I grew up an 80s-born child of the evangelical 90s, and let me tell you, they made us scared of everything. Specifically, they loved making us scared of music, like Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer, and Marilyn Manson. Personally, I was most terrified of the Insane Clown Posse.
Not only was I a 10-year-old pastor’s son who spent most of my evenings at church, but I also attended Christian school. So, I was quite immersed. Which is why I got the living s*** scared out of me by ICP when a babysitter introduced me to them in the early 90s.
She was part of our church youth group. Honestly, she was a great person and a nice babysitter. It just turned out that she liked a lot of music that was not church-friendly. Case in point: ICP. After hearing some of their songs at her house, I had nightmares for weeks.
Fast forwarding to my teen years, though, I absolutely loved ICP. A fondness that has never wavered to this day. Still, I hope you’ll allow me to take a stroll down memory lane and share with you a few of those early ICP songs that scared me to death as a kid.
“The Killing Fields”
That intro is a really great setup for this first song. Sitting near the end of ICP’s third album, Riddle Box, “The Killing Fields” is a song all about a section of Hell waiting for evil men when they die. But because I grew up hearing the worst things about Hell day in and day out at church, I thought I would be doomed to the Killing Fields of Hell if I sinned.
Frankly, there was no good reason for me to believe that I was the kind of person ICP was talking about in this song. One line of the song says: “As I feed off a dead pig, I’m thinking back / To when I had a heart beat, and how I would act / I would steal from the poor, I’d laugh at the sick.” This was not about a dorky little 5th grader lol.
“Murder Go Round”
To ICP’s credit, “Murder Go Round” from Ringmaster has a great beat and is a genuinely fun song. For a little kid who listened to it before going to Children’s Church, however, it was terrifying.
I’m not sure it’s really even the lyrics on this one. It’s the little skit portions of voices screaming “I don’t wanna die” as gunshots ring out. Although “How ya gonna f*** with a Wicked Clown” is still an intimidating line.
“Guts on the Ceiling”
Going all the way back to ICP’s very first album, Carnival of Carnage, “Guts on the Ceiling” is a horrific recounting of… I’m pretty sure some kind of suicide, but it could also be about spontaneous combustion.
Hearing all these descriptions of mutilated death was a shock for me as a kid, but now, as an adult, I have a different perception. Maybe this is a larger conversation for another time, but there’s something comforting about the notion of hearing someone describe their own death in a first-person narrative. Like, “death is not the end,” and all that.
“Boogie Woogie Wu”
This is the one that ties it all together. The Great White Whale of terrifying ICP songs.
Hearing “Boogie Woogie Wu” (from The Great Milenko) for the first time as a teenager was a formidable experience for me. I assume it might have been the same for many Millennials. Truth be told, I loved it then, but it still scared the hell out of me.
This concept of a murderous demon slaughtering kids in their sleep… Freddy Krueger seemed like Barney in comparison.
I distinctly remember refusing to listen to this song by myself for weeks. I would make my friends and little brother listen to it with me because I was sincerely too afraid. Hilariously, my own 13-year-old daughter loves it.
Juggalo Weekend Florida 2026!
If you’re looking for more ICP in your life, and you happen to live in Southern Florida, make sure to hit up Juggalo Weekend Florida 2026! The two-night event kicks off on Friday, February 27, with the iconic horrorcore duo performing their Carnival of Carnage Show. The next night, Juggalos, Juggalettes, and Juggaltheys will be treated to ICP’s Straight Juggalo Jams set.
Click here for tickets and more info!
The post 4 Insane Clown Posse Songs That Scared the Crap out of Me As a Kid (But I Love ‘Em Now!) appeared first on VICE.
