Shelterwood: A Suburban Gothic
(1 season, 2024-)
SUBURBAN GOTHIC
DOCU-HORROR
"Home is where the horror is"
(for fake-true-crime horror with twisting, breathing architecture)
(for fake-true-crime horror with twisting, breathing architecture)
Shelterwood is a Docu-horror podcast delving into the depths of Suburban terror.
One part found footage, one part Gothic, and one hundred percent horrifying, Shelterwood follows Nicholas DeRoso on his quest to find his long-lost sister and the impossible neighborhood beyond reality he discovers in her wake.
I somehow got very lucky with Shelterwood, and managed to find it shortly before its first episode released.
I was immediately sold by the trailer but I think in episode 2 is where it became a favourite - something about hearing an unnervingly cheerful local inform our protagonist that, as a security measure, all photos of the Town Hall bite, made something in my brain click and I went "ohh this is going to be COOL."
And I was right !! Every aspect of the horror, from the architectural to the monstrous to the tragic, is so so so well done. It really pulls you in and makes you think.
I've relistened a good number of times and its effects on me do not lessen, even when I know exactly what's coming.
listen to the trailer:
At the Bottom of the Garden
(1 season, 2025-)
~FOUND FOOTAGE
FAE HORROR
(horror and hidden messages as you dive into the things that lie beneath the surface of these fairy stories)
A deep dive into family history, storytelling, truth and fantasy, and the ways in which we construct our own personal narratives, thanks to the inspiration of a child's journal.
One of very few shows that have really properly given me the creeps. Takes a minute to really get into the Scary but oh boy when it gets there it REALLY gets in there.
I think the best possible experience of this one involves knowing as little as possible so I'm reluctant to give much more detail but trust me ok this is good shit
I think the best possible experience of this one involves knowing as little as possible so I'm reluctant to give much more detail but trust me ok this is good shit
listen to the trailer:
Archive 81
(3 seasons, 2016-2019)
FOUND FOOTAGE
WEIRD/HORROR
(for weird (meta)fiction that gradually builds, & creeps out towards you. each season brings something new, though equally strange and fascinating.)
Archive 81 is a found footage horror podcast about ritual, stories, and sound.
There's so much in this podcast that is just Really Really good - in terms of both technical use of the audio medium and writing/worldbuilding/characters.
I find myself Thinking about it v often. rotating it in my mind if you will.
Season 1 unfolds within an almost Frankenstein-esque series of embedded narrative frames: Melody Pendras was conducting an investigation into a strange building that seems to subtly (and not-so-subtly) defy physics itself. Recordings of her investigation are stored on cassette tapes, which archivist Dan Powell has been tasked with organising. Dan sent his own recordings to his friend Mark, shortly before going missing. "Archive 81", as we hear it, is itself a podcast made by Mark, as he goes through and tries to understand what happened to his friend.
From there the story expands and blossoms into something completely new and surreal, with shifts in format and setting each season that will continue to surprise and delight (if you're delighted by good horror as i am)
Season 1 unfolds within an almost Frankenstein-esque series of embedded narrative frames: Melody Pendras was conducting an investigation into a strange building that seems to subtly (and not-so-subtly) defy physics itself. Recordings of her investigation are stored on cassette tapes, which archivist Dan Powell has been tasked with organising. Dan sent his own recordings to his friend Mark, shortly before going missing. "Archive 81", as we hear it, is itself a podcast made by Mark, as he goes through and tries to understand what happened to his friend.
From there the story expands and blossoms into something completely new and surreal, with shifts in format and setting each season that will continue to surprise and delight (if you're delighted by good horror as i am)
listen to the s1 trailer:
The Secret of St Kilda
(1 season, 2021-)
SUPERNATURAL
HORROR/THRILLER
"No change without sacrifice."
(this one is fucked up. but like . really good. but fucked uppppp)
(this one is fucked up. but like . really good. but fucked uppppp)
In this supernatural thriller series, listeners will follow Lockie, a charismatic con man who escapes to St Kilda with the promise that this time he'll change his ways.
