Spooky Musician Myths

With the Halloween season upon us, let's take a look at some of the darker sides of the musicians we've come to appreciate. From hauntings, to murder, to devil worship, true or not, these stories are sure to be creepy!

1. Mozart's Death/Requiem: It is known that Mozart's Requiem in d minor was unfinished due to the composer's untimely death, and later completed by his student, Süssmayer. What is a little more mysterious is the manner in which Mozart died while composing it. While there are many disputes to the story, it is claimed by Mozart's wife, Costanze, that Mozart was poisoned and was writing the piece, as he was aware of his impending death! This, coupled with the initial anonymous commission of the work (later revealed to be from a wealthy count) provided an air of spookiness surrounding Mozart's death.

2. Paganini Sold His Soul: Born October 27, 1782, Paganini was an internationally celebrated virtuoso violinist at age 22. His pieces were so technically demanding that for a while no other violinist could replicate it. He also had a freakishly large finger-span that aided in his seemingly impossible playing. All these factors began to generate rumors that Paganini had made a deal with the devil. This fact in tandem with not receiving last rites during his death resulted in the Catholic Church refusing him a Catholic burial!

3. Robert Johnson Sold His Soul: See the repeating theme here? Ranked number 5 out of "Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarist of All Time", Robert Johnson (1911-1938) was reported to have walked to a crossroads in which he met the devil. The devil then tuned his guitar, which in turn gave Johnson the virtuosic skills to play it. In fact, when rumors arose, Johnson did relatively nothing to defend himself, sometimes even agreeing! He died mysteriously at age 27, with the story claiming that a married woman whom he was flirting with gave Johnson whiskey poisoned by her husband!

4. Jimmy Page Worshiped the Devil…And Sold His Soul: After it was revealed that Jimmy Page (guitarist of legendary rock band Led Zeppelin) had taken to a few philosophical ideas of Satanist Aleister Crowley, rumors circulated that he too was a devil worshiper. Page didn't do much to dispel rumors. He was such a fan of Crowley's that he bought a house of his, which Page claimed to be haunted, stating; "The bad vibes were already there. A man was beheaded there, and sometimes you can hear his head rolling down." Pretty freaky!

5. Debbie Harry Hitchhiked With Ted Bundy: According to her story, lead singer of Blondie, Debby Harry, claimed that she was picked up in NYC by serial killer Ted Bundy. The killer kicked her out of the car once he realized Harry was trying to escape. We won't ever know if this is true or not, but it's certainly chilling either way!