When I was younger, I never really liked the horror or suspense genres of literature. Movies like The Planet of the Apes and Coraline made me have nightmares for days upon watching them. However, as I got older, my fear of the things that went bump in the night began to subside and I began imbracing horror as the genre it is. Recently, I’ve been loving watching scary movies and listening to scary stories; there’s just something about the atmosphere that leaves me on edge and wanting more.
This is what initially sparked my interest in the podcast NoSleep. Based on the popular Reddit forum, this podcast narrates two to four fictional or non-fictional horror stories within each episode and captivates the listener by making them wondering which of the stories are fiction or not. But, what makes NoSleep so captivating? Well, just sit back and let me take you through some of the key features of these scary tales that might just captivate you too.
NoSleep has a very particular ambiance that creates an atmosphere that makes the listener feel on edge while listening. For some, this is something that would deter them from listening, but for others, like myself, this is one of the main things that keep us enthralled in the stories. One of the main overarching characteristics that all the episodes have in common is the use of music to set the scene. Every episode starts off with what sounds like a wispy, young female voice echoing in a forest. This gets the listener feeling unsettled even before the narrative starts. Another key aspect that overlaps within all of the episodes is the way that the narrator tells the stories. The way in which he speaks, being slow, whispy and intense, paired with eerie violin and electric-styled music also creates an uneasy atmosphere for the stories to be told over.
When it comes to the stories themselves, there isn’t a specific outline that each story follows, but each one is creepy in its own way. There are plenty of things that differ from the story’s narrative besides their content, one of the main characteristics being the type of narration within the story. In the story Just £ 3 a Month Can Save a Child’s Life, which is about someone who gave up everything to help the poor because of the preachings of someone they looked up to and how they were betrayed by said person, the narrator is speaking from the first-person perspective. This helps the listener to understand why the narrator is so distraught about what they describe as betrayal and why they go on to commit the actions that they did, such as explaining that “I had just given up everything I own to save others based on your political argument. And then I saw the blinding hypocrisy in which you lived”, which shows the anger and betrayal that the narrator feels. Using another perspective of narrative in this situation would make the actions of the narrator less clearly motivated, and would make the story less effective as it is told in this way. In contrast, the story Just Another Night, which is about a man talking to his brother while his brother is finding his way home from a bar, is told from the third-person perspective while intertwining bits of dialogue between the brothers as the night goes on. This proves to be effective as well as it gives some hindsight into what the main character is thinking throughout the story, such as that he is happy to be home alone because there are “no constant reminders to start looking for a job in time for graduation” as well as including the brother’s personalized account of his trip back home, which hits the listener harder as well when it is revealed that the brother died in a car crash on the way home and the main character was guiding his brother’s spirit back home. This type of narration works especially well in regards to the plot twist at the end because it makes it so that the story tells you enough for the ending to make sense but not enough for the audience to most likely have guessed what the ending would have been, which makes it hits the listener harder at the end.
In conclusion, each story in NoSleep has its own unique quirks which make each story feel individualized while still containing similarities to other stories within the podcast. I am greatly enjoying this podcast and I am quite excited to keep listening and learning more about the stories!
Word Count: 766
I don’t think I would ever be able to listen to this podcast, because I am already sleep deprived. There are many people who enjoy horror as a genre and I’m sure they would love the podcast you listened to. I will say that I can imagine how big of a role music plays in your podcast since there is no visuals to engage the listener. I listened to the podcast ‘Welcome to Night Vale,’ and although it is not horror, it is about strange happenings and mysteries. WTNV also uses music strategically to set the mood of the podcast. One thing that is interesting in the podcast you chose is the wispy female voice. It was obviously an intentional choice to prime the listeners. On the other hand, the voice actor for WTNV is a clear and deep male voice that almost sounds demanding. I know the genres for the two podcasts are not the same, but I believe both try to set the mood for mysteries and the unexpected, which is why I am intrigued by the fact that the voices are so opposite of each other. I do really enjoy the fact that ‘No Sleep’ is narrated in first person. That seems really personable to me and it would probably feel like someone close to me is telling me their story. WTNV actually places the reader into the shoes of the character, which was unexpected for me. I couldn’t get myself to become drawn to it at first, but after a few stories I was hooked. I might have to listen to this ‘No Sleep’ podcast for myself to see which narration i prefer.
Hi Annamarie! I enjoyed reading about your podcast, because I am a horror fan as well. I might have to take a listen for myself! In this comment I wanted to expand on your comments about the usage of music throughout the podcast, because it’s an incredibly important aspect of any form of horror media. Last year I remember watching a show called “Brain Games”, which was a show about how brains process information related to different topics. These topics varied from stress to addiction, competition to food, and even the feeling of fear. The particular episode that I’m connecting to your podcast was about fear, and how different forms of horror media accomplish making people feel scared. One of the main strategies was using music, just like you said in your blog post. The show performed an experiment where they showed a scene of a man walking down a road twice – except the first time they showed it with eerie music in the background, and the second time they removed all music whatsoever. The first time they showed the clip the scene felt tense, as if something was about to go wrong. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for something catastrophic to happen, but nothing ever did. The second time they showed the clip, I found myself laughing. Without the eerie music the clip was simply just a man walking down the street, with nothing else going on. I couldn’t believe that the simple addition of scary music could change how I viewed the exact same thing so drastically. In applying this knowledge to your podcast, I can definitely understand how music is an important component. Without it, the stories would never land in the same spooky way.
Word Count: 293
I really enjoyed reading about your podcast, like yourself, as I got older, I started to get more into horror movies and suspense related things. By the way that you described the use of sound effects I feel like this podcast gave you that spine chilling feel while listening, and I consider this a really important aspect of suspense or criminal podcasts because the purpose is to keep us entertained, and that unsettling feeling caused by the music and the background effects makes us be focused on what the narrator is saying as we wait for the jumpscare or something unexpected. I think I’m going to try and listen to this podcast, as I find it really interesting thanks to you, I struggled a little at the beginning because I did not know where to look or find scary type podcasts, but now I do, and I am excited to listen to them.