Unfortunately, the island and its unusual inhabitants have other ideas.
He seeks redemption and they seek a saviour, but you know what they say - no change without sacrifice.
I listened to most of this when it came out but missed the end somehow so when i went back to it more recently there was a lot that was very familiar but still so shocking & so so well executed.
this is maybe one of the most intense/confronting shows i've listened to just like psychologically. So watch out for that !! but it's good:)
listen to the trailer:
Eeler's Choice
(1 season, 2023-)
MARITIME / FANTASY
HORROR
(this one has giant scary magical eels that sing. + several in-universe folk songs that tie into the world & overall style really really well)
"No respect for the sea, for the living things in it, for what's owed. They're fishing in the eel breeding grounds now, the fools."
Eeler's Choice is a maritime horror fantasy podcast set in Eskmouth, a small coastal town whose economy has lived and died on the hunting of the Great Eels for generations. As demand for product has increased, so have the catches... but even the generosity of the sea has its limits, and all debts must come due.
Eeler's Choice is a maritime horror fantasy podcast set in Eskmouth, a small coastal town whose economy has lived and died on the hunting of the Great Eels for generations. As demand for product has increased, so have the catches... but even the generosity of the sea has its limits, and all debts must come due.
[my very cool and convincing review/recommendation][which i have not yet written]
listen to the trailer:
.
The Gospel of Haven
(1 season, 2025-)
GORY/WEIRD
RELIGIOUS HORROR
(haunting & thoughtful cult+body horror through an aroace lens. + lots of veeery squichy sounds)
The Gospel of Haven is a horror podcast exploring the intersection of faith and anatomy after the end of the world.
A cult has thrived inside the living body of the god they worship, But as their shelter starts to crumble, devotion won't be enough to keep them safe.
[my very cool and convincing review/recommendation][which i have not yet written]
listen to the trailer:
Not Quite Dead
(4 seasons, 2022-2025)
(GORY) HORROR
ROMANCE
"Live. Laugh. Bite."
(gay vampire romance but also. much more)
(gay vampire romance but also. much more)
Alfie is not quite dead, and he's going through some… changes.
As an A&E nurse, Alfie deals with horror everyday, but almost being killed by a walking corpse and being saved by a vampire takes things a bit far, even for him. The vampire is Casper. He's hundreds of years old, and hell-bent on finding out what's causing walking corpses to wander the streets of Alfie's hometown.
Now they've met, Alfie and Casper can't seem to leave each other alone, despite their best efforts. Alfie learns that the relationship between vampires and humans is more complicated than just predator and prey. Whatever Casper's misgivings about his own kind, and himself, Alfie is inexorably drawn closer and closer, in a heady, carnal blend of horror, hunger, love and lust.
Not Quite Dead is a (mostly) single narrator gory horror romance audio drama exploring themes of identity, sexuality and death.
As an A&E nurse, Alfie deals with horror everyday, but almost being killed by a walking corpse and being saved by a vampire takes things a bit far, even for him. The vampire is Casper. He's hundreds of years old, and hell-bent on finding out what's causing walking corpses to wander the streets of Alfie's hometown.
Now they've met, Alfie and Casper can't seem to leave each other alone, despite their best efforts. Alfie learns that the relationship between vampires and humans is more complicated than just predator and prey. Whatever Casper's misgivings about his own kind, and himself, Alfie is inexorably drawn closer and closer, in a heady, carnal blend of horror, hunger, love and lust.
Not Quite Dead is a (mostly) single narrator gory horror romance audio drama exploring themes of identity, sexuality and death.
"horny gay vampires" is the quickest way to describe this & it's convinced several people i know to listen so i see no particular reason to amend this. it's horny gay vampires.
it is ALSO however a really interesting partially nonlinear narrative (in the first season at least) & has the absoute coolest in-universe explanation for/version of vampirism that i have ever seen (or heard).
it is ALSO however a really interesting partially nonlinear narrative (in the first season at least) & has the absoute coolest in-universe explanation for/version of vampirism that i have ever seen (or heard).
listen to the trailer:
Ethics Town
(2 seasons, 2023-)
EXISTENTIAL /COSMIC
HORROR
(cool and weird and gives you lots of food for thought)
Ethics Town is a cosmic horror podcast about philosophical conundrums in a weird small town!
