Scary’s Voices: Sound Bites for August 13
Welcome back to Sound Bites where I highlight the best horror podcasts I’ve heard through the week. If you’re looking for content to haunt your earbuds, these podcasts are just what you need.
My Scream of the Week goes to:
The NoSleep Podcast
When it comes to short audio fiction, The NoSleep Podcast is one of the absolute best. I’ve been a listener for a few years, and I’m always impressed by the top-notch sound production and the immensely talented voice cast. The stories featured in each episode always deliver thrills and chills, and you never quite know where these tales will transport you.
Episodes include pieces of flash fiction, short shorts, and a featured short story. Guiding listeners through these dark worlds is the fabulous host and showrunner David Cummings. Each episode begins with David continuing a thread of a story that links the seasons together, however it doesn’t require new listeners to start at the very beginning of the podcast.
The past couple of instalments of The NoSleep Podcast have been especially fantastic. In Season 16, Episode 17 I loved the delightfully macabre collection of recipes in “The Cannibal Cocktails” written by Taylour McNelly, as well as the twisted tale of torture and metamorphosis in “Tooth Fairy” written by AM Cruz.
I also highly recommend Season 16, Episode 18, which includes a terrifically dark Lovecraftian tale called “TripReviewer Entry for The Hemple Observatory Holiday Rental, New York State, USA” written by Lisel Jones. This episode also includes the first segment of the six-part audio presentation of “Dear Laura” written by Gemma Amor.
New episodes are released each Sunday and typically run between 1 to 1.5 hours. The NoSleep Podcast is available on most podcast platforms and links to all episodes can be found on their website www.thenosleeppodcast.com
Shiver-Worthy Runner-Up:
Video Store Nightmares
Thanks to my Instagram friend Toni (@louvtahorror_thesequel) I found the podcast Video Store Nightmares and couldn’t help but binge quite a few episodes. If you fondly recall walking the aisles of your local video store, looking for the most bizarre VHS box covers, then this is a show for you.
In each episode hosts Luke and Leland dive into the horrific, strange, and exploitation flicks of the video store era. This week I listened to these friends discuss films such as Bermuda: Cave of the Sharks (1978), Alucarda (1977), and Messiah of Evil (1973). And I especially enjoyed Episode 8: The Baby (1973).
Video Store Nightmares offers more than just simple reviews as Luke and Leland delve into how these movies were made, discuss cinematography and iconography, and the reflections and commentaries on society within these films. It’s clear these hosts love movies of all kinds, and by bringing their accumulated film knowledge to the podcast, listeners are in for thoughtful and engaging discussions. But, as fans of these films know, you can’t take these movies too seriously all the time, and the hosts balance out the intellectual aspects with the right amount of fun and humour.
Another aspect I really appreciate about this podcast is that each episode concludes by announcing the next film to be discussed and where you can find it for viewing. Since the episodes do cover all aspects of the movie, you’ll want to be familiar with the subject if you want to avoid spoilers.
New episodes are released weekly and typically run about 1.5 hours. You can find Video Store Nightmares on a few podcast platforms or listen directly on Podbean https://videostorenightmares.podbean.com/
That’s a wrap for this week’s Sound Bites!
As always, thanks so much to the awesome podcast listeners and creators who have been sending me terrific recommendations. Keep them coming via the comments section below, or direct messaging on Twitter or Instagram (links below). I can’t promise I’ll enjoy every podcast you throw my way, but I’ll give everyone a fair shot.
Remember, I’m all about scary things and spooky podcasts are what I’m after. Content focused on reviewing horror movies and horror books, true paranormal encounters, facts about cryptids, true crimes, and original scary stories are exactly what I want to hear.
Can’t wait to listen to all the dark podcasts you fine fiends suggest, and I hope you’ll join me next Friday for more Sound Bites.
J.A. Sullivan
J. A. Sullivan is a horror writer and paranormal enthusiast, based in Brantford, ON, Canada. Attracted to everything non-horror folks consider strange, she’s spent years as a paranormal investigator, has an insatiable appetite for serial killer information, and would live inside a library if she could.
As curator of “Scary’s Voices” on Kendall Reviews, an article series reviewing horror podcasts, Sullivan loves listening to all things spooky. If you have a horror podcast recommendation, let her know.
On top of contributing short stories to Kendall Reviews, her fiction has appeared in Don’t Open the Door (2019), It Came From The Darkness (2020), and she acted as an assistant editor for Black Dogs, Black Tales (2020). Other spooky tales and updates on her writing journey can be found on her blog.
You can follow J. A. on Twitter @ScaryJASullivan
Check out her blog https://writingscaredblog.wordpress.com
Find her on Instagram www.instagram.com/j.a_sullivan
Find her on Instagram www.instagram.com/j.a_sullivan
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