Some Horrors to Take Your Mind off the US Election

November 3, 2024 4:12 PM

We are leaving Spooky Season 2024 and entering the Horrifying last days of the US Elections, so here’s another roundup of weird audio dramas! They may help distract you from the stress of the season (but please vote). Most of the series are audio dramas with paranormal elements, but anthologies, fantasy, science fiction, and the occasional thriller or mystery are included. I’m excoted because the second season of The Phosphene Catalogue has started!

Stories with LGBTQ characters and elements are identified when possible, although they are pretty thin on the groud this roundup (I should do better next time). Podcasts with frequent or severe content warnings are noted as are those which provide transcripts. All the podcasts are accessible via most podcast apps and aggregators (although, weirdly, some apps seem to not catch entire seasons of some of the shows). Lastly, fewer shows seem to be maintaining a website. This can be a real problem, especially if the podcast has a very common name.

Shows are identified as:
• audio drama – stories with continuing plots and casts, either open- or closed-ended
• anthology – stand-alone stories with no continuity
• anthology with frame – stand-alone stories with some kind of continuity that ties the series together but (usually) does not affect the stories


Before the Tone (audio Drama)
A queer science fiction horror podcast following Mack, a woman who has just gotten a job as a CCTV operator at the increasingly-suspicious Atlas Consulting. It takes the format of voicemails from Mack to her sister, Daria, who never seems to answer her calls. The horror tends towards the psychological as Mack is stalked and reality becomes a little less solid where Atlas is concerned. CW: stalking. Transcripts available.
Frequency: biweekly
Length: 15-25 minutes
Tone: Mutable world and psychological horror
LGBTQ: Queer narrator
One season (13 episodes; ongoing)
Website


Bleakwood (anthology with frame)
Something is very wrong in the small town of Bleakwood. Strange mysteries and terrifying creatures now lurk in the shadows of this once ordinary place. The narrator sets out to uncover the darkness that has fallen over the town. With each new episode, he delves deeper into uncanny tales from Bleakwood’s residents, piecing together clues to the source of the town’s corruption. Read by the rather lugubrious author.
Frequency: roughly biweekly
Length: 20-30 minutes
Tone: Various
LGBTQ: none
One season (18 episodes; ongoing)
Website


Cicatrix: Scars of Punishment (audio drama)
Not to be confused with Cicatrix from the December 2023 Roundup, this is the story of Sebastian, a history student, who finds a rare book containing bizarre testimonies from the early 1600s. As he reads through them and investigates the circumstances under which they were published, he uncovers a disturbing series of events spanning centuries, and comes to realize that the next piece of the puzzle may be none other than himself. It’s almost an anthology with a very thick frame.
Frequency: weekly when releasing
Length: 20-30 minutes
Tone: Folk horror, faeries, 17th C demonology
LGBTQ: none
One season (10 episodes; on hiatus)
Website


The Department of Midnight (audio drama)
Dark matter makes up 85% of the universe. Recent scientific theory suggests dark matter is information—a fifth form of matter—and that we can wake it up. But waking it up can let dark things out. James Callis is Dr. John Carnack. Five years ago, his dark matter experiments led to tragedy. His redemption is working for the Department of Midnight, investigating dangerous dark matter experiments, trying to prevent further disasters. But there’s a pattern. And it all leads back to him. Written by Warren Ellis, with all the Warren Ellis things
Frequency: weekly when releasing
Length: 15-25 minutes
Tone: Warren Ellis weird encounters mixed with vague science explanations
LGBTQ: none
One season (11 episodes; on hiatus)
Website


Dark Sanctum (anthology)
Dark Sanctum is a spine-tingling limited podcast series inspired by TV classics like The Twilight Zone and classic radio fright-fests like Inner Sanctum and Lights Out.
Frequency: The first season dropped all at once
Length: 15-25 minutes
Tone: Various
LGBTQ: none
Two seasons (7 episodes; ongoing)
Website


