“Never, Ever, Turn Out the Lights”: Podcasts, Supernatural Personal Experience Narratives, and Folkloric Transmission

Abstract

This thesis examines supernatural personal experience narratives presented in “true horror” podcasts. Through content analysis, I investigate four podcasts featuring supernatural personal experience narratives and compare their modes of narration and presentation, as well as their approaches to gender and place. I argue that the unique affordances of the podcast format allow for the modern folkloric transmission of supernatural experiences and the creation of a parasocial cycle of intimacy between the submitter, host, listener, and the podcast as a whole.