Now that this year’s fall season is in full swing, your playlist is craving all things horror. With Halloween just around the corner, now is the perfect time to channel your spooky spirit. Whether you are looking to have nerve-wracking nightmares or a full-body chill that raises the hairs on your back, there is a spooky podcast out there for you. If you don’t want to wait until Halloween night to get the creeps, platforms like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, CastBox, and RadioPublic have a scary selection of thrilling, chilling stories for you to enjoy. Light your pumpkin candles, fill up your apple cider mug, grab your kettle corn, candy apples, and your favorite fall blanket, and prepare to be enthralled in scary stories, some of which are fiction and some that are very… very real.
1. Crime Junkie
This true-crime podcast will have you talking out loud and shifting in your seat. Hosts Ashley Flowers and Britt Prawat explain cases from front to back that range from mysterious deaths and kidnappings to serial killers. For all you logistics people out there, this podcast is for you. Flowers and Prawat will present all of the facts with background context to establish different perspectives on a case. While they comment now and then, they do well at focusing on the story by keeping banter to a minimum. The length of these episodes ranges from a short 15 minutes to over an hour. This caters to all listeners from those who listen on their lunch break to those who listen during the long commute home. Additionally, the hosts do not use profanity which makes most of their episodes PG. These real-life stories are shocking and addicting. The cold-blooded nature of the cases they cover will have you sleeping with one eye open at night.
2. Morbid
Hosts Alaina Urquhart and Ashleigh Kelley take on true crime through the lens of humor and will have you enraptured at the brutality of a story while laughing out loud. If you are looking to get spooked but like to get a good night’s sleep, Morbid is for you. Urquhart and Kelley balance terrifying tales with humorous banter to cater to the curious listener. They do use profanity which can limit where and when you listen as most of their episodes are rated R. The length of these episodes do tend to be longer as well, usually ranging from 45-90 minutes long. That being said, the stories they present are deep dives into truly horrific stories that will have you spellbound.
Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark also present true crime and are similar to Morbid hosts in their personality and use of profanity making it rated R. They are very casual and use humor as well. My Favorite Murder episodes come in mini and regular lengths which is convenient for the listener. If you find yourself having long periods with nothing to listen to or watch, this podcast can be perfect to fill your time. If you can stomach the creepy content of course. As the title suggests, they focus predominantly on murders, some of which are so gruesome, you might want to sleep with the lights on.
This fictional podcast, hosted by Crime Junkie’s Ashley Flowers, encapsulates the stomach sinking feeling of sitting around a campfire, entranced in the camp counselor’s scary storytelling. These stories will have you hiding under the blankets and snuggling closer to your pillow. The episodes are short as they are all under 40 minutes and relatively PG. Perfect for the mischievous sleepover crew, these episodes are short, sweet, and scary.
David Cummings and Michael DelGaudio truly embrace the Halloween spirit on their channel. Episodes from the No Sleep Podcast are running from the bloody guy with the chainsaw at Fright Fest. The feeling of being frozen in fear but not being able to look away. If you are looking for a true scare, the No Sleep Podcast is right for you. These bone-chilling, goosebump-inducing tales will regale you for hours on end and cater to PG-13 audiences. With several seasons and episodes averaging to about an hour each, the No Sleep Podcast can keep you up in more ways than one as the thrill is addicting. Strict storytelling and intense plot themes are a devilish combination for listeners brave enough to hit play.
This Halloween calls for creative ways to celebrate with coronavirus still lingering. Podcasts are a magical way to think outside the box this year. The episodes within these channels await the daring listeners who are bold enough to face these ghoulish tales. Whether you’re planning your next campfire tale or conjuring up ways to scare your pals, tuning in to these podcasts will most definitely give you the eerie inspiration you’ll need.