Although watching a scary movie or visiting a haunted house is guaranteed to give me the heebie jeebies, there's something even more terrifying about just listening to horror stories. A stranger's voice drifts into your ears, but you have nobody and nothing to actually watch, so you can't anticipate what's going to happen next. Plus, the realistic sound effects you hear in most scary podcasts never fail to bring you straight into whatever horrifying story you're listening to. If leaning into all things ghoulish is your passion, you have to put these scary podcasts for Halloween on your playlist.
For me, watching crime shows like Criminal Minds or Law & Order: SVU is the perfect way to play with fear and suspense a little bit in a safe context. Although each episode is based on an actual crime, I've grown familiar enough with the casts and the format of each episode that it's a reasonable amount of fear for me.
Similarly, each podcast on this list strikes a balance between true terror and a consistent, comforting format. I'll be honest, though: I've only been brave enough to listen to these podcasts in the daylight, but if you're a seasoned horror fan, try making one of these your next bedtime story. Happy nightmares, friend.
Honestly, the cover art alone for Knifepoint Horror is enough to have me shivering with fear. But with the chilling music and the terrifying tales told by the host, Soren Narnia, this podcast holds nothing back when it comes to terror.
Check out the occasional special episodes for a more produced story, reenacted by an entire cast of voice actors. To listen, visit Stitcher or iTunes.
True to its title, The NoSleep Podcast might leave you too terrified of every last sound in your home to drift away at night. If true crime or nonfiction paranormal podcasts are a little too scary for you, try listening to this one, which produces horror fiction stories.
Eleven full seasons of terror are available to stream on the podcast's website, or for download on the iTunes store. Want to get even more involved? Submit your own horrific tale, and it just might be read during an upcoming episode.
Things sometimes get a little too real on the Lore podcast, if you ask me, because all of the stories on the show actually happened. Each episode features a dark tale from history, so if you want to see the world's past in a spookier light, look no further.
Plus, if you fall in love with the frights in this podcast, you can get even more terrifying stories by reading Lore's book series, or watching the accompanying Amazon Prime show.
If you're already a huge fan of serialized true crime podcasts like S-Town or Serial, then you'll probably love the nail-biting suspense of The Black Tapes. Although these stories aren't actually real, the docudrama format has plenty of ghost encounters and mystery to keep you on the edge of your seat. Tune in to the scares on iTunes or Google Play.
The title of this podcast, My Favorite Murder, is certainly suspenseful, but the actual episodes are even more entertaining. Hosted by two BFFs, this show is perfect if you're a little more scare-prone like I am. Although the real murders that hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark discuss are horrifying, there's plenty of comedy in each episode to balance things out a bit. Tune in on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify and join in the laughs — and the scares.
