This is where the spooky podcast world really opens up. Once kids hit 10 or so, they’re ready for genuine chills: real stakes, darker themes, and stories that actually get under their skin. These shows deliver exactly that.
If you’re looking for something lighter, check out our list of spooky podcasts for little kids (ages 5–10) first.
The Scare Scale
- 🕷️ Properly Spooky: Real chills, for kids who specifically ask for scary.
- 💀 Full-On Scary: The real deal, for tweens and teens who want to feel genuinely creeped out.
The Witch in the Woods
🕷️ Properly Spooky · Ages 10+
Four kids dare each other to find the witch in the woods, and end up becoming her friends instead. From there, her animal familiars, a fastidious dog named Barnaby and a snarky cat named Grimalkin, tell them urban legends and pull them into a secret supernatural fight to save the world. It was written by an award-winning playwright, so the writing is genuinely sharp. The show’s own description asks whether you’re “brave enough to listen to this,” and it means it.
R.L. Stine’s Story Club
🕷️ Properly Spooky · Ages 10+
If your kid grew up on Goosebumps books, this is the logical next step. The creator himself is involved, leading listeners into strange and frightening territory through a host named Ivy. It’s classic R.L. Stine: clever, creepy, and always with a twist. For the kid who specifically wants to be scared.
Camp Redrum
💀 Full-On Scary · Ages 12+
A grumpy janitor named Eli is trapped at the abandoned Camp Redrum under mysterious circumstances. When a group of kids breaks in, Eli recruits their help with the promise of scary stories, all while scheming to escape eternity there. Dark humor, genuine dread, and a clever premise that plays with horror conventions.
Camp Monsters
🕷️ Properly Spooky · Ages 10+
Real campfire storytelling energy. Each episode digs into a legend from a different corner of North America: the thing that ran across the trail in the middle of the night, the creature glimpsed just beyond the flashlight. The production is atmospheric and immersive. Best listened to with headphones in the dark, or at least with a blanket nearby.
The Hollow
💀 Full-On Scary · Ages 12+
A modern retelling of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” for the story’s 200th anniversary. Three 6th graders at Sleepy Hollow Middle School stumble onto a real ghost story and find themselves on the trail of the Headless Horseman. Is he truly terrifying, or just misunderstood? For tweens who want their spooky with a little literary weight behind it.
Mina and Lucy’s Guide to Slaying Dracula
🕷️ Properly Spooky · Ages 10+
Best friends Mina and Lucy notice something strange about the new kid at school, and with the help of Dr. Van Helsing, they come face to face with Dracula himself. It’s classic horror source material adapted for kids, with two girl protagonists leading the charge. If your kid is at the stage where they want to feel genuinely unsettled, this is a great choice.
Of Fae and Fiends
🕷️ Properly Spooky · Ages 10+
Lizzie discovers a doorway to Faerie in the woods behind her family’s house, just as a goblin army is mobilizing. The show’s description puts it plainly: “a Faerie Tale with teeth, a place where monsters sometimes eat children, but the courageous can fight back.” Atmospheric and genuinely tense.
Monsters Among Us Junior
💀 Full-On Scary · Ages 13+
This one is different from the rest. Instead of fiction, it features kids and teens sharing their own first-hand accounts of paranormal experiences: ghosts, UFOs, Bigfoot, unexplained creatures. The “real witness” framing makes it legitimately unsettling in a way scripted shows can’t quite match. For the teenager who finds horror movies too fake.
Ghost Tour
🕷️ Properly Spooky · Ages 10+
Two ghost story enthusiasts explore the world of haunted tourism, interviewing local tour guides and ghost hunters about real (allegedly real?) haunted places. It’s part travelogue, part scary story, with the feel of actually being on a spooky walking tour at night. It might make a few adults look over their shoulder too.
Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids
🕷️ Properly Spooky · Ages 10+
Straightforward fiction horror for kids. The show is upfront about what it is: a fictional horror podcast designed to entertain and spook kids ages 8 and up. Expect short, punchy episodes that get to the scares quickly. For the kid who wants horror rather than mystery, with no ambiguity about it.
A quick note: every kid calibrates differently. When in doubt, listen to the first episode together before handing over the headphones. And honestly? A few of these are a lot of fun for parents too. 👻
Browse all of these shows in our podcast directory.
