"Spooky" tunes like Madness' House of Fun

[Depth_Charge]

Not sure if this is the right area, but here goes. I was watching some YouTube videos with my daughters and we were watching House of Fun by The Madness.

As the chorus comes in ("welcome to the house of fun") the girls said it sounds "spooky". When I asked what they meant, they described the keyboard "bouncing" as was what sounded creepy, spooky, scary, evil etc.

To confirm their idea, I put Rock Lobster on by The B-52's and got a similar reaction from them, that they thought it spooky, like House of Fun.

Just wondering if anyone could explain the theory behind what is making those song parts come across as spooky?

Sorry for my lack of terminology and this is probably not bass related at all!

[elgecko]

Minor keys and slight dissonance give it a sinister quality. Also the keys kind of sound like pipe organs (often played by phantoms) or carnival organs (often haunted, according to Scooby Doo).

How about Ghost Town by the Specials?

The Specials - Ghost Town - YouTube

[Saxn]

Agree with elgecko - I think it's the key change and the heavy vibrato used in the organ parts. Interesting how kids see things... I think "bouncing" was a pretty decent description!