Science tells us that people love being scared, and book and film sales seem to support that claim. After all, horror is one of the biggest genres across all types of media, whether it’s on the page or the big screen. There’s just something that keeps us coming back for more scares.
In the film industry alone, a single horror movie can rake in hundreds of millions of dollars (with the occasional box office bombs, of course). Consider The Blair Witch Project as an example: it had less than a million dollars as budget, but earned almost 250 million dollars in return!
Now expand that kind of demand to include publishing, radio, web, and other popular media industries and you’ll begin to realize how popular (and profitable) this genre is. Not surprisingly, horror has also found its way into the quickly growing platform of podcasts.
Popular Horror Podcasts
I’ve created a list of horror podcasts that tackle tales of the supernatural, the creepy, and the downright terrifying to help you choose what to listen to when you’re looking for that delicious rush of terror.
1. The No Sleep Podcast
The No Sleep Podcast started out as a subreddit (a specific forum within the popular social media platform Reddit) where members can post original horror stories. The podcast debuted in 2011, with the goal of taking all of the best stories in the forum to be narrated in audiobook style.
This award-winning podcast is your go-to, all-you-can-eat buffet for scary stories. Because it accepts nearly every kind of horror story, you’ll almost certainly find something you like. Here’s a guide you can check out to better enjoy the episodes.
Recommended Episodes:
2. Welcome to Night Vale
Welcome to Night Vale is framed as a radio show that reports about the town of Night Vale, where creepy things always seem to happen, but are treated as normal occurrences by its inhabitants.
New episodes are released twice a month, and there are almost 200 episodes already available for you to listen to. The podcast has become so popular that it’s been expanded into actual books to keep up with the demand. Here’s a beginner’s guide to get you started if you’re interested.
Recommended Episodes:
3. The Other Stories
The Other Stories is a weekly podcast that delivers a blend of horror, science fiction, and thriller stories. Every week tackles a different theme that is explored in four episodes each.
What makes this podcast truly outstanding is its ability to scare you in such a short time. Most of the episodes are barely 20 minutes in length, but are delivered with such atmosphere and power that they get your heart racing within that short timeframe. Here’s their beginner’s guide to listening to the podcast.
Recommended Episodes:
4. The Magnus Archives
The Magnus Archives revolves around the Magnus Institute, an organization devoted to the research of all things strange and mysterious. Each episode concerns a particular file from the organization’s neglected archives, which the narrator, the Archivist, seeks to investigate.
The best thing about this podcast is it’s not just episodic. There’s an overarching plot that slowly unravels as the archivists progress with their work. There are five seasons currently available and they’re free to listen to.
Recommended Episodes:
5. Lore
Lore is a non-fiction horror podcast that explores the dark histories of our folklore and by extension, human nature. So if you want to learn the origins of the scariest creatures and events in human history, this the podcast for you.
Each episode is meticulously researched, with the podcast creator spending an average of 20 hours a week researching material for an episode. It’s proven to be such a popular format that book and TV adaptations have been created.
Recommended Episodes:
6. Pseudopod
Pseudopod is the oldest podcast on this list, having started back in 2006 and still going strong today. Just like The No Sleep Podcast, you can listen to almost every kind of horror story here, including original stories you won’t find anywhere else.
As of this writing, there are already 760 episodes for you to listen to! Here’s their guide for a better listening experience if you’re new to the podcast.
Recommended Episodes:
7. Spooked
Spooked is a podcast that regularly interviews real people who have had first-hand experience with the mysterious and supernatural. Host Glynn Washington’s gravitas, combined with his cinematic way of narration, brings the stories to life.
The podcast seeks to challenge the ordinary worldview and prove the existence of the otherworldly. Even if you’re a skeptic, the stories it features will both entertain and scare you.
Recommended Episodes:
8. Knifepoint Horror
Knifepoint Horror is a minimalist podcast that leaves much to the imagination. While other podcasts use a plethora of sounds and narrators to build tension, Knifepoint Horror tends to only use one narrator and a limited number of sound effects.
That doesn’t prevent you from getting scared though. Rather, the minimalism somehow makes you feel like you’re beside the characters, about to fall prey to whatever evil they’re facing.
Recommended Episodes:
9. Last Podcast on the Left
The Last Podcast on the Left tends to be all over the place (in a good way) with its horror-comedy format. It features a lot of demons, slashers, serial killers, and cults, which are all common ingredients in the horror genre.
The podcast tackles a new topic each week, where each podcast member presents their research on a certain subject. They’re capable of making any horror topic interesting and terrifying at the same time.
Recommended Episodes:
- Chaos Magic Part I – The Basics
- The Donner Party Part I – Salt of the Earth
- Richard Chase Part I – The Cat Tree
10. Ghost in the Burbs
Ghost in the Burbs is a fictional podcast that focuses on the supernatural activities that haunt the town of Wellesley, Massachusetts. The narrator, Liz Sower, is a school teacher who interviews her neighbors about the darkness that lurks in their seemingly normal suburban town.
Though each episode can function as a standalone episode, it’s best to listen to the podcast in chronological order so you can get the full effect of the podcast’s terrifying stories.
Recommended Episodes:
How Much Money Can Podcasting Make?
The amount people make from podcasting largely depends on how they monetize their content and how many listeners they have. Usually, podcasters monetize their content through sponsorships, affiliate marketing, ads, donations, and selling their own merchandise.
Take The Last Podcast on the Left, for example, which earns money through Spotify, Patreon, and official merchandise. They’re nearing almost 500 episodes, with almost 12,000 avid fans consuming their content. Although they’re not the biggest earners in the podcast niche, their popularity enables them to earn almost $60,000 per month.
Listening to Horror
With centuries of horror stories being bandied around since the beginning of human history, you’d think we’d run out of scary stories to tell. But our nigh-bottomless well of imagination seems to supply more than enough to satisfy the horror cravings.
Personally, I’m not much of a horror fan, at least when it comes to movies. There’s just something about seeing someone else’s vision of what’s horrifying that prevents me from really being scared. I prefer letting my imagination conjure the terrors as I read horror literature.
I’ve only listened to a few episodes of a horror podcast, but I’ve discovered that it offers a new dimension to the horror experience. It makes you feel like you’re part of the story yourself. You can close your eyes, forget reality and dive deep into a world of terror where you experience the horrors that the characters go through— while remaining perfectly safe!
If you’re up to this kind of experience, then do give these horror podcasts a try, or check out some terrifying horror audiobooks. Just remember to at least keep some lights on!
Do you listen to any horror podcasts? Share them in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- 12 Best Horror Audiobooks to Listen to for a Scare
- 10 Authors Like Stephen King to Satisfy your Horror Cravings
- Cosmic Horror: Your Guide to Incomprehensible Terrors
- 8 H.P. Lovecraft Books To Read for an Existential Scare
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
