15 Creepy Podcasts That Will Keep You Up All Night
I'm an unashamed podcast junkie. I live in a pretty rural state and all of my previous jobs have involved commutes at least forty-five minutes long. A couple of years ago I discovered podcasts, starting with Serial, of course, and my commutes transformed from an annoyance to one of the best parts of my day. Instead of just jamming out to tunes, my commute became the time to get sucked in to a really good story.
After I binged Serial, I was looking for other podcasts with a lot of back episodes that I could binge. Even though I scare easily, I love the horror genre. Scary stories are totally my jam, so I started looking for podcasts in the horror genre that relied on a narrative format that would suck me in. My friends recommended a few of the podcasts on this list, and before I knew it I was down a rabbit hole of horror podcasts.
The horror podcasts on this list vary in format from episodic audiobooks, to faux investigative journalism, to found footage, to old time radio drama. The genres range from true crime to horror sci-fi to monsters and zombies to ghost stories. Some of them focus on telling individual scary stories, while others create entire horror universes with a complete cast of characters.
Whatever your horror preference, there's definitely something for you on this list. If you're ready for some seriously good scares, check out these creepy podcasts that will keep you up all night.
15 The Black Tapes
Pacific Northwest Studios is a fictional radio corporation that is responsible for some of the best creepy podcasts out there. Their original podcast, “The Black Tapes,” centers on the bizarre story uncovered by their 'lead journalist,' Alex Reagan. The story is told 'Serial' style, that is, a first-person narrative given by the 'journalist,' Alex, as she uncovers the details.
Alex is investigating the work of a character named Richard Strand, whose foundation seeks to disprove the paranormal. As Alex continues to investigate, she gets dragged in to the creepy, and increasingly dangerous world of ghosts, demons, cults, and killers surrounding Strand's unsolved cases, also known as 'The Black Tapes.'
There are a bunch of reasons why this podcast is sooo creepy, chief among them being its realism. The podcast creators have gone to great pains to make the story seem real, including an extensive online presence for the fake radio corporation and its fictional characters. Their use of sound effects and music is also brilliantly creepy. 'The Black Tapes' is definitely something you don't want to listen to on a dark ride home through rural back roads.
14 Tanis
Also from Pacific Northwest Studios, 'Tanis' tells the story of the last great mystery the digital age has to offer, or at least that's what Nic Silver, the lead 'journalist' of this podcast, believes. Tanis is a place, an energy, a force of nature… or maybe it's something else entirely. That's what the podcast seeks to discover.
'Tanis' is told in the same journalistic first-person narrative as its sister podcast 'The Black Tapes,' and it's just as creepy and compelling. Just like 'The Black Tapes,' the investigation in to 'Tanis' involves cults, murder, ancient mythology, and danger.
Again, the realism of this podcast is overwhelmingly crafted. The listener is almost completely convinced that Nic Silver is a real person and that his recordings are of real conversations, not scripted dialogue. And the sound effects and music are just as on point in 'Tanis' as they are in 'The Black Tapes.'
'Tanis' is the podcast you'd want to avoid listening to while trying to fall asleep on a camping trip, deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, or anywhere else.
13 Rabbits
Rounding out the trio from the fictional Pacific Northwest Studios, now rebranded as the Public Radio Alliance, is their latest podcast 'Rabbits.' This podcast immediately ups the ante by basing itself around the disappearance of a young woman named Yumiko, who was the best friend of Public Radio Alliance producer Carly Parker. The podcast's narrative centers around Carly's investigation in to Yumiko's disappearance.
Carly soon discovers that Yumiko had been deeply involved in a secretive and dangerous alternate reality game known only as 'Rabbits.' The game becomes a central part of Carly's investigation when she stumbles on information hinting that people have died playing the game before. The podcast takes the listener on a dark and windy exploration of obsession and its costs.
Like the other podcasts from the Public Radio Alliance, 'Rabbits' is just close enough to reality to make the listener wonder if the story is actually fiction. 'Rabbits' will make you reconsider your relationship with everything digital.
12 Sword and Scale
'Sword and Scale' is one of the most popular true crime podcasts out there. Each episode provides an in-depth summary and analysis of a real-life crime. The podcast covers every type of crime imaginable, often in graphic detail. 'Sword and Scale' is definitely not for those with weak stomachs, overactive visual imaginations, or the faint of heart. It is for those obsessed with true crime, who love a well told narrative of the dark sides of human nature.
