How a Creepy Suburban Mansion Became a House of Horrors

Picks of the week

Brown Girls Do It Too: Big Boy Energy
BBC Sounds, weekly episodes
While Rubina Pabani is on maternity leave, Poppy Jay invites men to talk openly about what’s going on in their heads. The first is Asim “Chabuddy G” Chaudhry, who talks about death, rejection and exchanging Curly Wurlies for kisses. Jay challenges his assumptions about women and there is an insightful discussion about how he feels sorry for his little brothers growing up in a time when labels for men include “simpleton” and “sigma.” Hannah Verdier

Inside the McKamey mansion
Widely available, bi-weekly episodes.
From the outside, McKamey Manor looks like a typical swamp haunted house, but Elizabeth McCafferty discovers a darker side in this fascinating podcast. Is the owner a Halloween prankster or a torturer who locks people in a freezer? McCafferty explores the psychology of the fear industry and discovers what it’s really like on the inside. high voltage

The art of deciding
Widely available, weekly episodes.
If you can’t decide what to have for lunch, Bruce Whitfield has the podcast for you. His guests talk about the biggest decisions they’ve made, starting with Lee Child, who left security to pursue writing after being fired from Granada TV at age 40, and created Jack Reacher. Proper inspiration. high voltage

Heaven Helpline
Widely available, weekly episodes.
No tea and coffee, no bad language, no television on Sundays: the Mormon church plays by its own rules. But when Murray Jones investigates how it operates in New Zealand, he uncovers some shady behavior. It is difficult to listen to a young woman talk about how she was pressured to marry and become a mother, and then controlled by her husband. high voltage

Harry and Paul’s life guide
Widely available, weekly episodes.
Who better to teach you how to get ahead in life than The Traitors’ main villains, Harry Clark and Paul Gorton? In this second series (the first looks at famous crimes gone wrong), they are “getting more level-headed” as dying uncles who give advice, such as how to deal with a shocking family secret, unbearable in-laws, living with a new partner, and setbacks in life. the work. Hollie Richardson

In last week’s newsletter we included an incorrect link to Adam BuxtonThe true crime drama, Up in Smoke. You can listen to that here..

There’s a podcast for that.

This week, Virtue Graeme choose five of the scariest podcastsfrom one with ancient tales to a 10-part metaphysical chiller.

He No sleep Podcast
This anthology of horror fiction was inspired by a Reddit page where posters share their most terrifying personal experiences. Over the course of 13 years, it has evolved into a skillfully crafted buffet of nightmare fuel. Each episode features multiple stories (two or three on the standard free stream, but more if you subscribe) ranging from twisted 10-minute surprises to sprawling serial killer thrillers. Veteran host David Cummings frames each story with a macabre joy that offsets the sometimes graphic violence (check content warnings recommended). A backlist of over 600 episodes can also seem pretty scary, but luckily the team behind the show has put it together. this getting started guide.

Amazing Halloween
There is a tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas, so why not a Halloween Advent calendar? That’s what Danny Robins, the Louis Theroux of things that say “boo!” – has been revealing every day this month, sharing spooky encounters submitted by fans of his popular supernatural investigation podcast. Compared to the detailed analysis of the previous four seasons of Uncanny, these disturbing two-minute case studies fly by rather quickly. But there are some more substantial surprises too: a recent surprise episode with comedian Stewart Lee as a deeply informed guest witness and, launching on Halloween, a two-part investigation into sinister events at a 200-year-old Lake District cottage .

EnCrypted: The Classic Horror Podcast
Since 2021, this incredibly good UK podcast has offered immersive readings of ancient tales by MR James, Hugh Walpole, Marjorie Bowen and dozens more. Owner and host Jasper L’Estrange has a knack for navigating sometimes archaic language, softening even the starchiest ’20s phrases with a smooth vocal delivery that has an appealingly old-fashioned rasp. EnCrypted has amassed a library of around 180 classics and L’Estrange appears sporadically in a more contemporary story written by himself. Its 2022 Halloween episode, Ghost Walk, narrated by an exasperated tour guide struggling with contactless payments, is both wickedly funny and deeply unnerving.

Dream sequence
Whatever metaphysical veil separates our world from the other side, it seems to be more permeable when we sleep. That is the premise of this recent 10-episode thriller, co-produced by the television division of horror film specialists Blumhouse. It combines relatable family friction with a heartbreaking, supernatural threat. Years after a tragedy, Kay (Jessi Case) reluctantly reunites with her cold sister Sadie (Alice Kremelberg) to observe her research into sleep disorders. But has Sadie’s device for analyzing nightmares awakened something ancient and malevolent? Dream Sequence’s empathetic performances, snappy pacing, and sophisticated sound design place it in the top tier of original horror audio dramas.

Terror at knifepoint
From Hellraiser to The Ring, many cautionary tales begin with someone discovering an artifact that seems strange and dangerous because it seems to exist outside of contemporary norms. Knifepoint Horror, a cult podcast dating back to 2010, has an equally unnerving vibe. You won’t find any ingratiating preamble, ad readings, or requests for five-star reviews. New episodes, featuring stories written and read by Soren Narnia, simply appear unexpectedly in the feed and begin. These are American Gothic tales of obsession, possession and transgression, told in a naturalistic, almost halting style that over time becomes hypnotic and disturbingly addictive.

Why not try it…?

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