Top Disturbing Songs

"Disturbia" (Rihanna) - On the surface lies an above-average summer pop jam. Below the surface lurks a tale of utter insanity, where minds wisely "falter" while it seems "darkness is the light." Rihanna teasingly prods "am I scaring you, now?" as she slowly loses it on the track, with crazed "ah, ah-ah" vocalizations signaling the loss of faculties. Watch the extremely creepy video for the full effect. Demonic possession, tarantulas, and claustrophobic, Saw-like chambers. Need I say more?

"Enter Sandman" (Metallica) - The time-honored bedtime prayer will never be the same. Rather than the nice old man who ushers us into dreamland, "Enter Sandman" paints a picture of a satanic lunatic waiting to prey on innocent victims as they sleep. Heed the warning: "It's just the beast under your bed... In your closet, in your head!"

"I Can't Decide" (Scissor Sisters) - This track is nothing short of insane. Over a nearly ragtime melody, the band weaves a peppy tune about an ex-lover's turmoil over whether or not he should kill his victim. It is hard to decide which is creepier, the actual conversation ("Oh, you'll probably go to heaven. Please don't hang your head and cry... Lock the doors and close the blinds, we're going for a ride.") or the musing of his bad karma for the murder ("You'll probably come back with a knife and kill me.").

"Inside the Fire" (Disturbed) - In their suicide awareness campaign, Disturbed released this terrifying and brilliant track. From the opening line ("Devin... won't go to heaven."), the song sets the stage for a tale of demonic conquest. We follow the tale of a man who has lost his girlfriend to a terrible suicide, only to have the Devil whisper in his ear to join her "beyond the portal." He shouts, "Give your soul to me, for eternity! Release your life... take your place inside the fire with her!" If you really don't want to sleep for weeks, check out the terrifying unedited video.

"Return of the Phantom Stranger" (Rob Zombie) - Possibly the scariest song on the list. Even without a clue who this phantom stranger actually is, it becomes apparent that we never want to meet him. Zombie croons "Down you go... all alone... you see a... phantom stranger!" while terrified listeners lock their doors and turn on the lights.

"Thriller" (Michael Jackson) - Is a description even necessary? Jackson was at his best in the early eighties, starting with this groundbreaking track and video, which have become culturally inseparable. Think Night of the Living Dead... The Musical! if you haven't seen it before. Turning the long-form music video into art, Jackson released one of the best zombie films to date with "Thriller." You'll be "fighting for your life inside a killer thriller" as "night creatures crawl and the dead start to masquerade."

"Virtual Insanity" (Jamiroquai) - Underneath the superb jazz-pop lies a story of a future Armageddon. It wouldn't be as scary were his descriptions of the seedy state of mankind not so oddly plausible, in which technology results in humanity's ultimate doom as the lone survivors migrate underground. Perhaps the most disturbing part of the track is the completely unresolved, downbeat ending: "Virtual insanity is what we're living in." Only with Trent Reznor does life ever sound so bleak.