucked guitar mutes give a sense of time ticking by in this playful, yet slightly sinister sounding track.Perhaps we are watching someone sneak around under the cover of darkness. Ironic, yet with a sense of something dark brewing. For mystery, horror or suspenseful scenes. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 109 BPM]
Slow brush drums hitting softly with distorted long sounds and some scary sounds. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 60 BPM]
Beautiful, ethereal, spacious, dreamy, relaxing & atmospheric track using plucked piano & guitar harmonics. Soft, peaceful, moody, mysterious, dreamy, wondrous, magical & fascinating. Would suit dramatic / espionage / science / nature / christmas type projects. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 136 BPM]
There’s a difference between terror and horror. This track is a sonic tale of the inner workings of a demonic serial killer as he/she confesses their brutal crime. It’s a slow buildup of organic string lines and atmospheric tension stretched across two minutes of anxiety and creepiness until the explosive ending. [Tempo: Slow / 60 BPM]
Creepy orchestration suggests an approaching evil menace or a supernatural event. Steeped in suspense, this dark, sinister piece builds towards a horrific & sudden conclusion. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Christmas-like bells. Performed and recorded on 100 year old English hand bells. [Tempo: Slow / 65 BPM]
Inspired by film maker and composer John Carpenter, this is a homage to his masterpiece The Thing, starring Kurt Russell. Ominous blend of synthesizers and orchestral horns, with a repetitive tense motif. [Tempo: Slow / 93 BPM]
Determined, mechanical, groovy, funky Hip Hop beat. Deep drums, bass, and dramatic synth licks, very bright, gritty, energetic. Staccato, steaming hot pumping rhythms, electronic hip-hop style arrangement with a dark edge. Will fit goodly for urban/inner city productions, investigation, action. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
Saturn from The Planets suite by Gustav Holst. Recorded exclusively for Shockwave-Sound.com by D Hamilton. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
Heavily influenced by the "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" music, this is a package of tense, anxious music suitable for game shows, quiz shows as well as other media. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Ambient, dark, slightly tense with low piano notes, light percussion, synth choir and fx. Good for eliminations on reality shows, tv and film dramas, crime, horrors, mysteries, thrillers and documentaries. [Tempo: Slow / 64 BPM]
Smooth and orchestral Ambient / Cinematic Music crossover. Features a full string orchestra accompanied by warm piano and synth to give a calm, yet dramatic feeling. A bit mysterious / a dark undertone. Contemplative / Pensive Music. [Tempo: Slow / 105 BPM]
Dark, edgy, ethereal, spacey, menacing, cinematic suspense music with an air of foreboding & fear of the unknown. Magical, sinister & full of tension. Are you being followed? Or is your mind just playing tricks on you? Would suit horror / mystery / halloween / murder / serial killer / crime type projects. [Tempo: Very slow / 62 BPM]
Dark and mysterious Hip Hop track, with a great sense of danger and foreboding. Imminent confront, conflict, gang members preparing to a battle. Good for use in any type of media. Very suitable for action films, dramatic scenes with urban theme, espionage, action thriller. [Tempo: Slow / 74 BPM]
A creature from beyond time and space appears, accompanied by massive, cinematic, trailer-style orchestra and choir! [Tempo: Fast / 151 BPM]
A somewhat bizarre, and slightly creepy, 1980's themed instrumental production with big synths and drums. Big and spacious - like travelling back in time. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 74 BPM]
A dark and obscure track with accented strings, huge percussive hits, sound effects and ambient synths. Ideal for dramatic breaking news and reality TV cues such as Dateline NBC and Rock Center. Useful for news investigations, videos involving turmoil, struggle, elimination and the idea of serial killers, crime scenes, murder, twisted plots, Halloween and Investigation Discovery. [Tempo: Slow / 78 BPM]
A dreamy and ambient background piece with driving feel-good percussion and a hopeful sense of magic, building to an inspiring climax. Perfect for documentaries, corporate videos and commercials. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 125 BPM]
Soundtrack for a grand adventure, fully of mystery and intrigue. Exotic, but without overtly belonging to any particular country or region, this track gives a sense of amazement, discovery and new journeys. [Tempo: Medium / 92 BPM]
Hypnotic, groovy, trance-inducing electronic chill track that you might hear in a night club on pluto, if you're ever passing by that way.Just sit back, get your groove on & enjoy the spectacle of the interstellar superfreaks. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
Emotive and warm track build on a slow and vaporous piano accompaniement sustained by strings and a touch of electronic drums. Good for Production / Film Scores. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 118 BPM]
Something foul is lurking. Slow dark jazz with some scary FX and pads. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
A hard rock track with a powerful punch and a big pair of cojones. Feelgood, uplifting and positively forward driving and highly suitable for action footage, extreme sports and car racing, powerful football cuts, destruction and mayhem, etc. [Tempo: Medium / 132 BPM]
This track features a catchy action-drama theme that will keep your production on the edge. An intense yet subtle track with driving orchestral percussions and strings, a dark orchestral attitude, and an uncertain yet heroic purpose. [Tempo: Very fast / 120 BPM]
Tense strings, guitars and synths work together to create an unsettled tone that works well with exterior night shots or underlining tension between characters. [Tempo: Medium / 63 BPM]
A pensive, ominous and dark - but restrained, cinematic / orchestral piece. Hints of trouble on the horizon. Suitable for drama, crime, period drama, film/tv. [Tempo: Medium / 158 BPM]
Dark and menacing sound design, psychological terror, unknown forces, malevolence, evil entities, mind control underscore, horrifying and disturbing. [Tempo: Very slow / 96 BPM]
Orchestra with interesting guitar and synth layers. Music grows to an epic ending. Would be great for a modern suspenseful film, or a trailer or promo. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 130 BPM]
Soft spacey Rhodes piano with Lesley speaker effect opens this tune. Flute melodies follow then comes a nice lazy drum groove. Think Led Zep's 'No Quarter' for vibe. Strings float in over the beat. The mid section moves into new harmonic ground until a barrage of fat, fuzzy guitars gatecrash the party and start throwing chairs around. Frenzied lead guitars have the last word , screaming, soaring and diving. Contains guitars, Rhodes electric piano, flute, bass and drums. [Tempo: Medium / 101 BPM]
Tinkly horror musical soundscapes. Uneasy, sickly, unsettling. [Tempo: Medium / 0 BPM]
Cinematic retro synth wave; this track was created using only two vintage hardware synthesizers; a Moog Minimoog model D and a Prophet 5. Strangely futuristic and vintage at the same time. Ambient / Eerie / Synthetic / Retro / Mystery. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 85 BPM]
Sparse, dark ambient track, like a derelict factory or underground parking house where danger lurks. Sneaky, slightly metallic feel. Useful for horror or thriller material. [Tempo: Very slow / 92 BPM]
One acoustic guitar starts by itself at first and is later joined by another guitar voice with chorus FX. Somewhat gloomy, atmospheric, doom-laden. A dark figure. Mystery / History / Secrets / Fantasy. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 100 BPM]
