October, the season for all things spooky, and what better way to do it than with a good podcast? So whether you love spine-tingling fiction to bone-chilling true crime, or are eagerly waiting for new episodes of your two other favorite podcasts, Misfit Minimalism (insert shameless self-promotion) and Lore, here are other 9 podcasts to help you enjoy October nights ahead.
The 9 Best Halloween Podcasts for Fall
The No-Sleep Podcast
Fans of scary movies might enjoy NoSleep, a fiction podcast that comes with a warning: “[NoSleep] is intended for mature adults, not the faint of heart. Join us at your own risk…” NoSleep started as a subreddit devoted to original horror; in 2011, member Matt Hansen proposed a podcast, and David Cummings signed on to host and produce. The stories are brought to life by voice actors, sound effects, and spooky scores. NoSleep is currently in its 13th season, which it promised “has 16 candles we hope you can handle, with five tales about nasty nature, terrifying transformations, and malicious malls. This one might sting.” If you’re not sure where to start, the team has assembled a handy list of sample episodes to get you started. Check out this podcast, here.
Pretty Scary
Listeners who love My Favorite Murder will likely enjoy Pretty Scary. While the overall vibe of this podcast isn’t exactly creepy, but it’s well-produced and it’s hosted by comics Adam Tod Brown, Caitlin Cutt, and Kari Martin, who brings humor to the podcast in such spooky, awesome ways. Pretty Scary covers everything from true crime cases to conspiracy theories to the unexplained. Past episodes have explored the chupacabra, the ghost ship Mary Celeste, the effects of nuclear explosions, and, of course, various murders that happened on Halloween. Find out more about this podcast, here.
Into the Dark
This podcast, just 23 episodes long, is hosted by Cooper B. Wilhelm, and it’s the perfect pre-Halloween listening: It features “friendly interviews with practitioners and scholars of witchcraft and the occult arts, as well as answers to listener questions on occult subjects.” Wilhelm is excellent at getting the witches and wizards he interviews to open up. Check out this episode, which features a discussion about Satanism versus American Devil Worshiping celebrations. Or whatever that is. To find out more about his podcast, click here.
Unexplained
This podcast, which drops bi-weekly, takes on events that defy explanation, “the space between what we think of as real and what is not. Where the unknown and paranormal meets the most radical ideas in science today…” Host Richard MacLean Smith explained to TVOvermind that he has three criteria for selecting stories to feature: “One, that it has a human element at the heart of it; two, that it is actually a story and not just an event (for example, like just saying, “this person was abducted on this day, and that’s all they can remember”); and [third], that the unexplained mystery has never been sufficiently debunked.” In past episodes, they have covered the Stocksbridge Bypass, Operation Cone of Power, and the disappearance of the Eilean Mòr Lighthouse Keepers. Season 2 already shaping up to be ever greater than its premiere season, you’ll not want to miss this podcast at home. To find out more, click here.
Here Be Monsters
Created by Jeff Emtman in 2012, Here Be Monsters is a podcast self-described as “a podcast created by and for people interested in pursuing their fears and facing the unknown.” Emtman told The Guardian in 2015 that “What I do—and encourage the people who produce for the show to do—is take our fears and those moments of discomfort and pursue them. You poke around until you feel repulsion and then break it down into its constituent parts and chase each of those. Here Be Monsters has covered everything from a Satanic prayer line and a three-legged arctic fox to crow funerals and ASMR; each episode features an unsettling soundscape and is accompanied on the website by eerie art. To find out more about this podcast, click here.
Haunted Places
The premise of this podcast is self-explanatory: In each episode, host Greg Polcyn takes listeners to a new haunted location around the world. So far, it’s featured infamous tourist destinations—think the Winchester Mystery House and Paris’s Catacombs—alongside places like Vermont’s Bennington County Courthouse and Austin’s Driskill Hotel. Each episode’s storytelling is a blend of real history and creepy lore and regional legends supplemented with spooky sound effects and narration. New episodes are released every Thursday. To find out more about this podcast, click here.
Stuff You Missed In History Class
This uber-researched podcast, hosted by Tracy V. Wilson and Holly Frey, has covered plenty of horrifying historical events, and its Halloween episodes—of which there are several every year—are no exception. In the past, Wilson and Frey have covered the Villisca Axe Murders, the mysterious disappearance of Aaron Burr’s only daughter, and Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion. Click here for details.
Dr. Death
Doctors are supposed to make sick people better, and in fact, they all must take an oath to do no harm. In the event they ignore that oath, the medical system is supposed to protect patients—but that doesn’t always happen. Dr. Death follows the crimes of neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duntsch, who cut a path of destruction through the spines of his patients. It was preventable destruction that his various employers, and the medical system, simply did not do enough to stop. What could be scarier than that? To find out more about this podcast, click here.
Snap Judgement Presents: Spooked
Featuring true stories straight from people who say they’ve experienced paranormal phenomena, SPOOKED—which launched its second season in August—is hosted by Glynn Washington. The grandson of a seer, Washington saw his first exorcism as a teen. “There’s nothing scarier or more mesmerizing than a real-life ghost story,” he said. “The encounters in SPOOKED will stay with you beyond each episode and leave you questioning your understanding of reality.” With its scary stories and spine-tingling sound backing, SPOOKED is one you won’t want to miss this season and beyond. Favorite episodes, including, season one, episode six, “The Shadow Men,” which features two tales: one about a house haunted by a malevolent spirit, and one about the things that went bump in the night for one border patrol agent. To find out more about this podcast, click here.
Friends, those are my 9 favorite fall-themed, spooktacular podcasts for October. All perfect additions to your online hygge music and podcast libraries this season. Tell me, have you listed to any of these? If so, which are your favorites? Shares yours in the commend below.