The podcast is definitely one of the best out there at providing a comprehensive view of the crime they're discussing, and telling stories that aren't told in other places. Though the podcast covers some of the more well-known true crime stories, they tend to focus more on telling the stories the media ignored and shedding light in to the investigations that didn't make headlines.
If you're a true crime buff who can handle all the gory details, 'Sword and Scale' is a must listen.
11 Lore
This podcast written, narrated, and produced by Aaron Mahnke, delves in to the idea that all creepy stories are based in fact. The podcast posits that all our fears come from somewhere, and ties the scary stories we've all heard to real life events.
Some episodes examine myths around creatures like the Jersey Devil or Zombies or elves, and then ties in real life reports that seem to confirm their existence. Other episodes focus on settings like an insane asylum or a haunted hotel or a haunted town, and recount the details of strange, unexplained things that have actually occurred in these settings.
The result is a completely creepy narrative that ties fiction to nonfiction, leaving the listener wondering if scary stories are really scary at all. Mahnke has an undeniable gift for weaving a scary tale and presenting it in a way that leaves the listener spooked. If you're obsessed with urban legends, local mythology, and creepy creatures, this podcast will definitely leave you going to be with all the lights on.
10 Archive 81
'Archive 81' tells multiple overlapping and intersecting stories at once, creating an overarching narrative of mystery and horror. Archivist Dan Powell's first assignment for his new job is listening and cataloguing tapes that were recorded by a woman named Melody. The tapes consist of interviews Melody conducted with residents of an apartment complex in the mid 90's. Dan is encouraged to record himself listening to the tapes so his reactions and notes can be played back for reference. The result is a story that is told by found audio footage.
By the end of the first episode, the listener discovers that Dan is actual missing, and his friend Mark is the one presenting the found audio footage. The podcast then launches in to Mark's investigation of the found audio footage and the disappearance of his friend.
The found footage makes the story particularly creepy and believable, and the added element of the missing archivist gives an element of danger. Definitely a must listen if you love conspiracy theories.
9 Limetown
Limetown USA was a small, completely self-sufficient town in Tennessee, where the best and brightest scientists of their generation lived with their families and worked. The town had its own supermarket, schools, movie theater, and of course, experimental research facility. Then, one day, the town was completely empty, and none of the 300 people who lived there were ever heard from again.
On the podcast, 'journalist' Lia Haddock investigates just what happened to Limetown and its residents. She digs in to the lives of the scientists who moved to Limetown to work and attempts to uncover what exactly they were researching at the facility that served as the genesis and the purpose of the town.
The lengths to which this podcast goes to appear real are stunning. When the podcast first came out, I had to do a fair amount of Googling to figure out if Limetown was real, and even after that I couldn't be entirely sure. I mean, if there was an entire town centered around an experimental research facility that disappeared they'd want to make it look like it was fictional, right? If you love a good sci-fi conspiracy, Limetown will have you on the edge of your seat for all seven episodes.
8 Alice Isn't Dead
'Alice Isn't Dead' is the scary older sister of 'Welcome to Nightvale.' From the same creators, 'Alice Isn't Dead' is the first-person account of a woman who becomes a truck driver to travel cross country looking for her wife, who has supposedly been dead for years. In her travels, this woman encounters a serial killer who isn't entirely of this world, gets stuck in towns that aren't entirely within our time-space continuum, and begins to uncover a conspiracy that involves players both normal and paranormal.
The story plays with the supernatural in ways that make you question reality and make you wonder if there really is something lurking just outside your vision that controls the way you see the world. The narrative is so well written that the listener gets completely lost in the story.
This podcast is best when listened to while driving, because the narrator herself is driving, making the story completely immersive. If 'The X-Files' is one of your favorite shows, 'Alice Isn't Dead' will quickly become one of your favorite podcasts.
7 The Wicked Library
'The Wicked Library' takes a different format than most of the other horror podcasts out there. The podcast has a group of authors that write top notch short horror stories. Those stories are then read aloud by narrators and the narration is layered with music composed specifically for the story by composers who work for the podcast.
The result is a listening experience like no other. It's like listening to an audiobook/movie hybrid. The podcast is completely immersive. The stories are compelling, terrifying, and completely unique. The podcast also takes short story submissions by new horror authors, so the material is always fresh.
If you're a bibliophile who loves a good scare, 'The Wicked Library' is the podcast you've been waiting for your whole life. If you're a horror podcast buff who's looking for something outside of the typical found journalist driven narrative or true crime genre, this podcast is a fresh experience.
