My Favorite Murder stands out

Scary stories for grown ups

Child beauty pageant contestant JonBenet Ramsey disappeared from her house, then was later found murdered in the basement of her family home. Canadian pro-wrestler Chris Benoit was found dead after murdering his family and committing suicide. Matthew Hoffman murdered a family and took their daughter to his house, which is filled with leaves. If any of those stories are chill-inducing, then My Favorite Murder isn’t the best listening choice. If a dark sense of interest has piqued, My Favorite Murder is sure to be a new weekly obsession.

Hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast that frequents the “Top 10 Comedy Podcasts” chart on iTunes. Both hosts are true crime fanatics and near experts on the subject.

In each episode, Kilgariff and Hardstark tell each other about their favorite murder story of the week. They loosely research stories on their own about well-known murderers like John Wayne Gacy, as well as lesser-known killers like the Texas Eyeball Killer, and come together on each week’s episode to discuss them. The duo often change the tone associated with murder stories from ominous and precisely researched to a respectful and lighthearted mood as they joke about how they found their information from Wikipedia in the middle of the night.

After discussing their favorite weekly stories, they dissect a “hometown murder story.” These are personal accounts from the fan base, explaining the creepy stories that made them interested in true crime.

The best part about the podcast is the community that surrounds it. The general connotation of having an interest in true crime and murder is as dark as the content matter, leaving others laughing uncomfortably and trying to get away. My Favorite Murder has reversed the isolation of the interest by creating an active community for lovers of scary stories and an interest in criminal psychology to find an accepting group. When Hardstark and Kilgariff went on a live tour for the podcast, each event sold out for self-proclaimed “murderinos” to meet in person.

My Favorite Murder is not for the squeamish. If an interest in true crime has caused a feeling of isolation to grow, both Hardstark and Kilgariff are sure to become two new best friends and perfect additions to a podcast queue.