What do celery and broken bones share? And why bring up coconuts when talking about horses? Fans of Monty Python might already guess the connection. This is all about Foley—the craft of making sound effects that bring movies and shows to life after filming wraps.
Imagine snapping a stalk of celery to mimic a crisp bone break or tapping coconuts together to sound like a trotting horse. Foley artists turn everyday objects into magic, making scenes feel real and exciting. If you want to discover the secret world behind the sounds that grab your attention, keep reading—it’s a wild ride into creativity you don’t want to miss.
About Foley work
Here’s what’s really amazing: the sounds that Foley mimics are almost never used in the actual recordings. Rain isn’t used to create rain sounds, a gunshot might not use a gun, and no bones are broken in the making of bone-breaking sound effects.
The secret to Foley lies in everyday household items. Snapping celery stalks sounds eerily similar to the sound of bones breaking; hitting coconuts together really does sound like a horse walking (thank you, Monty Python).
Foley has over 80 years of history, starting back in the days when radio ruled supreme. Technology and media have obviously grown since then, but the basics of Foley have remained largely intact. It’s just a case of “don’t fix what’s not broken.”
Top 15 Foley SFX you can create with things around the house
Below we’ve curated our top 15 favorite Foley sound effects, complete with descriptions of how each effect is made with household objects. You can find all of these sound effects with unlimited downloads in our royalty-free Storyblocks library.
15. Paper towel over sand = crashing ocean waves
If you need realistic ocean sounds, no need to travel. Just take a good amount of sand and move a paper towel over top of it in circular motions to get that crashing wave effect. You can make it even more realistic by layering the sound of pouring sound overtop.
Download this stock sound effect of ocean waves crashing
14. Wet cloth slap = Gorey smash or impact
If you’re working on a horror, fantasy, or action project where you need realistic sounds to pair with violent scenes, all you need is water and a cloth. Wet it down, then record the sounds of you smacking it against the floor or dropping it on different surfaces. It creates the perfect wet impact sound that can easily be paired with bloody or gorey shots to easily add a realistic sfx. Absorbent materials like cotton work best for the wettest sounds.
Download this stock sound effect of a gore impact
13. Coconuts = A walking horse
Always a crowd favorite, the sound of a horse walking really can be created by hitting two halves of coconuts together. We’ve heard that the technique can be kind of difficult so you might need to invest in some practice coconuts. Or just download a professionally made sound effect from our library, in case you can’t make it to the grocery store.
Download this stock audio track of a walking horse.
12. Bacon = Rain
Substituting the sound of frying bacon for rain is weird—but ultimately genius. You can test your bacon-hearing skills by watching the video below, where we challenge you to identify which sounds are rain and which are actually bacon. (Be sure to tell us how you scored in the comments!)
We also think that “Bacon and Rain” would be a great name for a band.
Download this stock audio track of bacon frying.
11. Celery = Breaking bones
Take a bunch of celery, hold the stalks together, and snap them in half. You have successfully created a bone-breaking sound without getting sued or putting anyone in the emergency room. This trick will save you a trip to the hospital—and to the courtroom. Storyblocks’ audio library is also a safe and cost-effective option.
Download this stock audio track of snapping celery.
10. Staple guns = Gunshots
The sound of a heavy staple gun is remarkably similar to a real gunshot. A staple gun also offers the user a lot more control than a real gun. Just make sure that your hand isn’t in the way.
Download this stock audio track of gunshots.
11. Bamboo = Arrows
If you’re running low on arrows or you’ve misplaced your bow, a small stick of bamboo will do the job. Move the bamboo quickly past the microphone and the whooshing sound it creates will sound like an arrow flying by.
Download this stock audio track of an arrow whoosh.
9. Newspaper = Grass
Place some shredded newspaper in a plastic bag and gently hit or jostle the bag. The result will sound just like a person walking through tall grass. Bonus: no hay fever.
Download this stock audio track of walking through tall grass.
8. Aluminum = Thunder
The aluminum-as-thunder effect is a little more well-known, but no less fun. Waving a sheet of aluminum will produce thunder-like sounds and altering your movements will add realistic variation to the effect.
Download this stock audio track of thunder.
7. A heavy paperback book (or a slab of meat) = Punching
Some Foley artists recommend hitting a phone book to simulate the sound of landing a punch. This tactic would have been easier 10 years ago when phonebooks were more common, though any heavy paperback book should work. Slapping a slab of meat is another alternative—albeit a slimy one.
Download this stock audio track of a punch
6. Cellophane = Fire
Recordings of a real crackling fire can be pretty disappointing—you’ll probably just hear white noise and a few pops. Luckily, crinkling cellophane makes a very satisfying fire-like sound.
Download this stock audio track of a crackling fire.
5. Rusty hinges = Swing sets
If you’re looking to make a really creepy sound, rusty hinges are a great standby. The sound of a rusty hinge sounds just like a swing set or a creaky door, both of which are pretty common visuals in the horror genre.
Download this stock audio track of a creaky hinge.
4. Trashcans = Heartbeats
Heartbeats are another horror movie staple and (thankfully) do not require a stethoscope to replicate. Take a plastic trash can, flip it over, and push the bottom in and out. Adjust the rhythm according to your desired heartbeat speed. You can also use the cap of a Snapple bottle.
Download this stock audio track of a heartbeat.
3. Arms = Kisses
Anyone who suffered through awkward middle-school years will be familiar with this Foley technique. To create a kissing sound just give your arm a smooch. To be more specific, plant one on the underside of your forearm. The wetter the better.
Download this stock audio track of a kiss.
2. Phone books = Falling bodies
Time to get out that phone book (or any other heavy paperback) again. Roll the book up, tape it, and start dropping it on things. This will create a convincing “thud” to imitate the sound of a body falling to the ground. A great, injury free option.
Download this stock audio track of a dropped body.
1. Walnuts = Skulls
Gregg Barbanell, the Foley artist on The Walking Dead, crushes walnuts to create the sound of crushing skulls. Of course, when the situation calls for regular bone-breaking sounds, he just sticks to celery. Foley can be a very gory business.
Download this stock audio track of crushing skulls.
Ready to get cracking on your next project? You can download each of these Foley effects in our library as well over 110,000 royalty-free, pre-licensed sound effects created by real human artists.
With a Storyblocks subscription, you get unlimited downloads of over 10 million high-quality, human-made stock assets, from 8K footage to music tracks and more – plus time-saving tools for every stage of production.
