As Halloween grows ever closer, you may find yourself searching for ways to get into the Halloween spirit. Everyone knows that scary movies will easily do the trick, and blasting through a terrifying TV show is likely to do the same. Some of you likely get a kick out of horror novelists, too. There’s one thing that no one seems to mention, though: spooky podcasts. Great for listening to at work or at home, in the car or on a walk, working out or simply relaxing, podcasts can get you feeling nice and spooked in preparation for October 31st. This is especially true of supernatural podcasts. Here are some of our favorites.
Full Body Chills (audiochuck)
Audiochuck’s Full Body Chills sets out to recreate the feeling of sitting around the campfire exchanging scary stories with your friends and fellow campers. Because the network has been making these kinds of spooky podcasts for quite some time now, they’re actually pretty great at creating that mood they’re hoping to create. In fact, they emulate the mood they’re going for so well that, if you close your eyes, you can almost picture yourself there. They’re incredibly immersive — all that’s missing is the smell of a campfire and the taste of s’mores (and the bite of bugs, of course).
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Haunted Places (Parcast)
Parcast’s long-running podcast Haunted Places has a shocking revelation for its listeners: any place can become a haunted place. Forget about designated haunted houses, haunted buildings, haunted cemeteries, and haunted mansions, even the most mundane and average-looking abode has the potential to become overrun with the paranormal. Every Thursday, Haunted Places hosts take listeners on an audio tour of a different ghost-infested location, taking the time to detail the rich history of the locales and explain what exactly happened to make these places so haunted. With over 180 episodes to date, it’s clear to see that Haunted Places has no shortage of destinations for future episodes.
Snap Judgement Presents: Spooked (WNYC Studios)
WNYC Studios’ Snap Judgement is not exactly a scary podcast by any means. It is a storytelling podcast, though — and a really good one, at that. They utilize rhythms and beats to add a real pulse to the gripping stories being told, making them a real blast to listen to. Of course, with such a great premise, it was only a matter of time before they started telling scary stories. That’s what Spooked is: the fantastic storytelling techniques of Snap Judgement infused with stories of the unexplainable and the supernatural. Now in its fifth season, Spooked is an ongoing project by WNYC Studios and actually just started up again for Halloween 2020. Now’s the time to hop in.
And That’s Why We Drink (Kast Media)
For all you fans of true crime, Kast Media’s And That’s Why We Drink is definitely the podcast for you. Combining the elements of a true crime podcast, a paranormal podcast, and a comedy podcast into one show, And That’s Why We Drink sees its hosts telling stories that leap across these three genres (with the assistance of a little alcohol, as the title suggests). Both spooky and silly at the same time, each episode — and there are hundreds of them, by the way — spends well over an hour telling the most frighteningly fun stories you’re likely to hear (until the next week’s episode, that is).
Haunted Places: Ghost Stories (Parcast)
A spinoff of Parcast’s Haunted Places, Ghost Stories is yet another simply-titled podcast from the network that gives listeners exactly what they’re expecting to hear: interesting and bone-chilling tales of the paranormal entering into our world one ghost sighting at a time. It seems almost everyone has a ghost story to tell if you pry them enough, and Ghost Stories gets at the heart of this notion by having host Alastair Murden tell a different story each week from a different part of the world. Because this new series just premiered on October 1st, 2020, there are only a handful of episodes so far — as such, you can get in on it now while it’s on the ground floor before it blows up!
Scared to Death
If you’re a listener who likes to indulge in podcasts with your partner or spouse, then Scared to Death might feel pretty familiar to you: host and horror fan Dan Cummins takes each week’s episode to tell his wife two scary stories in an attempt to freak her out. Subjects range from possessions to poltergeists, bumps in the night to taps on the shoulder, but one thing remains constant throughout the series’ 50-plus episodes: these stories have the potential to really scare the heck out of you and anyone you share them with.
Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know (iHeartRadio)
You know, the paranormal doesn’t have to include just ghosts. It’s anything that goes beyond normal human understanding. Anything that can’t be explained by science or otherwise. Phenomena that really baffles. iHeartRadio’s Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know understands this, and that’s why each episode homes in on a different aspect of the paranormal and the unexplainable. Judging by the 500-plus episodes they’ve released so far, it’s more than likely listeners like you will learn all sorts of shocking, twisted secrets that history has tried its best to hide from the general public. Ghosts, UFOs, telekinesis, and government cover ups… it’s all here. It’s an impossible thing to try and explain all the mysteries of the world, but Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know has certainly made a lot of progress so far.
Supernatural with Ashley Flowers (Parcast)
Fans of the true crime podcast Crime Junkie will be happy to hear that host Ashley Flowers has a spinoff podcast just waiting for them to listen to. It’s called Supernatural, and it takes the same thorough and investigative approach that Flowers and her co-hosts bring to true crime cases on Crime Junkie and applies it to real-life murder cases that defy any sort of logical explanation. With new episodes every Wednesday, Supernatural hopes to provide answers to the most otherworldly cold cases… even if those answers involve forces beyond our understanding.
The NoSleep Podcast (Creative Reason Media Inc.)
Just because podcasts often lean toward the truthful doesn’t mean that there aren’t good fictional ones out there, too. Based on the popular Reddit thread of the same name, The NoSleep Podcast — presented by Creative Reason Media — aims to scare listeners with original horror stories that border on feature-length. At it for over 400 episodes at this point, NoSleep Podcast uses creative audio tricks and enveloping background music to replicate the feeling of listening to those old-school radio plays that used to captivate audiences decades ago. Embracing the supernatural with open arms, NoSleep Podcast is likely to terrify even the most fearless listeners.
Further Listening
Whether you’re looking to find more spooky voices in podcasting or you’re hoping to discover a completely different genre of podcast entirely, Backtracks has got your unique needs covered. There’s a never-ending supply of great podcasts on our website in addition to many great curated podcast collections like this one over on our blog. Take a look around — you’re sure to find your new favorite podcast!
