With Halloween creeping up, these five chilling audio dramas will get middle schoolers in the mood for some frightful fun. The haunting stories from the past, present, and future tilt toward the supernatural and paranormal.

Due to the suspense and storytelling in these shows, most are recommended for middle school ears and up—though younger students who love R.L. Stine and UFOs could be ready for Stine’s Story Club or Unspookable.

Research shows that listening to mysteries and scary stories helps kids cope with difficult situations in a safe context, thereby building resilience, control, and self-confidence.

If you work with younger ears, have no fear. Follow #kidslistensweeps for more Halloween cheer.

Kidcasts: Haunting Mysteries Playlist

R.L.Stine’s Story Club! by GoKidGo
This podcast exists because, according to Stine, you need a good scare every day! In each episode, the narrator, Modern Family’s Ariel Winter, unlocks the hidden vault of Goosebumps tales. Like the chapter books, these podcast episodes contain haunting mysteries and are perfect for an upper elementary and middle school audience. The short, standalone episodes with clever, up-to-date topics, such as “escape rooms,” can hold kids’ attention for a quick errand, commute, or class break. The show’s writer, best-selling children’s author Patrick Carman, knows his audience and delivers tried-and-true stories with outstanding storytelling.

Unspookable by Soundsington Media
Do your students whisper gleefully about Ouija Boards, Bloody Mary, or the Chupacabra? If so, direct them to Unspookable, where they can learn more about these myths, legends, and paranormal activities with a delightful fear factor. Host Elise Parisian narrates 30 episodes choc-full of haunting mysteries. With topics from Slender Man to ghost ships, spiders to the Kraken, the show delivers irresistible information about haunting phenomena. A new season will be released soon.

Of Fae and Fiends by Fred Greenhalgh
Ten-year-old Lizzie discovers a doorway in the Maine woods and finds that it leads to the magical realm of Faerie. But all is not well there: Lizzie discovers her great uncle is out to conquer not only the Fae universe, but also her world. She must stop her great uncle and sets out to do so with the help of a talking goat and a sword-fighting weasel. More than 30 voice actors playing unicorns, dragons, goblins, and other creatures, plus atmospheric audio, bring this dark fairy tale to life. Students drawn to fantasy games and magical world stories will want to add this to their podcast playlist. Audio storyteller Fred Greenhalgh wrote the show and its companion book.

The Hollow by Gen-Z Media
This engaging audio drama celebrates the 200th anniversary of Washington Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The setup: Three sixth-graders at Sleepy Hollow Middle School worry that the school is haunted by the Headless Horseman. Supreme storytelling from Gen-Z Media is enhanced by dramatic sound effects and music. Looking for more engaging narratives? Try Peabody award-winning podcast The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel next.

Mackaroy Uncovered by ABC Radio
In a remote Australian town, Mitch and Tang, two 14-year-olds who host a show investigating conspiracy theories, want to know why the whole town’s internet goes down each night. The investigation is a bit dull—until they get a mysterious call telling them to “follow the data,” leading them to an abandoned mansion that’s draining the town’s power. This eight-part mystery adventure series by ABC Radio is voiced by kid actors. As the story unfolds, suspenseful music and sound design bring a sense of urgency to each discovery. Kids will not only binge-listen to this show, they’ll want more stories like it—so be ready with the conspiracy theory read-alikes!