If you’ve found yourself obsessively refreshing your podcast app hoping for another season of The Black Tapes, frantically googling whether Dr. Richard Strand is a real person (spoiler: he’s not, but we can dream), or lying awake at night wondering what really happened in that final, maddeningly ambiguous episode, then you know the specific brand of supernatural addiction that Paul Bae and Terry Miles created with their masterful audio fiction series.
The Black Tapes perfected the art of the paranormal investigative podcast, blending documentary-style storytelling with genuine scares, mysterious mythology, and enough unresolved plot threads to fuel a thousand Reddit theories. While we may never get the answers we desperately crave about Alex Reagan’s fate or the true nature of those haunting recordings, the good news is that the podcast landscape is rich with similarly spine-tingling, reality-blurring audio dramas that will scratch that same supernatural itch. These shows capture that perfect storm of journalistic investigation, creeping dread, and the delicious uncertainty of never quite knowing where fiction ends and reality begin. Here are some podcasts that are like “The Black Tapes”.
Rabbits
After Carly Parker’s friend Yumiko disappears under strange circumstances, Carly’s investigation draws her into an ancient enigmatic game called Rabbits. She gradually realizes that Rabbits transcends mere entertainment and may hold the crucial knowledge needed for humanity’s survival and the preservation of the Universe itself.
The Dead Letter Office of Somewhere, Ohio
The Dead Letter Office of Somewhere, Ohio is a midwest horror-comedy podcast following Conway, Wren, and colleagues as they catalog bizarre lost mail. Created by a nonbinary creator inspired by Kentucky Route Zero and Twin Peaks, each episode features two connected short stories that evolve from anthology into something deeper.
TANIS
Hosted by Nic Silver and produced by the Public Radio Alliance, Tanis is a bi-weekly serialized docudrama exploring the myth of Tanis. The show examines truth, conspiracy, and information while blurring the boundaries between science and fiction in its mysterious narrative.
The Town Whispers
The Town Whispers presents narrative horror tales hidden within The Fort, a fog-shrouded town where Eldritch Terror and Folk Horrors converge. The podcast explores stories concealed behind mist, trees, and rain, warning listeners they may have taken a wrong turn into shadows emerging from deep underground wells.
The Silt Verses
Horror/fantasy serial following Carpenter and Faulkner, worshippers of a forbidden god, as they journey along their deity’s black river seeking revelations. Their pilgrimage leads to police pursuit and encounters with strange gods inhabiting remote territories.
King Falls AM
King Falls AM follows a remote mountain town’s late-night AM radio program and the supernatural, strange events affecting its residents. Episodes release on the 1st and 15th of each month, beginning with Sammy’s inaugural broadcast on May 1st, 2015.
Unknown 9: Out of Sight
Urban explorer Blake Elrich and producer Lazari travel in an RV investigating inexplicable occurrences. They suspect someone is guiding them to each case, and when a mysterious figure begins terrorizing communities, they must race to stop a terrifying force from emerging.
The White Vault
The White Vault follows the documented experiences of a repair crew dispatched to Outpost Fristed in Svalbard’s frozen wilderness, revealing what lurks beneath the ice. This Fool and Scholar production targets mature listeners through its audio drama format.
The Lovecraft Investigations
An exploration of witchcraft, supernatural practices, and covert governmental activities inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s work.
The Battersea Poltergeist
Danny Robins presents a paranormal cold case combining drama and documentary elements, featuring Dafne Keen and Toby Jones in the true account of one of Britain’s most unusual hauntings.
Limetown
American Public Radio reporter Lia Haddock investigates the decade-old mystery of over three hundred people who vanished from a Tennessee town without a trace, seeking to answer “What happened to the people of Limetown?”
Video Palace
When video collector Mark Cambria watches a strange VHS tape, he begins speaking an unknown language in his sleep. Mark and girlfriend Tamra investigate the tape’s origins, uncovering a conspiracy surrounding a legendary video store with sinister purposes. Created by Nick Braccia and Mike Monello, starring Chase Williamson and Devin Sidell.
