The paranormal comes to life as husband-wife duo Dan Cummins (acclaimed standup comedian and true horror fan) and Lynze Cummins (costume and wardrobe stylist for numerous film and television productions) share terrifying stories that will leave you sleeping with the lights on. Dan’s goal? To scare Lynze with creepy accounts of demonic possession, shadow people, and other eerie phenomena. And when he’s done, Lynze fights back with chilling fan-submitted tales of true horror. Together, they explore the darkest corners of the web, dusty old books, and even their own eerie surroundings—a studio filled with occult objects and located right next to a cemetery. Don’t forget to check out the mini-series Nightmare Fuel, airing on this feed the first and third Friday of every month, where Dan narrates a short piece of original horror fiction.
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We begin in Japan, a place full of some of the best horror lore ever! Yotsuya Kaidan is the fictional, two centuries old story of a struggling samurai so desperate to escape the trappings of poverty that he horrifically betrays the one person who truly loves him. A person who refuses to stay gone when he gets rid of her. Then we have Kisaragi Station, a story that many have long believed isn’t just a story, but a true account from 2004, when users on a Japanese message board watched in real time...
A man living alone who woke up to what sounded like someone trying to break into his home is in for a paranormal encounter. Then, we head to Vermont, where a quiet morning walk around a fog-covered pond turns into something unsettling. Then, two tales from the same person, separated by twenty five years makes you wonder if this is a paranormal fire warning. Lastly, one of the very best, most undeniable encounter claims we have ever had. Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp 2026: Have you heard?! We hav...
Dan has some truly incredible tales this week. We begin in Pennsylvania. After a tense argument, a man reluctantly agrees to take an evening walk with his lifelong best friend through the woods outside their small town. But the deeper they wander into the darkness, the more uncomfortable things get. Next up, a young couple renting an isolated farmhouse in rural Oregon begin experiencing vivid nightmares after moving into their new home. It becomes apparent to them both that these are far from no...
In this fifty-seventh installment of fictional horror written and narrated by Dan Cummins, we head to Bluewater Falls. A wonderfully scenic mountain resort town with a dark secret involving the charming lake it surrounds. We meet Kate Boyko as she is pulled into a haunted mystery and tries to determine what has happened to numerous members of her family there for generations. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Scared to Death ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free...
Dan begins in 1967, Miami. A souvenir warehouse began witnessing impossible events. Police officers, reporters, and paranormal investigators all saw things they couldn’t explain. Many became convinced the disturbances somehow centered around a quiet nineteen-year-old Cuban refugee named Julio Vasquez. After that, we jump ahead nearly a decade and ratchet up the terror. After fleeing Cuba and settling into a cramped Little Havana apartment in the mid-1970s, one Miami family began experiencing str...
We begin with a widowed mother in a quiet English spa town wakes up in the middle of the night to find herself no longer alone. She desperately wants to dismiss what happened as nothing more than a nightmare but that will quickly prove to be impossible to do. Then, a practical, no-nonsense governess is visited by something. Something that will change and appear to be very, very alive. Or at least, be very sentient despite being dead or unrecognizable as far as life as we know it. Then, a tale ab...
In this fifty-sixth installment of fictional horror written and narrated by Dan Cummins, we meet young Sophie Bennet, who has been hired by a couple to baby sit their two children, Callum and Eilidh, for a few hours on a Wednesday night. They live outside of a small Scottish town in a home called the Blackthorn House. Behind their home is the Hollow Hill. And inside their home, things quickly spiral out of control. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Scared to Death ad-f...
We spend all of our time with Dan in Hawaii this week! We head to the Big Island today for five stories. Dan's first story is about something creepy that happened in Hilo in 1902 and 1903 primarily. It revolves around the ghost of a murdered man. Then his second is really a collection of four tales known to many who have taken ghost tours in Hilo. Lynze's tales amp up as she goes. She begins with a milder story about Stowe Bridge in Vermont. Then, a very very unsettling tale about a small piece ...
Five new tales of horror this week!! The first four are definitely creepy while the last one is a great confirmation tale. We begin with a story that revolves around a young boy getting the biggest basement bedroom in his family’s new house. He's excited about it until he's not. Then comes the story of a child seeing something under her bed that terrifies her. Was it just in her imagination? If so, then why decades later, did something else happens that makes her question what she saw as a kid? ...
