Scary’s Voices – Sound Bites
Week Ending 11th September 2020
Sometimes, when shadows stretch and the house is quiet, I hear voices. They tell me about ghosts and creatures of the night. They whisper sinister tales making my skin crawl. Sometimes they even tell me to do things, like watch certain movies or read specific books. Where do these strange voices come from? Podcasters, of course. But I like to call them Scary’s Voices.
Welcome to Sound Bites, where I highlight the best podcasts I’ve heard through the week. Here’s a quick breakdown of my rating system:
Scream of the Week – only one podcast can take this spot each week, and it represents the best of what’s haunted my earbuds, like a 5-Star rating.
Shivers – these shows are great, and not only do I recommend you give them a listen, but I’ve marked them down to listen to again in the future.
Goosebumps – podcasts I liked and will probably try again, but they didn’t quite knock my socks off.
If I listen to something that didn’t make me scream, give me shivers or even goosebumps, they won’t be listed here.
Now let’s get to it!
My Scream of the Week goes to:
Tales to Terrify
This was my first listen to Tales to Terrify and I will definitely be back for more! “Episode 449” begins with host Drew Sebesteny telling a few stories of haunted pubs in his old stomping grounds of Calgary, Alberta. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, these tales are spinetingling good. The episode then moves on to a wonderful narration by Spencer DiSparti of the short story “A Precious Quarry” by Kev Harrison. From the depths of outer space, a mining team sets up to drill into an asteroid, but sometimes there are evils greater than greed.
Tales to Terrify describes their show as “a weekly horror fiction podcast that gets under your skin, lays eggs and hatches writhing baby horrors nursed on your darkest fears” – yes, please! With an average episode length of an hour, you’ll want to add this to your Friday routine for a great dose of horror. They’re also open for fiction submissions, so check out all the details on their site: www.talestoterrify.com/
Now for the Shivers!
A few weeks ago, Kristen Anderson reached out to me about her podcast Guide to the Unknown, which she co-hosts with her brother Will Rogers. After a quick read through their past episodes, all centred on paranormal experiences, I knew I was in for a treat. This week I listened to “Episode 146: Haunted Amusement Parks” which discusses fairground frights from across the USA and I really enjoyed it. Fans of the TV show Ghost Adventures should also check out their subseries called “Ghost Adventures Adventures,” which takes a deep dive into the locations and paranormal encounters of Season One of the TV show. Most episodes of Guide to the Unknown are about an hour-long, with new content posted on Fridays, and you can learn more about these spooky siblings on their website: www.gttupod.com/
And lastly, the Goosebumps.
A while ago I discovered The Blood Shed on Twitter, a horror movie review podcast, but it wasn’t until this week that I took a listen. Since I love the movie Sinister, I decided to start with “Episode 15: Sinister.” I think this was a bit of a misstep on my part because it was an early episode in the podcast’s history and the sound quality was less than ideal (they’ve acknowledged this issue and have since remedied the problem). The content of Episode 15 was great, which included behind the scenes trivia and commented on aspects of the film which most reviewers overlook, which is why I’m sure I’ll line up a few more episodes to try. The Blood Shed has now recorded 31 main episodes, plus several episodes in their subseries “Hammercast” which discusses Hammer Film Productions and “Slasher Series” which delves into individual movies within slasher franchises, such as Scream and Halloween. One additional note is that these reviews do go in-depth, so if you don’t want spoilers for films you haven’t seen, I’d recommend sticking with episodes for movies you’ve watched. New episodes are available on Mondays, with runtimes ranging from 1 to 2.5 hours. Links to all their social media accounts can be found here: TheBloodShed
That’s a wrap for this week’s Sound Bites!
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’m looking forward to presenting you with even more Scary’s Voices next Friday.
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.
Her latest short story can be found in Don’t Open the Door: A Horror Anthology (out July 26, 2019), and other spooky tales can be found on her blog. She’s currently writing more short stories, a novel, and reading as many dark works as she can find.
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
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