I listen to a lot of podcasts while I'm driving. I enjoy a variety: history, D&D, culture, social issues, narrated stories. But my favorite, by far, are horror podcasts. And one of my absolute favorite horror podcasts is The Wrong Station.
Imagine you’re driving down a dark, lonely road late at night. To
keep yourself awake you turn on the radio and flip through the stations.
There’s some static, a couple old crooners. Then you come across a voice. The
narrator is warm, genial. He speaks directly to you as if you and he are old
friends. He wants to tell you a story. Music drifts in. A piano. Pleasant at
first. Perhaps a little melancholy. Perhaps a tad ominous.
Something isn’t
quite right. A subtle, but unmistakable dread drips into your gut. The
narrator continues and you slowly realize you’ve turned into, well, the wrong
station.
The Wrong Station draws from the same slow-burn horror of
classic radio programs such as “Quiet, Please” or “Lights Out”. It is like the
Twilight Zone, but with more body horror. Sometimes the full horror only dawns
on the at the end. Sometimes the exact nature of the horror is left mysterious
and only hinted at. But you know you have glimpsed a dark place and you cannot
fully shake off the cold whispers you have heard.
Music and sound effects are rare, so there is little to
distract you as the narrator reels you into deeper, darker waters. I would highly recommend The Wrong Station to
anyone who likes a good slow-build dread in their scary stories.
And if you're not sure where to start, one of my current favorite episodes is Classic Car. It gives you a good sense of the show's flavor.
You can find episodes at this website:
Episodes are also available on Apple Podcasts and anywhere where you can find podcasts.
Follow them on Twitter at: TheWrongStation
