The Magnus Archives
The Magnus Archives, produced by Rusty Quill, is a long-form anthology podcast.
There are 5 seasons, with 40 episodes per season (plus some extra episodes, such as Q&As). Most episodes are somewhere between 18 and 30 minutes long.
The stories are written and narrated by Jonathan Sims, a well-known horror writer, performer, and games designer.
What It’s About
Narrator Jonathan Sims joins the Magnus Institute as Head Archivist. The Magnus Institute conducts research into strange incidents and the paranormal.
Jonathan has the unenviable task of trying to bring order to 200 years of case files. Many of the files only contain the original handwritten or typewritten statements, but not the details of any investigations. He wants to digitise as much as he can and is recording audio versions of the statements.
Each episode is a short horror story on its own. Jonathan reads the statements verbatim, then offers comments about them and details the investigations his own staff have undertaken with the case he’s recording.
As the series progresses, it becomes obvious that the cases are uncovering something deeper and darker.
The Black Tapes
The Black Tapes, created by Pacific Northwest Stories and Minnow Beats Whale, is a serialised docudrama of a journalist’s search for truth.
There are 2 seasons, with 12 episodes per season. Most episodes are between 30 and 40 minutes long.
Lori Henry voices the narrator, Alex Reagan.
What It’s About
Alex Reagan is a journalist and she tells the story in a spoken journal format.
In the first episode, Alex learns about Dr Richard Strand, a ghost hunter who doesn’t believe in ghosts. She and her producer fly to Chicago to meet with him but they’re told he’s too busy.
Instead, she interviews a medium and ends up accompanying the medium and her team as they look for poltergeists in a building built where a mental hospital used to stand.
She eventually meets Dr Richard Strand and learns about his collection of mysterious black VHS tapes.
Alice Isn’t Dead
Alice Isn’t Dead, written by Joseph Fink, is a serialised horror drama that is now also a novel.
There are 3 parts, with 10 chapters in each part (plus some extra shorts). Most episodes are about 20 minutes long.
Jasika Nicole voices the narrator, Keisha.
What It’s About
Keisha has become a long-haul truck driver as a way to cope with the loss of her wife, Alice.
Alice disappeared and was declared dead when the investigation into her disappearance turned up no clues or any hints at what might have happened to her. Keisha doesn’t believe Alice is truly dead and is constantly looking for her on her travels.
The story starts with Keisha telling us this is not a story, but a road trip. She’s at a diner and she sees a man she nicknames the Thistle Man murder another truck driver. The Thistle Man keeps turning up in Keisha’s life after that.
The story is told by her narrating her travels and talking to Alice, saying things she wants to say to her when she finds her.
Knifepoint Horror
Knifepoint Horror, written and produced by Soren Narnia, began in 2010 and is a podcast of self-contained, chilling, psychological short horror stories.
Episodes run for anywhere between 25 minutes and 1 hour 30 minutes.
A lot of different people narrate the stories.
What It’s About
As an example, the latest 3 episodes at the time of this article are as follows.
- In N.K., a documentary filmmaker discusses his latest film, the strange happenings that led to its making, and the people involved in making it.
- In pride, a rock group wishes they could have a second chance at what turned out to be their final performance.
- In The Smoke Child, a presenter at a talk tells a story about a couple who found a strange boy in a lake.
Bridgewater
Bridgewater, produced by Grim &b Mild, is a serialised drama.
There are 10 episodes, most between 20 and 30 minutes long.
Misha Collins voices the main character, Jeremy Bradshaw.
What It’s About
Jeremy Bradshaw is a professor of folklore. His father, a police officer, disappeared in 1980 in an area referred to as the Bridgewater Triangle. Rumours are that a Satanic cult was involved.
Forty years after the disappearance, Bradshaw’s father’s police badge is found in the woods near where he was last seen. Bradshaw is drawn into investigating what happened to his father.
Bradshaw doesn’t believe in the paranormal but as his investigations proceed, he starts to question his beliefs. There may be something more dark and unexplainable than a Satanic cult involved.
The Lovecraft Investigations
The Lovecraft Investigations, produced by the BBC, is a trilogy horror drama inspired by HP Lovecraft.
Season 1 has 10 episodes, Season 2 has 9 episodes, and Season 3 has 8 episodes. There are also bonus episodes in each season. Episodes are anywhere from 18 minutes to 30 minutes long.
What It’s About
Matthew Heawood and Kennedy Fisher are two podcasters investigating mysterious stories.
The three seasons interweave and thread into each other to form a huge conspiracy.
In the first story, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, a young man disappears from a locked room in an asylum.
In the second story, The Whisperer in the Darkness, another man disappears and the podcasters’ investigation uncovers witchcraft, the occult and secret government operations.
In the third story, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, something’s coming from the water and Kennedy discovers a possible family connection to the conspiracy.
