Two of my favorite things are spooky season and podcasts for the classroom! Okay, okay, there’s a lot more on that list above podcasts for the classroom, but if we are talking about the benefits of mixed media in the ELA classroom – podcasts can be a wonderful thing. Well, imagine a world where you can combine the two for an ultimate lesson plan – Halloween podcasts. You don’t have to use much imagination really, because fortunately they exist in a wide range of options.
Lucky for you, you don’t have to search high and low for suitable podcasts for middle schoolers because this post shares 11 well-loved podcasts with many episodes that can work for your students.
Creepy or spooky podcasts are a great way to do so much in middle school ELA. You can…
- introduce suspense,
- kick off a podcast unit where students create their own,
- wrap up a dystopian/thriller unit,
- improve listening skills
- or even to tie in skills such as symbolism, figurative language, characterization, and so much more!
Halloween podcasts for middle schoolers are where it’s at!
Before we jump into my favorite recommendations, feel free to grab a free set of spooky podcast BINGO cards. These cards can be used with any episode and provide a fun purpose for listening without requiring extra work.
Without further ado… check out these spooky podcasts for middle schoolers!
The Creeping Hour
These five episodes are told by a group of three friends, who declare themselves Creeps after hearing too many creepy stories that they now tell their own. Each 15- to 20-minute episode stands alone and features a chilling tale that 4th-6th graders gobble up.
The episodes start with a hook about the story to come and then it slowly unfolds in a spooky but not very scary way! Because some of the stories can seem cheesy to older audiences, grade 4-6 students are the ideal group!
While these are not technically Halloween podcasts, these terrifying tales make great fillers all year round! Use these in the classroom with this set of listening sheets, comprehension questions, and creative writing prompts.
The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel
This award-winning scripted serial mystery voiced by a cast of kid characters has been loved by thousands of middle schoolers across the world for the past few years.
Each episode is about 20 minutes long and features another adventure as Mars and his friends get closer to finding two friends who are missing. The ideal audience is 5th graders up to younger 8th graders.
There are three seasons with 10 episodes each, which means teachers have to be a bit more strategic with incorporating them into class. But they are definitely worth it! These are a great addition to a homeroom/advisory period throughout the fall.
The Hollow
This modern-day podcast is a great follow-up to Washington Irving’s classic “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” so it’s a great way to wrap up or even extend the story as a Halloween podcast pick!
While the story across the eight episodes of this original story contains language that can be quite difficult for many middle schoolers, the podcast is great for 6th-8th grade. Episodes range from 9 to 16 minutes, with the final episode clocking in at 22 minutes, including the wrap-up for credits.
And if you haven’t read Irving’s classic in class, the podcast also features a bonus five-part reading of the original legend. This could be the perfect Halloween podcast series to include for middle schoolers!
While listening to The Hollow, your upper elementary or middle school students can explore literary elements, enjoy coloring sheets while they listen, and refresh their vocabulary skills with this resource that’s no prep, just pure enjoyment!
Full Body Chills
These standalone scary stories are perfect if you’re just looking for one or two episodes to use as Halloween podcasts for the classroom! As the title implies, these are stories meant to creep you out enough to give you the chills.
Episodes range from 10-20 minutes and tell a wide variety of stories that are supposedly ‘true’ stories. I recommend previewing episodes before playing them for your class since not all stories are ideal for all students.
Need a recommendation? Here are two great options:
- “Why I Stopped Babysitting” – Tells the story of a teen’s last experience babysitting for a new family. With a few twists and turns, the story ends with a creepy phone call and lots of unanswered questions. This is also a good podcast for the classroom to talk about good decision-making!
- “My Art Tells the Future” – Tells the story of a young man whose passion for pottery is encouraged by his family from a young age. The twist is that his art might do more than expected by predicting deaths. The final moments of the story require a bit of inference to understand but no more than students would use for a classic Shirley Jackson or Roald Dahl story!