In this fifty-fifth installment of fictional horror written and narrated by Dan Cummins, we reach the Children of Abraham's day of resurrection. When Abraham is to take the body of his son, return to the land of the living, and kick off a Biblical apocalypse. Will any of those currently trapped in Belial's underground chapel survive? Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Scared to Death ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting...
Dan has some older tales for us this week. We start our journey of horror at the Ferry Plantation House where not just one but many ghosts seem to be hanging around, especially one accused witch, Grace. Then we go explore seances with Daniel Dunglas Home- was he a fraudster or were his seances real, you tell us! Lynze has four different ghosty tales this week. From catching something creepy on a sleep app to a spirit caught in a couch to the spirit of a man who insists he must come in and ending...
Dan considers a creepy question in his first story this week. We’ll explore the strange phenomenon of some people seeming to have known in advance exactly when they were going to die. Is that something you want to know if you had the chance? Then, we’ll head to Nigeria to look at the disturbing claims that came from a forested area just outside the big city of Ibadan. Are people still being sacrifice to something ? Lynze has two awesome stories! The first explores a local Kentucky legend, Hatche...
In this fifty-fourth installment of fictional horror written and narrated by Dan Cummins, the walls are closing in on Zander as the clock ticks closer to December 6th, 1999. More of our characters storylines converge in this penultimate episode, and one of them is severely punished by the Children of Abraham in such a brutal and humiliating way... Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Scared to Death ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts ...
Dan starts with the story of a man, who has gotten sober in the last year, wondering if he's seeing things due to his drug use or something else. Next, we travel to Spain to learn about the Belmez Faces. Then, Lynze has two truly incredible tales to share. The first takes some attention- get your white board ready. A family curse that goes on for years takes stage in this tale. Lastly, someone is eating the leftovers, but who? You will be surprised! Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp 2026: Have you h...
A ton of stories this week! Dan has six tales from all across the globe! A faceless man in Dublin, a possession in Mexico and more! Lynze also takes us away from the US to Japan! Enjoy this weeks smattering of tales! Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp 2026: Have you heard?! We have some amazing friends joining us at camp! Astonishing Legends and True Crime Campfire will both be bringing their shows to the live stage this summer! If you want to see them and us, get your tickets at badmagicproductions....
In this fifty-third installment of fictional horror written and narrated by Dan Cummins, we return to Jonesberg, Idaho. Sammy Alvarez is wrestling with his response to what he saw in the underground chapel. Joey Sherman gets a surprise late night visitor. And Zander asks Tissie some long-awaited questions before having one seriously f*cked up dream... For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://www.badmagicproductions.com Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new epi...
What if some demons aren’t repelled by scripture but are attracted to it? After a minor car accident, a husband in suburban Iowa becomes more devout than ever. At first, it feels like some sort of spiritual awakening. But what if he opened a door that something stepped through. Then, we head to a small English parish in 2006, when a devoted family allegedly watched their son grow closer to God after a youth retreat. But when he began reciting scripture backwards, praying throughout the night, an...
First, we’ll go to Malaysia to hear about the Toyol this week. When cash starts vanishing, a young family assumes stress, forgetfulness or maybe even betrayal are at the root. Then their six-year-old points to the ceiling and whispers about “the little boy” who comes at night and whole new series of possibilities unfolds. Then we travel to Japan to learn about the Nure-Onna. An American couple follows the sound of cries to find a bundled infant on a lonely riverbank. Or did they? Lynze has three...
In this fifty-second installment of fictional horror written and narrated by Dan Cummins, we continue with a story about Jonesberg, Idaho's Cult of Abraham. The cult comes for Sammy Alvarez now, trying to silence him before his big, revealing broadcast. Will they be successful? Also, Joey Sherman returns to try and convince Tissie that she's not trapped in the life she's been brought up in, and Zander continues to try and figure out just what the Hell is going on with everyone around him. For Me...
This week, Dan tries a new way of telling stories, which was so fun! He gives us SIX small stories, all of them uniquely creepy, although one might be comforting. A mirror story, a ghost claim, a very disturbing voicemail, a story problematic door, another voicemail, and a final story about a chair that won’t stay put. Then Lynze has really different approach to her tales this week with some personal experience and set up about Peggy The Doll, followed by two creepy tales about Peggy. Be sure to...
