It doesn’t need to be said again, but this Halloween is certainly going to be different from any other year.

With COVID-19 making regular activities like Trick-or-Treating and going to parties hard to do, it doesn’t feel like the spooky season that we are used to. So, I am here to provide you with some media, specifically internet-based content, to put you in the Halloween mood.

For this, I am going to focus on online media, like YouTube channels and podcasts, rather than movies or T.V., since that’s already been talked about to death. 

Personally, I absolutely love the true crime content on sites like YouTube. It’s an absolute gold mine for scary videos. One of my favorite channels that focuses on internet oddities is Nexpo, formally known as Nightmare Expo. He conveys a variety of different content, with a focus on internet-based horror. I recommend his series “Disturbing Things From Around the Internet,” which is a series of videos that catalogs just what the title says. The actual things featured range from videos of car chases and disasters to potentially sinister users on any number of sites. 

Another YouTube channel that fulfills my need for scary content is the channel ReignBot. The runner of this channel makes primarily true crime videos, with the occasional step into online ARG’s (alternate reality games: basically, they’re horror stories told through the internet, sometimes over multiple sites). Her (ReignBot) series “Stories from our Disturbing World” focuses on real-life horror, with a number of these stories being based online. 

Besides YouTube, there are also numerous horror based podcasts. From story based to true crime, you can find pretty much any piece of horror content genre through podcasts. 

If you want something that tells a story, I recommend Welcome to Night Vale, which is the fictional radio show for the town of Night Vale. While not outright horror, this town is incredibly eerie, with odd time structures and weird beasts that the townspeople consider normal. Fair warning, this podcast has over 170 episodes, so to listen to all of it is quite the commitment, but here is a link to a list of the first episodes that you can listen to for an introduction. 

If you want a true crime podcast, I recommend the podcast Last Podcast on the Left, which is a podcast in which each episode focuses on a different serial killer or crime case. I recommend the three episodes they did on serial killer Ed Gein, who is the inspiration for a number of famous horror characters. 

Basically, if you want a new way to get into the Halloween mood, these are all jumping off points for you. Remember to stay safe and socially distanced, and don’t forget your mask. Sometimes delving into horror in the silence of your empty house is scarier than a haunted house. Go have fun watching and listening, and Happy Halloween!