Using an emergency broadcast system he stumbles across, January Johnson, accompanied by his uninvited guest, reports on the misdeeds of his town's new mayor.
We're not going to answer the big questions for you, but we are going to dance around them in a fun and theatrical manner!
[my very cool and convincing review/recommendation][which i have not yet written]
listen to the trailer:
.
Remnants
(2 seasons, 2024-current)
DARK FANTASY
THRILLER
(a mysterious and poignant purgatory, with secret codes and messages even woven into the podcast itself)
When we die, the remnants of us return to the First and Last Place...
Remnants is a dark fantasy thriller audio drama following the Apprentice as he learns how to read remnants under the frustrating supervision of Sir. Remnants are seemingly innocuous objects - a broken pocket watch; a steel thimble; a silk scarf - but when the Apprentice looks closely, he sees how each one holds the remnants of someone's life story.
Each week the Apprentice reads a new remnant, following that person's journey beginning to end. When he's done, he must make a judgement; shelve or discard. But he doesn't know what the criteria is or what the consequences of such a judgement might be.
The more remnants the Apprentice reads, the more we begin to understand the magnitude of the task he has been set. And the more both we, and the Apprentice himself, wonder why it is him who has been chosen to do it.
With every week, a new mystery. With every new mystery, a terrible choice.
Remnants is a dark fantasy thriller audio drama following the Apprentice as he learns how to read remnants under the frustrating supervision of Sir. Remnants are seemingly innocuous objects - a broken pocket watch; a steel thimble; a silk scarf - but when the Apprentice looks closely, he sees how each one holds the remnants of someone's life story.
Each week the Apprentice reads a new remnant, following that person's journey beginning to end. When he's done, he must make a judgement; shelve or discard. But he doesn't know what the criteria is or what the consequences of such a judgement might be.
The more remnants the Apprentice reads, the more we begin to understand the magnitude of the task he has been set. And the more both we, and the Apprentice himself, wonder why it is him who has been chosen to do it.
With every week, a new mystery. With every new mystery, a terrible choice.
(starts crying before i can even get a word out)
ok. sorry about that. anyway.
Remnants is an incredibly beautiful series that feels both surreal and deeply human. It is written with such care and love and detail that it fully immerses you in each remnant's individual life as well as hooking you into the wider mystery that unfolds as the series continues. It's had a profound effect on me which I will not describe in detail for fear of getting far too vulnerable here on podcards dot neocities dot org :)
ok. sorry about that. anyway.
Remnants is an incredibly beautiful series that feels both surreal and deeply human. It is written with such care and love and detail that it fully immerses you in each remnant's individual life as well as hooking you into the wider mystery that unfolds as the series continues. It's had a profound effect on me which I will not describe in detail for fear of getting far too vulnerable here on podcards dot neocities dot org :)
listen to the trailer:
DERELICT/FATHOM
(FATHOM 2021-2022 DERELICT 2023-2025)
SCI-FI
HORROR
(INTENSE cinematic scifi horror. the first season especially haunts me)
Something has been found at the bottom of Earth's ocean. An ancient artifact that can only be described as a giant door, inset into the sea floor. It becomes known as the Vault. A gigantic enigma, buried and forgotten... nineteen thousand feet down.
To study the artifact, the galaxy's most powerful corporation, Maas-Dorian, has built a massive, self-contained, secret laboratory base surrounding it, named FATHOM. It's objective: unlock the secrets of the artifact and discover what it holds.
But some mysteries should remain buried. And some doors should never be opened...
The story of DERELICT begins with season one, FATHOM, a narrative podcast experience from award winning science fiction author J. Barton Mitchell, and produced by Night Rocket Productions.
[my very cool and convincing review/recommendation][which i have not yet written]
listen to the trailer for FATHOM:
