Quantcast
Editorials

7 Spectacularly Spooky Podcasts

7 Spectacularly Spooky Podcasts
Written by Chris Lock

Looking for scary podcasts? Here are 7 Spectacularly Spooky Podcasts.

As Summer draws to a close and the leave vacate their once happy abodes, a stir starts within myself. I, like many others, get that itch for something spooky the closer that October draws near. Sometimes it is books, sometimes movies, and as of late it has been podcasts. A couple years ago I started searching for good frightening fairy tales to subscribe to. I only found them in a trickle, and most of them were garbage. But I have found 7 podcasts that continue to bring the frights on every episode. So pull up a warm blanket, drink some coco, and do not turn off the lights.

The list is in no particular order.

2017 Edit: It’s been a few years since this list was created. I still stand by many of these choices. I would like to add a personal project that I’ve been working on. For Halloween the podcast Too Smart for the Room  did a whole month of spooky themed episodes. Including the origins of animated skeletons, episodes on human experimentation, and drunken creepy pasta. It’s an amalgamation of fun spooky scary stuff and I think you would enjoy it. Thanks!

Check it out here – Skeletons Origins 1 Skeletons Origins 2 iTunes

scary podcasts

scary podcasts

I Kinda See Dead People: A Spiritual Memoir

“I Kinda See Dead People: A Spiritual Memoir” is an autobiography by Skylar Hoffman, a college student with ties to a world beyond. Growing up, he realized he was a little different: he saw, heard, and felt things that others did not. Hoffman recounts his run-ins with the paranormal, from reporting an apparition to his elementary school principal, how he was changed by a near death experience, to a chance encounter with a man who would become a catalyst for his own spiritual awakening. Now a college senior, Hoffman is being pushed towards normalcy but is unwilling to give up on following his bliss. This true story is one that is sure to entertain, enlighten, and most important of all, frighten. We are all here for a reason and Hoffman intends to tell you his.

Get it on Amazon!

Anything Ghost– This was one of the first spooky podcasts I discovered and it has always stuck around. The host, Lex Wahl, reads off “personal paranormal stories” that are sent in by his listeners. In the background he will add in effects and his own, very good, music. It is a really great podcast if you are a fan of “real” ghost stories. Lex will even let you record your own telling of your paranormal experience and he will put it in the show. The episodes usually run at about 45 minutes but the Halloween Spectacular it almost always over 2 hours.

Check it out here- iTunes Website

The Dark Verse– This podcast is very eloquent in its manner, and at first it was a bit off putting; it seemed almost pretentious. But after one episode I was hooked badly. The stories in this podcast are all very “Lovecraftian” in style. They usually, but not always, revolve around someone dealing with something beyond their comprehension or control. Expect to strain your mind as you put ethereal plot points together and comprehend some of the expressive diction. But when you do, you will be exposed to horrors you had not even thought about. One such story, Gift of the Crossroads, gave me the most terrifying nightmare I have had in years, despite its blatant absurdity.

Check it out here- iTunes Website

Tales to Terrify– This podcast is a bit strange. Sometimes they focus purely on stories, almost all of them from published novelists, and other times they take an hour to let someone talk about “why” things are scary or humorously review some other horror fiction medium. Every episode I have listened to has been quite a surprise as I am not entirely sure what I am in for. Every tale of terrification is uniquely different from the last as they fly through all sorts of subjects with many different authors. The non-tales are extremely informative and will almost certainly contain something new for your brain to absorb. This strange concoction of a podcast earned a place on the list not only because it is something different, but also because of the excellent level of production within.

Check it out here- iTunes Website

We’re Alive– There is a good chance you have already heard of this one, and for good reason. This is the only podcast on the list with a continuative narrative. The story starts off as your basic zombie apocalypse but quickly brings the shows tagline “A Story of Survival” to center stage. This is not just a quick glimpse at people lasting through the initial catastrophe. This is about how those people live, love, hate, and carry on to another day. I, as well as almost every staff member of LevelSave, love We’re Alive and would recommend it to anyone, not just horror fans.

Check it out here- iTunes Website

The Monster Club– Kind sir, are you a big fan of old radio drama? The this, my good man, is the podcast to kick your knickers off for. Pull up your rockin’ chair and listen to the delightful fantasies played out in the theater of your own imagination. Dracula, the Wolfman, and Gypsy Magic are the delights of tonight’s entertainment, but first a message from our sponsors. “Be sure to drink your Ovaltine.”

