Listener sentiment
Listeners are broadly enthusiastic about Scary Stories and Rain, with strong praise for the narrator's calm voice, the soothing rain ambience, and the podcast's unique niche appeal for sleep and relaxation. However, two interconnected issues dominate recent criticism: aggressive mid-episode ad placement that directly undermines the sleep-focused concept, and recurring reports of rerun content presented as new episodes. Many reviewers describe being jolted awake by sudden, loud ads mid-episode—the opposite of the advertised purpose—and several have noted the same stories appearing multiple times across the episode library, which erodes listener trust. A smaller contingent complains about excessive rain padding at episode ends and occasional story quality issues. The ad-placement problem in particular appears to be driving subscriber churn, with at least one listener citing it as a reason for unsubscribing entirely, suggesting that monetization strategy is directly at odds with the core listening experience.
Apple4.5 · 183
Summary generated May 28, 2026