Danny Robins is an award-winning writer and journalist. He is the creator of the hugely successful Uncanny podcast for BBC Sounds, which explores real-life ghost stories and is one of the most listened-to shows in the UK. Uncanny has now also been adapted into a major BBC 2 and BBC iPlayer TV series. Danny investigates more chilling cases in his book, Into the Uncanny.
Prior to Uncanny, Danny created the global phenomenon The Battersea Poltergeist, an 8-part podcast that combined drama and documentary to tell another real-life ghost story, starring Toby Jones and Dafne Keen. He also presented the podcast series Haunted and The Witch Farm.
Danny is an acclaimed playwright, and marked his West End debut with 2:22 – A Ghost Story which was nominated for 3 Olivier Awards. He has created and written various shows for TV and radio, including the Bafta-nominated hit series Young Dracula and The Cold Swedish Winter.
Hello, I’ve been a lover of ghost stories and all things spooky ever since I was a kid, so here’s my playlist of things to send a shiver through your ears and down your spine this Halloween – and one or two funny paranormal shows to help you recover from the shocks.
The Lovecraft Investigations
If you love spooky tension and want to be drawn into the realms of the occult, UFOs, witchcraft and strange folklore, this is the podcast for you. It’s drama, loosely based on the stories of HP Lovecraft, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s all real, as it follows two investigative journalists recording a podcast, investigating unsolved mysteries who are drawn into more than they bargained for and is so nicely acted it all feels very genuine. Start with Season 1 and work forwards as each series is a continuation of the previous. Trust me, you’ll be gripped.
Jim Harold’s Campfire
Jim is the OG of paranormal podcasting. He’s been going for years, delivering great real life ghost stories to his audience. I had him as a guest expert on my Uncanny USA series recently and he’s a really great guy with a fantastic mellifluous voice.
Archive 81
The ‘found footage’ format has been so popular in horror with films like The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and Host. This show does that for podcasts, featuring a central character who is trying to make sense of a creepy mystery via audio tapes he has been asked to restore. Netflix made a TV version of it, but this is the atmospheric original!
Loremen
The hosts of this pod are the excellently named James Shakeshaft and comedian and writer Alasdair Beckett-King. I’ve been on it a couple of times and it’s a nicely irreverent but informative exploration of folklore, legends and ghost stories with a succession of special guests. Use it as a pick-me-up after spooking yourself out on some of these other pods.
Weird in the Wade
I’m really proud of Natalie Doig who hosts Weird in the Wade. It all started life when she told a story about a haunted Poundstretcher shop in her home town Biggleswade at last year’s UncannyCon (the fan convention for my podcast Uncanny) and now it’s grown into a fully fledged hit series in itself, winning a gold award at the British Podcast Awards. This is grassroots podcasting at its best!
Ghost Huns
There’s something that attracts comedians to horror – just check out the success of Jordan Peele and this is another pod hosted by two comics – Suzie Preece and Hannah Byczkowski (who won the first UK series of Traitors). They read out ghost stories sent in by their listeners and it’s all pretty funny but still has its chills.
Real Life Ghost Stories
The title says it all – this is another great source of ordinary people’s potentially paranormal encounters. It started life as a husband and wife affair hosted by Emma and Dan, until Dan tragically passed away in the Summer of 2021. Since then Emma has continued their work, hosting it by herself, reading the stories sent in to her by their loyal listeners.