Horror fans are always looking for the next thing to creep them out, but sometimes the scariest experience does not require a screen at all. The Strange Thing About… is a new horror audio drama series from Emmy Award-winning Bang Zoom! Studios that wants listeners to put on their headphones, turn off the lights and prepare for some seriously unsettling storytelling.
Created by Eric P. Sherman and produced by Mami Okada and Jonathan Sherman, The Strange Thing About… is an anthology series inspired by classics such as The Twilight Zone and EC Comics.( So you already know we’re hooked and eager for this one.) Each episode tells a completely different horror story, ranging from bloody nightmares to slower burns designed to get under your skin before delivering its final twist.
And this thing comes with one hell of a voice cast.
Michael Johnston (Obsession), Mariel Hemingway, James Cromwell (The Green Mile), Keith David (American Fiction), Xolo Maridueña (Cobra Kai), Jackie Tohn (Nobody Wants This), Zach Aguilar (Demon Slayer), Graham McTavish (House of the Dragon) and Ayumi Ito (Final Fantasy VII) are among the performers lending their voices to the series.
Rather than simply having actors read a script into a microphone, Bang Zoom! is going for a cinematic approach, combining the performances with detailed sound design and original musical scores from award winning composers. The result is intended to make listeners feel like they have been dropped directly into each nightmare, which probably explains the show’s rather ominous warning: “What you are about to hear is not meant to be listened to alone in the dead of night.”
We have been warned.
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR “THE STRANGE THING ABOUT…” BELOW
The first eight episodes of The Strange Thing About… are currently available to listen to on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon. The anthology will continue with two additional episodes arriving in October.
Episode 9, The Strange Thing About the Tavern, premieres Friday, Oct. 9, featuring Xolo Maridueña, Graham McTavish, Eubha Akilade and Conor McKenna.
Then on Friday, Oct. 23, Episode 10, The Strange Thing About the Garden, arrives with James Cromwell, Ayumi Ito, Jackie Tohn and Keith David joining the voice cast.
With an anthology format, an impressive collection of genre veterans and enough creepy sound design to make an empty room suddenly seem occupied, The Strange Thing About… could be exactly what horror fans need when they want their nightmares delivered straight through the headphones.
Just maybe don’t listen to it alone in the dark. Seriously. They told us not to.