As Halloween gets closer and we have fewer options for activities due to COVID, we need to get creative in what we can do to celebrate safely. Here are three podcasts that offer scary stories about true crime, the paranormal, and creepy tales from real people. Turn off the lights, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, and cozy up to a digital campfire story!
1. Scared to Death | Hosts: Dan Cummins and Lynze Cummins
This is a great podcast hosted by comedian, Dan Cummins, and his wife, Lynze Cummins. Dan shares alleged-to-be-true tales with his wife in an attempt to scare her. They have a great studio space set up for the ultimate scary feels. The spooky music will get you in the spirit and the chemistry between Dan and Lynze is the best. In the 4th episode, “Making ‘New Friends,’” Dan tells the story that inspired the infamous 1973 horror film, The Exorcist. New episodes are posted weekly on Tuesdays and episodes are at least an hour long.
Bonus Podcast! Dan has another podcast called Timesuck, which also offers some episodes on scary stuff. He shares in-depth research on a topic from a historical figure or event, to a murderer, to Walt Disney. Listeners can also vote on what topic they want to learn more about. Recent scary episodes on Timesuck are “The Vampire of Sacramento: Serial Killer Richard Chase” and “The Boston Strangler.” Timesuck also has the perfect amount of comedic relief to weigh down the heavy content.
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2. Small Town Murder | Hosts: James Pietragallo and Jimmie Whisman
Comedians James Pietragallo and Jimmie Whisman do in-depth research on a small town and a murder that took place there. Not only is it really interesting to learn about these small town murders, but they also talk about the small town and its history. The content gets really dark and heavy, so it’s nice that the hosts put a comedic spin on the whole thing. A recent episode I’ve listened to that was super intense is “#189 The Lego Murders in Holladay, Utah.”
Episodes that took place in small towns in California are “#167 You’ll Have To Chop Off More than That… in Antelope,” “#106 Not Regulation Behavior in Burlingame,” “#070 Three Murders & A Strangling in Canyon Lake,” and #011 and #012 are a two part series on “Murder & Worse in South Lake Tahoe.” If any of these are too close to home, check out the nearly 200 other episodes on small towns across the United States, and even a couple in other countries. New episodes are posted weekly on Wednesdays. Episodes are really long – some nearly 3 hours.
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3. Unsolicited Advice | Hosts: Ashley Nichole and Taryne Renee
Ashley Nichole and Taryne Renee are YouTubers and best friends. They offer a platform for their listeners to send questions they need answers to. They offer their advice about everything from dating, to jobs, to family drama, to life’s most embarrassing moments. It’s very entertaining and you feel like you’re chatting with your girlfriends. One of the best segments they offer is their October series. Every October, they ask their listeners to send in their real-life scary stories. Listeners share scary situations that actually happened to them. Because these scary episodes only happen on an annual basis, you don’t have too many episodes to listen to, but go back to last year’s October series for more. Some of my favorites are last year’s “A Cornfield Party in Iowa” and this year’s “My Invisible Friend, Georgia.” New episodes are posted weekly on Mondays and there is going to be a bonus Scary Stories episode shared on Halloween! Episodes are roughly an hour long.
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All three of these podcasts can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere you get your podcasts.
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