Magic, whimsy, mortals, and monsters: 8 fascinating folklore podcasts sharing stories from around the world

Dive deep into the world of fairytales, legends, and folklore from around the globe in these podcasts. If comedic takes are more your speed, tune into a series exploring the most absurd parts of folk tales, identifying stories’ plot holes, and sometimes linking two surprisingly unrelated narratives.

“Freaky Folklore” examines some of the most disturbing folktales and dips into the dark well of humans’ greatest fears. For folklore geared toward modern listeners, check out “Lore” and “The Folktale Project.” “Myths and Legends” recounts myths, legends, and folklore that shaped history over the years. “Future Fables” offers new tales from authors like Rivers Solomon.

You’re never too old for a great story! Scroll through to check out our complete guide of fascinating folklore podcasts.

What the Folklore?

“What the Folklore?” reveals the most ridiculous parts of folklore. Each episode, the hosts read a story, identify plot holes, and offer ideas to fix them. They’ll create new folklore and accidentally connect stories, all while “making sense of senseless tales” in over 580 episodes.

Freaky Folklore

Eeriecast Network presents “Freaky Folklore” a deep-dive into modern and ancient stories while exploring humans’ greatest fears. Often frightening and definitely entertaining, the podcast covers monsters, unexplained events, and unsolved cases in over 70 episodes.

Tales from Wyrd Scotland

You Better Run Records presents “Tales from Wyrd Scotland,” a podcast and radio drama by Nick Cole-Hamilton and Gordon Stewart. Get ready to explore the darkest depths of Scotland’s history and weirdest past.

The Folktale Project

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, “The Folktale Project” brings stories to listeners from around the world. The podcast is a reminder that you’re never too old for a great story with fairytales, legends, and folklore presented by Dan Scholz.

Lore

On “Lore,” Aaron Mahnke shares dark history, tragic happenings, strange places, and tales of elusive creatures. For more “Lore,” check out the TV show and book series where “the truth is more frightening than fiction.”

Myths and Legends

In “Myths and Legends,” Jason Weiser recounts myths, legends, and folklore that greatly impacted culture over the years. You’re likely familiar with folks like Aladdin, King Arthur, and Hercules, but do you know their origin stories? Other episodes cover lesser-known tales about knights, Vikings, dragons, kings, wizards, princesses, and more for modern listeners. This series is presented by Nextpod.

Future Fables

“Future Fables” is presented by Aesop and Literary Hub, sharing new, thought-provoking fables ready to spark conversations. Season 1 shares fables for adults by Mieko Kawakami, Rivers Solomon, Akwaeke Emezi, Amelia Abraham, and Lydia Millet.

The Modern Fairy Sightings Podcast

On “The Modern Fairy Sightings Podcast,” host Jo Hickey-Hall chats with people who want to share stories about fairies that are not your average Tinkerbell. We’ll hear about firsthand encounters, unusual experiences, and more stories that are not suitable for all ages, FYI, as many tales are very scary and spooky.