Spooky and Suspenseful Podcasts for Halloween Listening

If you’re having trouble getting into the Halloween spirit, put on one of these podcasts to set a spooky mood!

Welcome to Night Vale

Welcome to Night Vale is a twice-monthly podcast, narrated by Cecil Palmer (voiced by Cecil Baldwin), the community radio host for the mysterious desert town Night Vale.  Cecil has been a lifelong resident of Night Vale and has been a radio host for… an indeterminate amount of time.  Time is a hazy concept in the town, the dog park is off-limits to the residents, and station management is amorphous, to say the least. The tone can change quickly from comedic to surreal to poignant and heart wrenching.

I’ve stuck with this podcast since 2013, about a year after it first premiered. I like to save up a few episodes so I can spend an hour or two listening to catching up with whatever strange things are happening in Night Vale.

Start with: Episode 89 – Who’s A Good Boy, Part 1

Alice Isn’t Dead

Alice Isn’t Dead is also a production of Night Vale Presents,  the production company that makes Welcome to Night Vale. Unlike Welcome to Night Vale, which is an ongoing fiction that has no end in sight, Alice Isn’t Dead is serialized in parts. The narrator, a truck driver (voiced by Jasika Nicole, who is a guest voice on Welcome to Night Vale) is on the road in search of her missing wife. Her journey quickly takes a surrealist, horrific turn when she runs into some nasty characters.  

The podcast series is currently on break until next year, but the complete first part has been released.  

Start with: Part 1, Chapter 1: Omelet 

Limetown

Limetown is a serialized fiction podcast by Two-Up Productions, following journalist Lia Haddock (voiced by Annie-Sage Whitehurst) on her increasingly dangerous investigation into the disappearances of the 300 residents of a research town called Limetown. The story starts out by her interviewing those close to the missing people, slowly trying to unravel the mystery of Limetown, but quickly devolves into a race to find the truth as she’s on the run for her life.

This is definitely one of those podcasts that’s best to experience along with the narrator, so do yourself a favor, don’t read any more about it, and start from the beginning.

Start with: Episode 1: What We Know 

My Favorite Murder

My Favorite Murder is my newest addition to my podcast listening, but it’s the podcast that I put on whenever I see a new episode has come out.  The hosts are Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, both lifelong fans of true crime. They cover some lesser known murders, with the occasional heavy hitter serial killer story popping up now and again. Kilgariff and Hardstark hardly ever going into the gory details of the crimes, so it’s easier listening for someone who’s maybe a little squeamish (like me).

If you’re a fan of comedy and true crime (but are not a stickler for facts) or a fan of Last Podcast on the Left podcast, this is the one for you.

Start with: Episode 36 – Live from LA Podcast Festival 2016 (NSFW)

More Recommendations?

Do you have any horror or spooky podcasts you’d add to my list?