The Gentleman from Hell (audio drama)
Twenty-four years ago, the peaceful town of Cold Sparrow became the center of one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in modern history. Every resident vanished. Among them, the enigmatic billionaire Benjamin Veers, whose strange ways made him an icon of intrigue. The town, once forgotten, now infamous. The questions? Endless. The answers? Nonexistent. Now, three celebrated private investigators—famous for bringing down one of the most dangerous cults in history—have been called upon to tackle this mystery. Known for taking on the cases no one else could solve, they’re determined to uncover what really happened in Cold Sparrow.
Frequency: weekly
Length: ~30 minutes
Tone: Haunted house, hallucinations, maybe demons?
LGBTQ: none
One season (9 episodes; ongoing)
Website


A Haunting in Stratton (audio drama)
Follow Ryan Green as he buys his dream home which happen to sit in the town of Startton. An old gothic revival Victorian house that sits up on a hill over looking the town. Empty for the last thirteen years just begging for someone to come along. What could go wrong? Really, this is a gay romance with some ghosts to complicate things. It’s fun but pretty light. Curiously, the show doesn’t seem to know if the town is Stratton or Starrton. Transcripts available for some episodes.
Length: 15-20 minutes
Tone: Haunted house
LGBTQ: Gay protagonists; romance
Complete story (15 episodes)
Website


Hauntropy (???)
Scotland, 1933. A group of rogue scholars and enthusiasts, led by Dr Mungo Macrae, have developed new technologies that allow them to detect the sonic activities of paranormal phenomena on the outer edges of the known world... These are the secret radio broadcasts of the Committee of Enigmas, captured and committed to a hidden archive of untold legacies of unexplained events, gathered and exchanged over generations of clandestine research by a trans-global network of expert investigators. This is a weird one – there is sort of a story in each episode, but they are mostly an excuse to create haunting soundscapes. You will either like this or hate it.
Frequency: irregular
Length: 15-20 minutes
Tone: Eerie soundscapes
LGBTQ: none
One season (3 episodes; ongoing)
Website


The Huntersfield Anomaly Report (audio drama)
A strange portal has opened in the woods in rural Wisconsin. A small team of military and scientific personal are assembled to explore the other side, which turns out to be weirder and more dangerous than they imagined. Episodes vary between “episodes” that advance the story and “Recovered Audio Files” which show off small aspects of the characters’ pasts. Transcripts available on YouTube. The Episodes are currently on hiatus, although the Audio Files are still being released.
Frequency: ~biweekly
Length: 5-20 minutes
Tone: Otherworld and psychological horror
LGBTQ: Some characters but not significant story elements
One season (24 episodes; ongoing?)
No website, but it’s also on YouTube


Moriarity: The Devil’s Game (audio drama)
Moriarty finds the professor on the heels of an earth-shattering mathematical breakthrough–a formula so powerful, it can predict the future–and at the scene of a gruesome murder he must solve to prove his innocence. With London’s sprawling underworld as their battleground, Moriarty and Holmes match their peerless intellects to gain the ever-shifting upper hand. But as their duel escalates, so does the deadly cost of pursuing the truth. “What will it take to get your justice?” Dr. Watson asks an utterly ensnared Moriarty, “And if you do get it… what will you become?” No weird elements, but a decent stab at an old idea.
Length: 30-40 minutes
Tone: Reverse Sherlock Holmes
LGBTQ: none
Complete story (10 episodes)
No website, but it is available via Audible and Amazon Prime


Mortis Maledictum (anthology)
Mortis Maledictum creates cinematic audio experiences through interwoven grimdark stories to make you crave answers. We want to share what we are passionate about: dark fantasy, cosmic horror, and grimdark stories that cut through the fluff to give you suspense, mystery, monsters, magic, and dread. Ghostly adventures, witchcraft, old gods, haunted woods, ancient evils, and madness permeate these chilling tales. Join us on this dark and twisted journey through alternate folklore and modern tales with a twist.
Frequency: monthly
Length: 35-45 minutes
Tone: Various
LGBTQ: none
One season (11 episodes; ongoing)
No podcast, but it's also on YouTube


