In the past, iHorror posted a great article on the six podcasts you should be listening to right now. And they were right, those six are amazing (you can never go wrong with Jim Harold). Much like weeds on the lawn of an abandoned house, amazing spooky podcasts (both paranormal and horror themed) pop up all the time.

Some are informative about legends, some are more entertainment based with interviews and commentary, and some are filled with fictional yet terrifying stories written by listeners. I’m here to bring you a creepy handful of my favorites. So, turn down the lights, turn up the volume, and let’s dig in.

The NoSleep Podcast

As a fellow writer of both fiction and nonfiction, this is a favorite in my house. Based off of the NoSleep subreddit and created by David Cummings, each episode is a hand-picked collection of stories submitted on their reddit page.

Each is narrated by different actors and the acting for the most part is phenomenal. Some of the stories can truly terrify you, make you uncomfortable, or give you goosebumps all over. The best part? They are always taking submissions on their NoSleep page.

Astonishing Legends

What started as a small legend based podcast by Scott Philbrook and Forrest Burgess has grown exponentially in the last two years. Their episodes range from creepy encounters to unsolved true crime to legends hundreds of years old. Extensive research goes into each segment and they are thorough in their information. As a history buff and paranerd, this is one of my favorites.

The Big Seance Podcast

Here is another small podcast that is gaining momentum in the paranormal and spiritual crowds. Created and hosted by Patrick Keller, this podcast deals with ghosts, psychics, spiritualism, and actual live seances.

Some of my favorite episodes include the history of Madame Delphine Lalaurie, his interview with Guy Lyon Playfair about the involvement (or lack thereof) of the Warrens in the case of the Enfield Poltergeist, and an interview with Chip Coffey. Join the The Big Seance Parlor to keep up on the conversation and be updated about new episodes.

The Movie Crypt

Stepping away a little from the paranormal side of things is The Movie Crypt. If you are a fan of the show Holliston, that name will sound familiar to you. The masterminds behind the horror sitcom, Adam Green (Hatchet, Frozen) and Joe Lynch (Knights of Badassdom) bring you a podcast full of interviews with the biggest names in horror and full movie commentary on their favorite scary movies.

They even have a little countdown on when to start your movie along with them. It’s both fun and informative as they give listeners an inside look behind the scenes at creating horror.

Real Ghost Stories Online

Created and hosted by husband and wife team Tony and Jenny Brueski, this is a podcast out of Wichita, KS. It offers personal experience tales from listeners both called in and written and all true (that remains to be seen but some of them are truly creepy). If you have your own personal experience, you can submit them here.

There are hundreds of horror, paranormal and scifi themed podcasts but unfortunately I can’t list them all.

Some honorable mentions that are definitely worth listening to are The X-Files Files with Kumail Nanjiani (unfortunately no new episodes have shown up in a year), Nightmare on Film Street (only missing the list because I’m new to the podcast and need more episodes under my belt first), Those Conspiracy Guys (each episode is very long but if you have time and like conspiracies, this is for you) and Beyond Reality Radio (hosted by Jason Hawes of Ghost Hunters and JV Johnson).

Nearly all of the podcasts have a website you can stream directly from. They are also available on iTunes, iHeartRadio, Podcast Republic, or your favorite podcast streaming app. Beyond Reality Radio also runs on multiple radio stations across the country.

So, take this list and explore all of the reaches of parapsychology, science fiction, history and entertainment. And don’t blame me if you can’t sleep tonight.

(Featured image courtesy of codyschibi.com)