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Geezer Butler Name-Drops the Horror Movies That Inspired Black Sabbath, Including One so Terrifying He Had a Priest Bless His House

Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler reveals that horror films like ‘Village Of The Damned’ and ‘The Exorcist’ influenced their songwriting.

By Stephen Andrew Galiher

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Most heavy metal fans know that Black Sabbath was deeply inspired by horror cinema early in their career. Hell, even their name comes from the 1963 Italian horror film Black Sabbath, starring Boris Karloff.

Now, the band’s legendary bassist, Geezer Butler, is pulling back the curtain and name-dropping some of the specific films that influenced them. Spoiler alert: one movie was so terrifying that the musician had to have a “local priest bless [his] house” afterward.

This all came up when I had the chance to ask Butler about his instrument of choice, Fender’s Precision Bass. The company is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the bass guitar this year. Among my questions, I snuck in one about Black Sabbath’s horror inspiration. Back in the early days,........

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