Scary Stories

By Verity Clayton

Society & Culture Philosophy Social Sciences

What's Scary Stories about?

Not your usual urban legends podcast. Scary Stories is an atmospheric exploration of the psychology of fear told through those classic stories that happened to a friend of a friend. Say a fond farewell to folklore because these are the stories we hope aren't true ...

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Scary Stories episodes:

01.28.2021
Et Maintenant Dors, Ma Mignonne
Hypnosis is a dark art. Under its spell, we become like puppets at the hands of the sinister Svengali. But sometimes, those things that we are scared of can be far more unsettling than even we first realised. *** More about Hypnosis Facebook...
08.05.2020
Home Sweet Home
Our homes are meant to be a safe place of refuge. But despite all we do to protect them, houses are not always as secure as we like to think. And often they are haunted by more than just ghosts. *** Episode...
07.09.2020
Malignant Enemies and Cheerful Company
Doppelgängers have long been a mainstay of folklore, manifesting as ghostly apparitions or demonic doubles. But we should take care, because it’s not as easy as we think to identify who exactly is the monster. h/t to Hope Clayton *** Episode page Transcript Facebook group Twitter
06.24.2020
The World's Greatest Lie
It is a natural human tendency to search for control in an unpredictable world. But sometimes the desire for control can consume us until we become a slave to it, and even pay for it with our lives. *** Episode page Transcript Facebook group Twitter
05.27.2020
The Wellsprings of Human Violence
Cultures around the world often express emotions differently but they share core feelings nonetheless. They are important for processing our experiences of the world, and even the ones which we shy from, emotions like fear, might just save our lives. *** Episode...
05.13.2020
Looking to Someone to Satisfy
In a world of social distancing and rolling lockdowns, loneliness has come to be the norm. But its been placing its mark on us and our society for far longer, and the effects have been terrifying. *** Episode page Transcript Facebook group Twitter
04.29.2020
What is Out of Sight Disturbs
Since humans have begun communicating with one another, we have also sought ways to use that communication to hide our secrets. Some secrets are ours to keep private, but there are others, so dark and dangerous, we have no other...
04.22.2020
Earth Day Session Revisit: Catastrophe!
Marking the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, revisit Scary Stories Session 22: Catastrophe! The Illusive Host offers a fresh introduction to this fear for our changing times. If you find yourself endlessly worried about the world and our natural environment,...
04.15.2020
Behold, Thy Lord Will Come With Might
Belief in God seems to be a natural inclination, and it has marked human civilisation from its earliest days. But if we consider the horrors committed in the name of God, perhaps we should offer fear instead of reverence. *** Episode page Transcript Facebook...
04.01.2020
Escaping by the Steps of Unknown Staircases
The human face is said to be the key to our soul. We put stock in our ability not just to recognise faces but to read them. But what if no one was recognisable? What if everyone looked like a...
03.19.2020
This is Not a Drill (Special Session)
Epidemics scare us, pandemics even moreso. But when the world is gripped by one and all we have at our disposal is a voice, perhaps, just this once, we should use it to spread beauty instead of fear *** Episode page Transcript Facebook group Twitter Instagram
03.12.2020
Every Depth of Good and Ill
We all love a good mystery. Like puzzles, they get our brains working. But are they as much fun when real lives are at stake? *** Episode page Transcript Facebook group Twitter Instagram
02.27.2020
The Starting Point of All Achievements
Desire is an integral part of the human experience. Our wants not only shape our pursuits but define who we are as people. They also go hand in hand with jealousy and envy. But perhaps there’s something much worse to...
02.13.2020
Let Me Count The Ways
Romantic love is at the heart of swathes of literature, drama and poetry. It is an ideal we hope to one day attain. But romance might not be as beautiful as we think after all. *** Episode page Transcript Facebook group Twitter Instagram
01.30.2020
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Witches have been transformed into caricatures of the old crone or the beautiful seductress, but once upon a time the figure of the witch commanded huge fear. Are we right to have lost this fear, or are we laying ourselves...
01.16.2020
Looking for Someone to Devour
While spirit possession can seem like a superstitious throwback to a bygone era, it is an ever increasing phenomenon in the modern world. If you believe in possession, it is a terrifying prospect. It shows that evil is alive and...
01.02.2020
Made-up Horrors (1 Year Anniversary Special)
Scary stories are as old as history. They have permeated every culture and to this day we happily regale each other with tales of torment and horror on darkened nights. But what if these stories are telling us something important?...
12.19.2019
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. That holiday of good cheer and sweet kisses under mistletoe, when we should all be gloriously happy. So why aren’t we? Because Christmas is a lot darker than you think. *** Episode page Facebook group Twitter Instagram
12.05.2019
The Gift of Prophecy
Though we live in the present, humans are preoccupied with their future. It is uncertain and we find that deeply unsettling, so we look for any means to try to control it. But if we could really see into our...
11.21.2019
A Continual Rustling
Arachnophobia and entomophobia are two of the most common fears out there. For even the most steeliest of us, arthropods tend to induce a rather unique response. But what is it about our miniature neighbours that we find so disconcerting,...
11.07.2019
Holding a Glass of Kool-Aid
The fear of cults was particular to the 20th century. They were seen as dangerous groups that spirited away our youth and transformed them into murderous criminals. But we should take a moment and ask ourselves whether the threat of...
10.31.2019
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!
Monsters are an intrinsic part of the human imagination. We fear them instinctively as children and then indulge in them as adults. They can both fascinate and horrify us and at the same time offer amusement. But when our Halloween...
10.23.2019