6 The No Sleep Podcast
You know you've stumbled on a truly scary podcast when the first words on the podcast's website are “This is a horror fiction podcast. It is intended for mature adults, not the faint of heart. Join us at your own risk… ” 'The No Sleep Podcast' is a collection of the scariest stories the Internet could come up with. The podcast is a continuation of a project that started on Reddit. The 'No Sleep' subreddit was a place for Redditors to share the scariest stories they could come up with, as the creators put it “an online version of telling spooky stories around the campfire.”
The subreddit exploded with amazing content, and the moderators decided to start the 'No Sleep Podcast,' which would take stories from the subreddit and read them aloud, like an audiobook.
If you've spent any time lurking on Reddit then you know the stuff to be found there is pretty intense. The stuff found on 'No Sleep' is no exception. The stories are graphic, disturbing, and definitely not for the faint of heart. If you're looking to be truly frightened, and can handle graphic word pictures, 'No Sleep' is the perfect podcast for you.
5 Fireside Mystery Theater
This podcast is formatted as an old-time radio drama. The spooky stories are performed by actors who bring the stories to life through dialogue and narration. If you've never heard an old-time radio drama then the format may take a bit of getting used to, but it's definitely one of the spookier ways to experience a scary story.
Each week the cast of actors brings a new spooky story to life. The podcast employs a few writers who continuously crank out new content for the cast of actors to perform. Instead of having the story read to you or delivered in a journalistic format, the story literally plays out right in your ears. 'Fireside Mystery Theater' adds a new dimension to scary storytelling by allowing the characters to tell the story themselves.
It's a unique twist on scary storytelling that's definitely worth a listen, especially if you're a fan the radio drama format.
4 We're Alive
'We're Alive' is 'The Walking Dead' of the podcast world. The Zombie Apocalypse has begun and the world is just trying to survive. The podcast tells the story of the survivors and their efforts to create a safe haven, build a new world from the ashes of the old one, and interact in a time where the rules no longer apply.
Many horror based podcasts are basically audiobooks or fiction masking as journalistic reporting, but 'We're Alive' is a completely different audio experience. Listening to 'We're Alive' is basically an audio only television episode or a movie. The music and sound production are just as sophisticated and the acting is top notch.
If you love classic zombie flicks such as 'Night of the Living Dead,"Dawn of the Dead,' and '28 Days Later,' or if you've never missed an episode of 'The Walking Dead,"We're Alive' is the podcast you've been looking for.
3 My Favorite Murder
'My Favorite Murder' is for all of us who are obsessed with crime, murder, and serial killers, but who are too afraid to talk about it in public for fear of sounding weird. The show's hosts, Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, are true crime junkies who love a good story. These ladies discuss their favorite true crime stories in painstaking detail, and when they run out of favorite murder stories of their own, they turn to their guests and listeners for more.
The podcast delves in to local lore, obscure crimes, and everything odd there is to find in the true crime genre. The podcast is nothing if not quirky, and definitely the perfect fit for true crime junkies. If most of your obscure trivia knowledge is about serial killers and crime statistics and you're looking for stories you haven't heard anywhere else, 'My Favorite Murder' is the podcast for you.
2 The Generation Why Podcast
The hosts of 'Generation Why,' Aaron and Justin, explore a different unsolved crime, conspiracy theory, or mystery on each episode. The content is definitely wide ranging. Some of the episodes focus on unsolved murders, including analysis of famous serial killers like The Night Stalker. Other episodes focus on murder cases that are in the news like the case of Kerry Max Cook. Other episodes tell lesser known murder stories.
Not all of the episodes are focused on murder cases though. Some of the episodes tell stories of disappearances, unexplained arsons, and plane crashes. A few episodes even delve in to the paranormal, telling stories of encounters with ghosts.
'The Generation Why Podcast' is a mixed bag of creepy content that will keep the listener engaged for hours. If your interests range all over the horror genre, 'The Generation Why' podcast has you covered.
1 Knifepoint Horror
The stories told on 'Knifepoint Horror' are all written by the same author, Soren Narnia. The stories are read by various narrators and there are very few sounds accompanying the narration. The focus of the podcast is completely on the words and the voice reading them. The “stripped down” nature of the podcast is part of why the podcast is so creepy. The stories are truly scary and don't need to be embellished to make them any scarier.
The lack of production is jarring when compared to other popular horror podcasts. The narrative is not continuous, so each episode is an individual horror story, delivered in stark relief. This podcast feels like an oral tradition, passed on generation to generation, the way scary stories used to be told before Hollywood.
If you're a true fan of scary stories, not just horror, and you're willing to be totally creeped out by words alone, 'Knifepoint Horror' delivers.