Bridgewater
Folklore professor Jeremy Bradshaw abandons his routine to solve a mystery involving a rediscovered relic from his past. He questions whether the past can be rewritten in this supernatural audio thriller starring Misha Collins, Melissa Ponzio, and Alan Tudyk.
Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature
Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature is a second-year classics course examining the ancient Anterran Civilization through recently discovered Pacific Ocean ruins. The course analyzes this earliest known human society’s literature, religion, and philosophy from archeological evidence.
Badlands Cola
Badlands Cola is a cinematic mystery/horror audio drama featuring eldritch fossils, tense romantic tension, and nightmarish liminal spaces. Set in a desert town filled with peculiar fossils and residents, the story follows a cynical private investigator and a struggling radio DJ as they uncover a cult’s buried history before it can resurge.
Faerie
Faerie follows Ryan Bailey, who accidentally saves a man and discovers a secret world of mythological faeries. This Parcast original series, available exclusively on Spotify, follows Ryan as she investigates these mysterious creatures and the covert agency protecting them.
The Endless Elsewhere Podcast
After paranormal radio host Lindsay Mallyn receives increasingly bizarre calls, she creates an investigative podcast to explore the mysteries. She partners with JP Leck, a disgraced archivist and keeper of obscure knowledge, as they uncover dark secrets, explore forbidden territories, and confront supernatural beings.
Archive 81
Archive 81 is a fictional podcast exploring horror, urban environments, and the unconscious mind.
Ostium Podcast
Ostium is a fictional podcast following a man who finds a hidden town containing numerous doors that transport him to bizarre and fascinating locations.
Blackwood
Five years ago, Molly Weaver, Bryan Anderson, and Nathan Howell started investigating local monster legend The Blackwood Bugman. Their podcast investigation spiraled when they discovered the legends might be real, people were disappearing, and someone was watching them to protect deadly secrets. Their recordings have now been released.
Old Gods of Appalachia
In central Appalachian mountains, ancient hungry beings slumber beneath the hills. Old Gods of Appalachia is a horror-anthology podcast set in an alternate Appalachia where mining too deep was humanity’s first fatal mistake, awakening dark forces that have existed since before people knew these lands.
The Sheridan Tapes
In 2018, renowned horror author Anna Sheridan vanished, leaving only a collection of enigmatic cassette recordings. Detective Sam Bailey investigates Anna Sheridan’s disappearance using her recorded accounts of seemingly impossible experiences, uncovering a mystery more bizarre and threatening than initially apparent.
Tiny Terrors
Cole, Mark, and D present stories from the Tiny Terrors Offline Scary Story Exchange. As they delve into this forgotten world of horror pen pals, they discover that sharing stories comes with a price, feeding unseen entities lurking in the darkness.
The Magnus Archives
The Magnus Archives is a weekly horror fiction podcast following Jonathan Sims as he investigates the esoteric archives of the Magnus Institute. This award-winning series blends supernatural horror with mystery, tragedy, and romance, becoming the world’s most popular horror podcast. Check out the best episodes of The Magnus Archives.
NORA
NORA investigates strange events blurring perception and reality, involving possible organized crime, paranormal activity, or madness. These unexplained recordings were anonymously sent and are shared as received, with no confirmed explanation from their creator.
The Harrowing of Minerva Damson
In March 1915 France, a knight of the Order of Joan flees a creature born from wartime bloodshed and dark magic. This member of a legendary monster-hunting sisterhood runs strategically as part of a larger plan, facing new supernatural threats emerging from the escalating war.
Malevolent
Arkham Private Investigator Arthur Lester awakens blind and memory-less, guided only by a mysterious voice through darkness. As cosmic horrors emerge, Arthur questions whether this entity truly helps him or harbors malevolent intentions in this supernatural mystery.
Olive Hill
In 2001, two girls from opposite sides of town simultaneously walked into the Daniel Boone National Forest in the middle of the night. A journalist who knew them returns to Olive Hill to investigate what occurred that evening.