Observable Radio (anthology with frame)
Late at night, from an isolated satellite communications installation, an unnamed Observer secretly broadcasts a bizarre transmission to a nearby facility. In the wake of a global communications disruption following a near-miss with a comet, he has begun to detect mysterious signals from other worlds. With no one but an isolated colleague that he can trust, he shares a series of seemingly impossible signals, unsure of what to do next. Transcripts available.
Frequency: monthly
Length: 20-35 minutes
Tone: fMostly apocalyptic disaster
LGBTQ: none significant
One season (17 episodes; ongoing)
Website


Ominous Thrill (anthology)
Full voice cast thrillers, horror, and suspense. Some of the stories are multi-part. They apparently are soliciting scripts. Scripts available on website.
Frequency: irregular
Length: 35-45 minutes
Tone: Various
LGBTQ: Occasional but not significant
One season (12 episodes; ongoing)
Website


Shelterwood (audio drama)
A Docu-Horror Podcast written and produced by Stephen Indrisano. Join one man’s quest to find his long-lost sister in an infinite, monster-infested suburb beyond the veil. A podcaster whose sister disappeared a decade earlier stumbles into another world full of wonders and horrors. Will he find her or be lost in Shelterwood. A Bloody Disgusting production, so decent production values and a lot of ads.
Frequency: monthly
Length: 35-45 minutes
Tone: folk horror
LGBTQ: none
One season (7 episodes out of a planned 16)
No website


Someone Just Like You (anthology)
Someone Just Like You is a harrowing journey into supernatural terror not for the faint of heart—or stomach. These handpicked horror stories are frightening, fearless and hauntingly vivid. Listen at your own risk because what happens here could happen to anyone. It could happen to… Someone Just Like You.
Frequency: irregular, mostly monthly
Length: 20-40 minutes
Tone: Varied
LGBTQ: none significant
One season (6 episodes; ongoing)
No website


Trouble in Mind (audio drama)
Not a podcast version of the Alan Rudolph film, I am afraid. In 1945, a continental train bound for the east coast stopped in Appalachia and was never seen again. But one passenger, a reporter, did come home. And she claimed something was following her. It's now 1983. The woman has gone missing. Her niece finds magnetic tape reels in her attic that contain recordings from the doomed overland passage. Something compels her to keep listening. Something wanted her to find those recordings. What happened aboard the Autumn Flyer?
Length: mostly 20-30 minutes
Tone: Conspiracy and found tapes
LGBTQ: none
Complete story (8 episodes)
No website, but it’s also on YouTube


Vault Veritas (anthology with frame)
Secure, Contain, Protect. A creative horror fiction podcast inspired by the SCP Foundation. Scott Anderson is a Class C ethics officer in the recently constructed Site 2024. His job is to record and digitize Incident Reports involving deadly anomalies from across the world in order to assist in improving and updating containment procedures. Although his cushy office job is fairly benign and keeps him far safer than the d-class personnel he typically reads about... there’s only so long you can remain safe at the SCP Foundation.
Frequency: weekly when releasing
Length: 20-30 minutes
Tone: SCP
LGBTQ: none
One season (30 episodes; ongoing)
No website, but it’s also on YouTube


The Witch Who Came in from the Cold (audio drama)
The Cold War rages in the back rooms and dark alleys of 1970s Prague—and on one misty night an American discovers that the city and its spies have become the new front of another, more ancient war—a war of magic. Now a CIA agent and a KGB operative must forge an uneasy alliance in order to stop a secret occult society from destroying the world. When spies and sorcerers cross murky lines to do battle for home and country—who do you trust? The Witch Who Came in from The Cold is a Realm production created by Max Gladstone and Lindsey Smith, and written by Max Gladstone, Lindsey Smith, Cassandra Rose Clarke, Michael Swanwick, Ian Tregillis, and Fran Wilde. No transcripts, but there is a print book. Apparently complete? It is/was a Realm production, so glossy production and intrusive ads.
Length: 30-40 minutes
Tone: Cold War espionage and magic
LGBTQ: none significant
One season (39 episodes)
No website