This podcast is a collection of all sorts of old radio programs from the past 50 or so years. Some of them might not be “scary” but as a historical examination they are intensely fascinating. The only thing that could have made them better is if they left in the old commercials, but that may just be me.

Check it out here- iTunes Website

The No Sleep Podcast– Have you ever heard of CreepyPasta? For those uninformed, CreepyPasta is a spooky short story written by someone on the internet. The composer is usually not a published author and a multitude of the stories are splayed with grammatical or spelling errors. However, since these stories are coming from minds all over the world, a few gems stand out. These gems are exactly what The No Sleep Podcast is all about. What originally started out on Reddit as a side forum has grown and developed into an extremely well produced and spooky podcast. The only real issue I have is that after a while, basic themes within all the podcasts start to show; as some of the stories have a few too many things in common. It becomes easy to see what “nerds” find scary. But that is one minor complaint I have for a podcast I have enjoyed majorly.

Check it out here- iTunes Website

Knifepoint Horror– Remember when I said that the list was in no particular order? I lied. This podcast was saved for last for a reason. I can not tell you how absolutely terrified I was on almost every episode. There was a point, just after the episode “Possession” ended, where the track changed to the next episode and a different persons voice came through my headset. That voice and volume change sent me jumping as high as I could off the ground in surprise because I was wound so tightly. Knifepoint Horror is very plain in presentation, having very little, if any, background noise or music. It is just a man, telling you a story from his perspective. This approach drew me into every tale and I was hanging off every word. The stories shift around in theme but always stay true to the minimalist approach that makes them so powerful. Do yourself a favor, download a few episodes.

Check it out here- iTunes Website

Hopefully by now one of these has caught your eye, or ear, and you are falling down into the abyss of a dark fable. If you have one to suggest then leave a link in the comments. I am always on the lookout for the next petrifying parable. Until then, keep your doors locked, the priest on speed dial, and the light on.

About the author

Chris Lock

Just a guy that loves games and wants so badly to tell you about them. I have a habit of being a terrible person. Prone to talk about the worst games imaginable. Poke-fan. LBP admirer. RPG lover. Writer. Podcaster. Father. Husband. Student. Tired. @Snickelsox on twitter.

18 Comments

  • even though this is an old blog post, wanted to chime in… LOVE KP, Soren Narnia, the author is amazing. He has a channel on YouTube with several quite long audiobooks hes written and narrated in his amazing style. His channels name is “winterthurn”.
    Agreed on No Sleep, We’re Alive and Lex Wahls Anything Ghost has a special place in my heart as his show turned me on to the entire genre and podcasting.
    Some decent current shows in 2016 worth checking out imo are: The Black Tapes, Tanis, Limetown, Small Town Horror, The Magnus Archives and Archive 81 are a few I can recall as being entertaining .

  • I’ve been keeping up with No Sleep for a while and enjoy it a lot, but Knifepoint though! Knifepoint is what got me hooked on horror podcasts. I, too, wish there were more time and resources for more episodes. I have been scared senseless in broad daylight at work by these stories.

  • Knifepoint horror is so good it depresses me how infrequently he posts. If I was super rich I would totally pay this dude just to write and produce as much horror stuff as possible. Brilliant…

    • I find it kind of dull, tbh. The fact it is so monotone and the stories kind of meander around makes it snoozeville. Not really scary at all.

    • Agreed. The delivery and the no frills format is what I find so creepy in a good way. This is the only podcast I have ever had to turn off and wait for daytime to finish listening.

  • No Sleep Reddit (/r/nosleep) is definitely much better than the podcast. Definitely check it out if you like to read and check out a series called Penpal.

    • there is a nosleep 2-part special episode with all the penpal stories that is awesome! Best episode so far on No Sleep Pod (I have only reached end of season 2)!

      • Actually didn’t like that one for the quality but the stories were great. I’ve listened to most of these podcasts and nothing has come close to the voice acting and production quality of no sleep. Tales to Terrify was awful and Pseudo pod wasn’t great either. I know not everyone can voice act but still. Being monotone the whole story is just so off putting. Knifepoint is the same way.

%d bloggers like this: