The Big Listen ended production in May 2018. While this site is no longer updated, all the content remains available for archive purposes.
Hey, pals! When Snap Judgment host Glynn Washington was a kid, stooped strangers used to visit to his grandmother’s house. They were destitute and distraught. And they came to Washington’s granny’s house for help.
Sometimes, Washington’s granny could help them. She’d sort of wave her arm and they felt anew. But other times she’d tell the visitor there was nothing she could do. The person would plead with her for assistance. And it was Washington’s job to lead them out of the house. His supernatural grandmother couldn’t lift their particular curse.
This little nugget from Washington’s life is just one of many otherworldly experiences the storyteller supreme has collected over the years. Washington calls himself the biggest skeptic around, but he also acknowledges that there are many things that have happened in his life he can’t explain.
So it makes sense that with Halloween on the horizon, Washington and his team at Snap Judgment would compile some of their favorite true-life scary stories for a new series called Spooked. The tales are truly gripping. One that will likely chill your bones is “A Friend In The Forest.” Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Tell Me More Halloweeny Stuff To Check Out!
- Lore — In 2015, Aaron Mahnke took the leftover guts of creepy stories he had been writing and turned them into a podcast. Since then, the show has become a smash hit with its unsettling and macabre true-life historical tales. The TV version recently debuted on Amazon Prime Video and the book series, “The World of Lore,” is out now. Mahnke is now doing spooky from all sides.
- The No Sleep Podcast — Years ago, fans of horror stories started a forum on Reddit called “Nosleep.” Redditors contributed original scary stories and discussed them online. Then someone suggested turning them into audio stories and The No Sleep Podcast was born. None of the stories are real, but they do push against the edges of reality.
- Old time radio dramas — During the Golden Age of Radio (before television), there were dozens of spooky radio dramas — Lights Out, Suspense, Inner Sanctum, the list goes on. They featured the most famous actors of the day including Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, even Judy Garland. Because the shows were written for the ear, there’s something more unsettling about their spookiness. And thanks to podcasting, you can listen to hundreds of creepy vintage episodes on your digital devices. Relic Radio and Radio Horror Hosts are good places to start.
- Very attractive listener recommendations: The Black Tapes, Tanis and Weird Medicine
Call Me!
Do you have a podcast recommendation you’d like to share with us? We want to hear it! Give us a jingle on the Pod Line at 202-885-POD1 and leave a message. Then we’ll put you on the radio and you’ll never again get an apple or a toothbrush when you’re trick-or-treating!
Thanks for reading, pals! ‘Til next time…keep listening, America.
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