Dead and Buried
There was once a time when being buried alive was a cause of rather more serious concern. But with the advent of modern science and a better understanding of human anatomy, there is nothing for us to be scared about...
10.09.2019
Catastrophe!
It seems like every year there is a new prediction about the impending apocalypse. We’ve lived through Y2K and the end of the Mayan Calendar, but humans have been predicting the end times for thousands of years. But there is...
09.25.2019
Indistinguishable From Magic
We live in a futuristic world. Our workplaces, our houses and our lives are dominated by the appliances and gadgets with which we fill them. But maybe we should be more cautious about the technology we use, before it takes...
09.11.2019
Through the Keyhole
In a world of ever increasing digital data, our privacy is paramount to us. We know very clearly what parts of our lives are for public consumption and what parts are strictly private. But what happens when that line is...
08.28.2019
The Call of the Void
What is it about heights that can have such a dizzying effect on us, and send us into a slow panic. Perhaps it is the fear of falling into a known end, the fear of the void just below our...
08.14.2019
Methinks I See Thee, Now
It is the root of all our fears. The heart of the human condition. The knowledge of our own death shapes us from our youngest ages. But is our mortality inescapable, or, like so many of our ills, can it...
07.31.2019
A Man of Wealth and Taste
Call him what you will, by any of his myriad names, the Devil still inspires fear in an increasingly secular world. And convince yourself as you might that he does not exist, part of you is not sure you really...
07.17.2019
The Glint of Light on Broken Glass
Since time immemorial, humans have marvelled at the moon in the night sky. We made it our mission to reach it, to step on it, and in doing so uncover its secrets. And yet the moon still has some mysteries...
07.03.2019
The Big Blue
Water can be soothing and comforting. It is easy to drift away in it and leave the world above the surface behind. But in a flash it can turn from something that embraces you into something that drags you to...
06.19.2019
In the Eye of the Beholder
Beauty is not something we typically associate with being scared. It is alluring and aesthetically pleasing, but in many ways it can also be dangerous. And perhaps the scariest thing of all, is that beauty leads us willingly into peril...
06.05.2019
Unlucky for Some
Numerology has long been part of our every day superstitions. And while we think of numbers as objective, in actuality we often attach to them special meaning. Perhaps we use our lucky number for the lottery, or maybe we avoid...
05.22.2019
The Killing Joke
We have all become accustomed to the grim visage of the distorted and subverted clowns of our childhood. Films and books have long traded on our fear of that painted face, and have spawned one of the most common phobias....
05.08.2019
Forms of Fright
Ghosts can seem like a relic to a quaint past, a past where folklore was more than mere tales and hauntings were all too commonplace. And yet in a world where secularisation and atheism are ever increasing, curiously so is...
04.24.2019
If I Die Before I Wake
Every night we lay down our heads, close our eyes and allow ourselves to slip into unconsciousness. And in doing so, every night we are unthinkingly putting ourselves at the mercy of our surroundings. Because monsters, both real and imagined,...
04.10.2019
Based on a True Story
We live in, what can often seem to be, a relentlessly frightening world, where we are inundated with the worst crimes in our society by a 24 hour news cycle. And so, it would be natural to think that we...
03.28.2019
Like a Deer in Headlights
We have long needed our fight or flight instinct for survival. But in a world where survival has never been easier, this internal mechanism is somewhat unnecessary. And, instead, it simply paralyses us with anxiety, where we neither run nor...
03.14.2019
A Luxury the Wealthy Can Afford
It is a popular adage that trust takes a lifetime to build and only a moment to break. But if we are being honest, we often give our trust willingly at a moment’s notice. Every time we step onto a...
02.28.2019
Behind Every Great Man
When we think of the traditional roles that women have inhabited, we think of them as mothers and caregivers or as ingenues or temptresses. And while we may try to steady our nerves as we walk past a large group...
02.14.2019
The Look of Love
Love has been celebrated throughout human culture. From poetry and literature to heartfelt ballads and romantic comedies, we are obsessed with that first flush of romance. But at its core, the only difference between being in love and being scared...
01.31.2019
Afraid of the Dark
Humans have an instinctive fear of the dark. For good reason too, because the world quite literally looks and feels like a different place with the lights out. But the dark hides our own secrets as much as it does...
01.16.2019
When in the World
The experience of time passing is integral to our understanding of the world around us. So when something appears to defy our ability to locate it in a particular time and place, humans will often feel a deep sense of...

What's Scary Stories about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Scary Stories episodes:

Et Maintenant Dors, Ma Mignonne

Home Sweet Home

Malignant Enemies and Cheerful Company

The World's Greatest Lie

The Wellsprings of Human Violence

Looking to Someone to Satisfy

What is Out of Sight Disturbs

Earth Day Session Revisit: Catastrophe!

Behold, Thy Lord Will Come With Might

Escaping by the Steps of Unknown Staircases

This is Not a Drill (Special Session)

Every Depth of Good and Ill

The Starting Point of All Achievements

Let Me Count The Ways

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Looking for Someone to Devour

Made-up Horrors (1 Year Anniversary Special)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

The Gift of Prophecy

A Continual Rustling

Holding a Glass of Kool-Aid

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Dead and Buried

Catastrophe!

Indistinguishable From Magic

Through the Keyhole

The Call of the Void

Methinks I See Thee, Now

A Man of Wealth and Taste

The Glint of Light on Broken Glass

The Big Blue

In the Eye of the Beholder

Unlucky for Some

The Killing Joke

Forms of Fright

If I Die Before I Wake

Based on a True Story

Like a Deer in Headlights

A Luxury the Wealthy Can Afford

Behind Every Great Man

The Look of Love

Afraid of the Dark

When in the World