We start this week in New Zealand where a man goes ghost hunting in the supposedly very haunted former Napier Prison. Did he have an intense encounter with building’s most infamous spirit? Then, Dan shares three smaller tales: first involves two people hanging out alone in a park at night, having a very strange, dangerous, and disturbing encounter. Then we get a creepy baby monitor story. And the lastly, a series of confusing and disturbing texts between two people freaks us out! Lynze has her u...
In this fifty-first installment of fictional horror written and narrated by Dan Cummins, we return to the fictional town of Jonesberg, Idaho where a mystery that Zander Reid seems to be in the center of deepens. A fresh murder reveals what the Children of Abraham are capable of. The source of Tissie's evasiveness is revealed. And a mysterious woman's appearance gives Sammy the clue to connect dots he's been staring at for years. For Merch and everything else Bad Magic related, head to: https://w...
A quiet housesitting job in the Danish countryside is nothing but peace and silence until two strange visitors ringed the doorbell in Dan's first story of the week. Then, we travel to the small town of Fouke, Arkansas. Is the Fouke Monster just folklore… or something very real that’s still around?A call to a pest company regarding some flies leads to a very creepy realization in Lynze's first story this week. Then she takes us to a college campus for a modern encounter and the lore of the facele...
We head to the Arizona desert, just a few miles outside of Tombstone, where there sits a small adobe ruin with a body count that defies belief. More than twenty men are thought to have been murdered on this small, dusty patch of land - and according to decades of witnesses, some of them have never stopped killing each other. This is the story of Brunckow Cabin. Then we head to South Carolina - to the Embassy Suites Greenville Golf Resort, located next to the Preserve at Verdae Golf Course. A pla...
In 1975 Jonesburg, Idaho, a charismatic cult leader named Abraham is murdered after his sermon of prophecy. Two decades later, Xander and Tissy move into a house across from the same church, only to uncover a hidden cult message. As strange events unfold and their relationship strains under the town's unsettling secrets, Xander questions everything, including Tissy's mysterious connection to Jonesburg's dark past.
Dan brings us one, long tale today. We meet a young woman who moved into an old San Francisco house with roommates and then began to hear things. The more she hears, the creepier and more disturbing things get. I don’t want to give away any more than that. No lore, no historical set ups, just a deeply disturbing story. Lynze balances out the show with three tales the go from creepy, to creepier, to creepiest! We begin with two young kids creeping out their mom, then we go on to an uninvited visi...
Dan shares tales of two islands this week. We’ll head to the remote Pacific Samoan island of Ofu, where there’s a stretch of beach so feared that many locals refuse to walk it after dark. A place believed to be a gathering ground for spirits who’ve never crossed over. A place where ghosts can do more than just scare you. Next, we’ll head to the other side of the world to the Azores. High above a volcanic crater on São Miguel, an abandoned luxury hotel looms out of the fog - a five-star dream tha...
We begin this week in 1970’s Sardinia, where a quiet, deeply devout teenage girl began to wake up every night at exactly 3:00 a.m., convinced something terrible was standing next to her bed… watching her… and waiting to enter her. Then we head to Christmas Day, 1929, when a well-liked North Carolina farmer committed the unspeakable. Has it spawned paranormal activity? Then we find ourselves visiting the same house, ten years apart, both times the home is for sale and empty... or is it? Lastly, a...
During a dark Arctic winter in Tromsø, a seemingly ordinary meeting at Kessel Technologies is interrupted by a vengeful active shooter. As executives try to escape, they uncover a terrifying truth about Wilhelm Kessel and his family: they are ancient vampires with a chilling history rooted in Nazi-era atrocities. The episode details a desperate fight for survival and the Kessel clan's powerful influence in covering up their monstrous existence.
Dan takes us to downtown Dallas, across from Union Station, to an old hotel that’s changed names so many times it’s like it keeps trying to hide from its past. Room 1009 doesn't seem to care what the hotel is called, though. Stories of encounters with its ghosts remain unchanged. The room allegedly has a long, sordid history of murders and suspicious deaths tied to it. Then we explore the lore of the elegant Adolphous Hotel. It’s been collecting tragedy since the first month it opened. On the ni...