NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--iHeartMedia, the No. 1 commercial podcast publisher globally, today announced the release of “Aaron Mahnke’s 13 Days of Halloween” from Blumhouse Television and iHeartMedia a new, original scripted podcast series starring Keegan-Michael Key. iHeartMedia will produce alongside Blumhouse, the iconic horror studio behind Paranormal Activity, Get Out and The Purge, and the podcasting master of horror, Aaron Mahnke.
In the 13 days leading up to Halloween, Blumhouse Television, iHeartMedia and its partners will bring a spooky world to life through an immersive audio experience, giving listeners a new daily story that’s a little scarier than the one before it. Set in the purgatorial hotel “Hawthorne Manor” and hosted by the “caretaker” – voiced by Keegan-Michael Key – listeners play the role of the hotel’s latest guest, putting them at the center of a new terrifying tale. Episode stories will range from family haunts and doomsday scenarios, to neighborhood mysteries and more.
“Hawthorne Manor is a unique world and we’re so thrilled to be working with iHeartMedia and Aaron Mahnke to bring this sinister tale to life,” said Jeremy Gold, President of Blumhouse Television. “With people staying home this Halloween, we thought listeners would appreciate getting lost in this world with us and having a taste of the spooky spirit of this holiday.”
“Who doesn’t love a good Halloween story?” said acclaimed podcast host and creator, Aaron Mahnke. “With iHeartMedia’s unmatched distribution platform and Blumhouse’s deep roots in horror storytelling, we’ve built the perfect team to scare the socks off our listeners this Halloween.”
The series will be produced using binaural audio, a cutting-edge audio format that immerses listeners completely in the world of the haunted hotel with a three-dimensional auditory experience. Binaural audio simulates the way humans naturally hear, with detailed soundscapes that have a sense of distance and position relative to the listener, providing a virtual reality experience in audio.
“We’re always looking for different ways to immerse podcast fans into new worlds,” said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. “With 13 Days of Halloween, we’re partnering with the best talent in horror to create something special, with deeply haunting stories and ambitious sound technology that makes the experience that much better.”
All episodes of “Aaron Mahnke’s 13 Days of Halloween” from Blumhouse Television and iHeartMedia will be distributed through the iHeartPodcast Network. The iHeartPodcast Network is home to more than 750 original podcasts with over 251 million downloads each month. iHeartRadio Original Podcasts span every category from business, sports, spirituality and technology to entertainment, family, comedy and true crime – and everything in between – making iHeartRadio the largest publisher of podcast content in the world. The platform is also home to the most successful podcast of all time, “Stuff You Should Know,” and creator of hits like “The Ron Burgundy Podcast” and the “Atlanta Monster” series as well as fosters over a hundred shows from its on-air talent like the popular “Bobbycast” and “The Breakfast Club” radio show podcasts. These shows are distributed on all major podcast platforms including the iHeartRadio app, which additionally distributes more than 320,000 shows.
Fans can go to iHeart.com/apps to download and listen on all their favorite devices – including smart speakers, digital auto dashes, tablets, wearables, smartphones, virtual assistants, televisions, gaming consoles and more.
About iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia (NASDAQ: IHRT) is the number one audio company in the United States, reaching nine out of 10 Americans every month – and with its quarter of a billion monthly listeners, has a greater reach than any other media company in the U.S. The company’s leadership position in audio extends across multiple platforms, including more than 850 live broadcast stations in over 160 markets nationwide; through its iHeartRadio digital service available across more than 250 platforms and 2,000 devices; through its influencers; social; branded iconic live music events; other digital products and newsletters; and podcasts as the #1 commercial podcast publisher. iHeartMedia also leads the audio industry in analytics, targeting and attribution for its marketing partners with its SmartAudio product, using data from its massive consumer base. Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.
About Blumhouse Television
Blumhouse Television has earned critical acclaim and numerous honors for its dark, edgy fare including Emmy® awards for its productions of HBO's The Normal Heart and The Jinx, as well as the prestigious Peabody award for The Jinx and the documentary How to Dance in Ohio. Blumhouse Television launched as an independent studio in 2017 with funding from ITV. Projects since the studio launch include Golden Globe® and Emmy® nominated HBO limited series Sharp Objects; Golden Globe®, Critics Choice® and Writers Guild® award nominated Showtime limited series The Loudest Voice and The Good Lord Bird, the latter starring and executive produced by Ethan Hawke and based on the award-winning novel by James McBride; and a slate of eight genre films for Amazon Prime under the banner Welcome to the Blumhouse. The studio produced The Purge on USA Network from writer/director/producer James DeMonaco and based on the popular film franchise; the holiday themed anthology event series Into the Dark for Hulu; and anthology series Sacred Lies created by Emmy® nominee Raelle Tucker. Blumhouse continues its true crime docuseries tradition with No One Saw a Thing on Sundance Channel, A Wilderness of Error for FX from Marc Smerling and with Errol Morris, and projects in development at Netflix, Oxygen, and Epix. The studio continues to develop award-winning and critically acclaimed documentary films including A Secret Love produced with Ryan Murphy for Netflix; Pray Away an official selection of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival; and Pharma Bro an official selection of this year’s Hot Docs Festival about “the most hated man in America”, Martin Shkreli. Past documentary films include Writers Guild Award® winner Bathtubs Over Broadway and winner of the 2018 Sundance Audience Award This is Home. Blumhouse Television is the latest venture from Jason Blum, founder of Blumhouse Productions, which is widely-recognized for its pioneering model of producing high-quality micro-budget films including The Purge, Get Out, The Invisible Man and Halloween.
