10 Bands That Were Haunted While Recording

All rock and roll has to have a little bit of magic to become classic. Even if you want to just get by playing the same three chords over and over again, there’s something about the way that bands play off each other that makes for some of the greatest music of the last century. Then again, it always helps to get some assistance from the paranormal as well.

For all of these different stripes of rock and roll, the common thread behind these albums are just how spooky they were to be a part of, with different spiritual beings coming in and out of the studio during the recording. While it’s easy to just chalk a lot of this up to rock and roll myths and legends, there’s actually a bit of truth to a handful of these as well, as some musicians appear to be severely shaken up by what they experienced in between recordings and some even attempting to make contact with the supposed spirits that were haunting the grounds.

Whether or not they actually captured anything paranormal is up for debate, but the songs still manage to hold up regardless, taking the common tropes that rock and roll is known for and making tracks that are much more than your typical throwaway filler material. While these records might not be for everyone necessarily, it’s nice to know that these bands have fans on the other side.

After being one of the favorites of the psychedelic side of rock and roll in the '60s, Pink Floyd had become one of the biggest prog bands on Dark Side of the Moon... but at what cost? Ever since reaching the big time, the band had to let go of their founding member Syd Barrett, with the rest of their existence being informed by their bandmate losing his grip on sanity through drugs and being a part of the music industry machine. The spirit of Syd loomed like a ghost over the sessions for Wish You Were Here, and halfway through that ghost actually showed up.

While the sessions for the album weren't the happiest to make by any stretch, things took a dark turn when a bald man showed up at the sessions just to peek in on what was going on. Even though the band were hesitant towards him, they quickly realized that it was Syd, who looked like a shell of the frontman that he once was and talked to them for as much as possible.

As the conversation stretched on though, it was clear that Syd was far from the person that they knew back in the day, and the rest of the sessions would be devoted to making sense of his absence, with Shine On You Crazy Diamond capturing the full essence of their longtime friendship. Pink Floyd wouldn't have existed without Syd Barrett starting everything in the first place, but there's a good chance that couldn't have carried on to make something like this with him still in the band either.