Lore

Aaron Mahnke has been telling dark stories since 2015, and somehow each one still lands with the same punch. Lore takes real historical events, folklore, and legends and traces the line between what actually happened and the terrifying myths that grew out of it. Think witch trials, haunted lighthouses, mysterious disappearances, and creatures that predate modern horror movies by centuries. Mahnke narrates every episode solo, and his voice has this calm, measured quality that makes the creepy stuff hit harder than it should. The show drops new episodes every other Monday, and with over 700 in the back catalog, there is no shortage of material. Each episode runs around 30 to 40 minutes and focuses on a single topic, building a narrative that reads more like a well-researched essay than a typical podcast script. Mahnke pulls from primary sources, academic texts, and regional histories, which gives the show a credibility that sets it apart from podcasts that just retell Wikipedia entries. Lore has grown well beyond audio. It became an Amazon Prime TV series in 2017, and Mahnke has published multiple books expanding on episode topics. He also runs a network of related shows including Cabinet of Curiosities and Unobscured. The podcast itself holds a 4.6 rating from over 44,000 reviews on Apple Podcasts, which is a staggering number for any show. What keeps Lore working after all these years is Mahnke's genuine fascination with the material. He is not trying to scare you for shock value. He is interested in why people believed what they believed, and how those beliefs shaped communities for generations. It is the kind of show that makes you look at old buildings and local legends differently.