WRTH AM – 800 (anthology with frame)
You’re driving down a dark highway and you’ve not seen another car for over half an hour. It’s the dead of night, and you reach for the radio, hoping for a reassuring voice. But all you can pull in is a single AM radio station, WRTH. This is an odd podcast; it proports to be a radio program about ghosts, and the first bunch of stories might be retelling actual ghost lore in a “factual podcast” style, then it segues into multipart stories mostly about ghosts and radios. More nostalgic than scary. Appears to be concluded.
Length: ~20 minutes
Tone: a radio show about ghosts
LGBTQ: none
One season (24 episodes)
No website

Your Horror Show (anthology)
A terrifying full cast anthology. Presented in pure pulpy goodness with every tale focusing on different thematic elements of the horror genre. Presented by our fiendish host Mr. Graves.
Frequency: monthly
Length: 20-30 minutes
Tone: Aiming for an EC vibe
LGBTQ: none
Two season (25 episodes; ongoing)
Website

posted by GenjiandProust (11 comments total)

As usual, past editions:
March 2024 Round Up
2023 Winter Round Up
2022 Spring Round Up
2021 Winter Solstice Roundup
2021 Fall Roundup
2021 Late Summer Roundup
2021 Summer Roundup
Weird Horror Anthologies
Silt Verses
2021 Spring Round Up
2020 Round Up
2018 Round Up
2017 Round Up
2018 Round Up
2017 Round Up
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:12 PM on November 3 [3 favorites]

Horror stories no longer scare me. Adults in the real world who choose to terrorize me either by choice or by deliberate inaction keep me up at night. Good luck, everyone.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 4:54 PM on November 3 [1 favorite]

Are you tired of the actual horrors plaguing you in the real world? Please consider these newer, more different, imaginary horrors!

This would probably make a great Oglaf comic.
posted by neuracnu at 5:11 PM on November 3 [2 favorites]

I try not to editorialize in my round ups, so I’ll point to Before the Tone, which is honestly upsetting with Mack dealing with a stalker and panic attacks in a setting where it’s not clear if anyone has her well-being in mind, Cicatrix: Scars of Punishment, which manages to give a better-than-average sense of academic anxiety, and WRTH AM, with some gentler and more nostalgic spookiness.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:25 PM on November 3 [1 favorite]

GenjiandProust, I, for one, adore these creepy podcast roundups. I appreciate the work you put into them and delight in what I get to hear. Thank you!

Also, for the first time in your series none of these rings a bell. Excellent.
posted by doctornemo at 5:31 PM on November 3 [2 favorites]

Hurm. All of the Warren Ellis things? I can think of some I could live without.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:37 AM on November 4 [1 favorite]

To be fair, it’s not all of the Warren Ellis things, but it really does have a lot of his voice and mixing sort-of science with sort-of folklore/magic, so that’s what you get.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:52 AM on November 4 [1 favorite]

That's not what I get, lol. You can have it.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:54 AM on November 4 [1 favorite]

I do not need more horror right now.
posted by kinnakeet at 4:07 AM on November 4

That’s why I pointed it out in the post. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I do and don’t post in these things. I listen to a lot of shows that I just can’t stand and stop listening. A very few are for production reasons, mostly it’s because there’s some kind of content issue — I had one that I listened to pretty happily for 10-15 episodes which then shit the bed with transphobia and a really bad take on mental illness, and you won’t be seeing that. Others aren’t to my taste, but I figure MeFites might like them — I personally don’t like anthology shows without a really robust frame (I want to spend time with the characters, and that’s not what anthologies are about mostly), but I’ve gotten feedback from people that they do, so I listen to enough episodes to get a sense of what they’re doing and post it.

I don’t expect people to like everything I post here, since, in these round ups, there’s things I don’t particularly like, but are good enough that others might, and I try to give people an idea of what they’re getting.

I’m personally annoyed that this round up is really light on LGBTQ+ content, but it turned out hats what I had ready. The next one should be better in that regard.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:12 AM on November 4 [2 favorites]

Thank you! I love these posts and recommendations. Bonus points for letting me know that I'm not the only one who remembers Rudolph's Trouble in Mind.
posted by mark k at 7:47 AM on November 4 [2 favorites]