11 Scary Podcasts for the Spookiest Time of Year

(Image via Welcome to Night Vale podcast)

4.) Welcome to Night Vale

If you know anything about podcasting, much less scary podcasts, then surely you’ve heard of Welcome to Night Vale. Presented as a radio show for the fictional desert town of Night Vale, Welcome to Night Vale delves deep into the inherent strangeness of the town.

Co-creator Joseph Fink said that he “came up with this idea of a town in that desert where all conspiracy theories were real” and took that as the starting point for one of the strangest, most engaging horror fiction podcasts around. He teamed up with Jeffrey Cranor to publish the series starting in 2012.

Welcome to Night Vale is hosted by Cecil Palmer (Cecil Baldwin), the local radio host, and features slow-building stories that center on strange forces and conspiracy theories that hold the town in thrall. Guest stars include Mara Wilson as the Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home, Jasika Nicole as Intern Dana, and Jackson Publick as Hiram McDaniels, a five-headed dragon.

The show has also led to the well-reviewed 2015 novel, Welcome to Night Vale, as well as a production company, Night Vale Presents. Podcasts produced by this group also include Alice Isn’t Dead and Within the Wires.

Best episode
The thirteenth episode, “A Story About You”. Though this episode is a little unusual in that it features an unnamed character and is narrated in the second version, it’s a good introduction to the tone of the series. You might even find yourself unexpectedly emotional at the ending of this episode.