These episodes are a great way to kick off your own scary story-writing session. You can highlight that all of the stories, across six seasons, are those submitted by amateur writers and then edited and produced into a podcast.
Disclaimer: Episodes may mention mature topics such as suicide, alcohol/drinking, and sex. I strongly recommend previewing before playing!
Lore
Aaron Mencke has such a phenomenal narrating voice, which makes these episodes lovely (despite some of the spookier subjects)!
Episodes are about 20 minutes in length and, based on subject matter, are recommended for 8th grade and up.
If you’re looking for recommendations, Unboxed (featuring Robert the creepy doll) is a popular one as is A Devil on the Roof (about 25 mins).
For this one, I’d recommend sending out permission slips if you live in a religious community that may be sensitive to such topics.
The Run
Technically not a podcast, this fictional series on ReadWorks contains seven passages. But there is an audio version of every passage, and students LOVE it! These episodes are perfect for 7th & 8th graders!
ReadWorks does require teachers to sign up for a free account to be able to read and listen to the stories. The bonus is that each episode includes a little teacher info to help, including lexile level, suggested vocabulary to review with students, and a question set too.
The Ghost of Jessica Majors
This series opens with the introduction of Jessica Majors, who is 11 years old “or 154 if you count all the years I’ve been dead!” That opening line is a great hook for middle schoolers who will enjoy the child-voiced episodes Jessica the ghost encounters people and new experiences in 2017 in an effort to resolve the haunting of her hometown of Curiosity, Maine. Along for the ride with Jessica is a relative who is the same age she was when she died – 11-year-old Luke.
There are 11 episodes, ranging from 15 to just under 30 minutes, available on Pinna. The platform offers a basic free plan for educators that includes these podcast episodes. You can access more for $6 each month if you’re looking to incorporate more stories!
Unspookable
This nonfiction podcast is actually family friendly and dives into the history of many myths and legends such as Atlantis, Baby Yaga, Krampus, and so many more from around the world.
For middle schoolers who have “been there, heard that,” give this podcast a listen. For a Halloween activity, you might explore Episode 53, the Halloween podcast, that examines the origins of October 31st in less than 20 minutes!
Myths & Legends: Urban Legends
This specific episode (47: Urban Legends) features a combination of scary legends making it a perfect choice as one of the Halloween podcasts you might include in your class.
It’s the psychological aspect that makes most urban legends so creepy and this podcast emphasizes that in the retelling of a few different ones.
Sixth grade and up would love these individual stories and they’re made just a little less creepy with the narrator sharing his point of view about the stories and why they’re legends and not exactly reflections of reality!
The episode includes a disclaimer in the notes to indicate that there are references to some violence including someone losing an arm and a dog dying (though this is not graphic).
LimeTown
The fictional story of season 1 masquerades as a true crime series about the disappearance of a whole town of people in Tennessee. It is a compelling narrative that hooks listeners from episode 1 so it makes for a great kickoff to including podcasts for the classroom.
Students absolutely love this podcast featuring 6 episodes that vary in length between 20 and 40 minutes. Tie in a one-pager where students track info revealed in the story and wrap it in with a dystopian short story as a point of comparison, but if you teach 8th grade… don’t miss it!
The first season is suitable for 8th grade and up. The episodes contain a minor bit of language, and one episode mentions sex (easy to skip). But… stick to the first season only. The second season contains stronger language and isn’t great for the classroom.
Criminal
This podcast is an amazing one that explores different aspects of crimes but in unexpected ways. Think less guts and gore and more quirky and cool.
Many episodes are suited to older students but if you’re looking for a single episode that’s suitable to a wider range of audience, particularly 7th and 8th graders, check out “How to Sell a Haunted House.” It’s a bit longer of an episode at 30 minutes, but if you’re only doing one, you might as well do it right!
With the ability to incorporate a wide variety of skills and explore different subjects from the usual in class, it’s a no-brainer to include Halloween podcasts in your classroom this fall. The only question is which Halloween podcasts are you exploring this spooky season?
