What Are The Best Channels For Stories Read Aloud On Youtube?

I have spent years trawling through YouTube for quality channels that narrate stories. Most are rubbish, but there are a few channels that manage to be good. One of the best channels on YouTube for stories is 'Let’s Read'. The channel is primarily used to post up horror stories, such as creepypastas and other eerie tales. There are a couple of different ways in which stories are added to the channel, with the majority of content being original work by the channel owner, and a lot of the content being submitted by writers from all over the world. As for production values, the background music and various sound effects used are perfectly subtle to allow the listener to become fully immersed in the story being told. A great channel for fans of supernatural horror and psychological thrillers, and indeed for anyone who enjoys being told a good story.

On a much lighter note, 'The Creepypasta Channel' does an excellent job of narrating stories from creepypasta, building up tension perfectly where required, and selecting a diverse range of stories, from urban legend-esque horrors to more weird, esoteric tales. Then there's 'Bedtime Stories' which, like it says on the tin, is designed to be listened to before bed. The narrator’s gentle, soothing voice reads a variety of Fairy Tales, Folklore, and Original Stories to accompany beautiful hand-drawn illustrations or animations. An excellent choice for before bed.

A more science fiction/fantasy oriented channel would be 'Chilling Tales for Dark Nights'. All of their stories are done by professional voice actors and they cover a wide range of genres, including science fiction, horror, and supernatural. They often collaborate with writers to make exclusive stories for their channel. For classic literature lovers, there is 'Classic Audiobook Collection'. Here, you can find all sorts of novels such as 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Frankenstein'. These are all told by great narrators who bring the classic stories to life, but in a way that makes them relatable to today's society.

Lastly we have MrCreepypasta’s amazing channel of stories. I have said many times that I like to hear a narrator speak while I am listening to a story, and I feel as though I am sitting around a campfire with a friend when I watch this channel. His stories are generally short for quick bumps in the night, but he also has a lot of longer multi-part stories that really get you involved in the plot. I highly recommend MrCreepypasta to anyone who enjoys storytelling in a unique way. Each of the above channels can offer a vast array of unique stories, styles, genres, and productions. They are an amazing way for anyone to experience an awesome story.

The ‘best’ channel is that of creator types like myself who respect copyright and the original authors of works. There are many great narrators out there who will secure permission from authors who post work on sites like RoyalRoad or on their Patreon accounts before recording chapters.

Channels such as ‘A Guy Who Reads Books’ and the majority of ‘PodCastle’s’ YouTube videos do things properly and often market the author and provide links to support them too.

This helps maintain the other creators in the ecosystem. Many narrators get early access to the chapters for their content, including sometimes even exclusive stories not available anywhere else. This helps ensure their content is frequently updated and of the highest quality.

As for your second question, I try to avoid channels that read commercially available audiobooks or novels published by non-selfpublishing houses without proper licensing. Most of the time such recordings have very poor audio and in worst cases no support is given to the authors of the book being read. Always go for ethical consumption of FreeAudioContent to support healthy and sustainable storytelling on the platform.

So I do have a sort of "niche" on YouTube - there are a few channels that read through outdated technical manuals and old science textbooks, and I also follow a channel that reads through 18th century alchemy guides (all of them, in excruciating detail) with a completely straight face.

The 18th century text is incredibly ornate and insistent that it’s all true – even when describing how to turn lead into moonlight. The reading is wonderful in all its sonorous seriousness.

While not strictly non-fiction, the video does contain a lot of information about how humans in the past have attempted to understand the world around them, and is therefore a ‘true story’. My interpretation of the text, and subsequent narration, can also bring an additional layer of irony and wonder to the ‘story’ as it is read.

So next time the fantasy novels just aren’t doing it for you, take a look into this weird niche on YouTube. It’s actually kind of profound in that the truth is often stranger than fiction.