This thing might be the biggest reason why horror movies are so scary.

Part of what makes horror movies scary is the intense buildup before ghastly scenes where creepy ghosts or demons burst forth thirsting for the blood of the living.

But more than the immediate shock factor presented to the viewer, it is perhaps the accompanying creepy music that unnerves us most of all. Japanese Twitter user @CyaUtsuLshiTro shared with netizens a clip showing an unusual musical instrument used in almost every horror movie.

▼ How can this innocent-looking thing produce ethereal sounds from hell?
(Translation below)

https://twitter.com/CyaUtsuLshiTro/status/1050302303700275200

“Those chilling sounds that you hear in horror movies are actually made from this waterphone. Any action such as using a violin bow, hitting with your hands, rubbing with a rubber, or hitting with a spatula will cause it to emit scary sounds. The instrument’s structure itself is already creepy from the start!!”

Not to be mistaken for a liquid version of an iPhone, the waterphone has actually been around for a long time, invented by Richard Waters in 1969. Its structure consists of a cylinder stuck to a pan with rods of varying lengths surrounding the rim. The waterphone’s unique nightmarish acoustics do not easily harmonize with those from a classic orchestra’s, and are thus more suited to music of the scary kind.

▼ Various designs exist, but they give us goosebumps all the same.

▼ Other similar creepy musical instruments have been created,
but few come close to the spookiness of the waterphone’s.

Japanese netizens were fascinated with the waterphone:

“I want to play this at a camping ground!”
“If I look at this every time there’s a scary scene, I’ll be able to watch in peace.”
“It’s a rather expensive instrument, but I think there are ways to make it yourself.”
“This doesn’t seem very scary. It’s actually very cool!”
“It makes me sleepy for some reason.”

The waterphone is indeed a really cool musical instrument that has single-handedly ramped up the spooky factor in horror films. Scary movies would never be the same without its otherworldly acoustics, and we have Richard Waters much to thank for that.

Source: Twitter/@CyaUtsuLshiTro via My Game News Flash
Featured image: Twitter/@CyaUtsuLshiTro