After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

<p>John Reginald Christie was the most notorious murderer of his era. On the outside he was every inch the Old Fashioned Englishman, respectable norms personified. But inside the walls and under the floors of his flat at 10 Rillington Place were the bodies of the women and babies he had killed.</p><br><p>Our guest today is Kate Summerscale, groundbreaking true-crime writer whose new book <em>is </em><strong>The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place</strong>. She guides Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney through this shocking history that shows 1950's Britain's ugliest face.</p><br><p>Edited by Tomos Delargy, Produced by Sophie Gee, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Part 4/4. By looking at the men accused of being Jack the Ripper, we uncover dark truths about Victorian society - and our own. Why were these men, most of them almost certainly innocent, singled out as monsters?</p><br><p>Today Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling about how quack doctor Francis Tumblety, an American, became a prime suspect in the case. He is a shining example of medical malpractice but does that make him a murderer?</p><br><p>Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Freddy Chick & Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick and Charlotte Long. With thanks to the Little Dot Studios team for their voices.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Discover the true story of Burke and Hare’s murderous rampage through the streets of Edinburgh, all to serve the needs of the city’s scientific minds. We're rerunning this early episode to mark the release of Maddy and Anthony's new documentary on History Hit TV all about Burke and Hare's story.</p><br><p>Anthony tells Maddy the unnerving details about the infamous 19th century serial-killing duo.</p><br><p>Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Tom Delargy. Producer is Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Part 3/4. By looking at the men accused of being Jack the Ripper, we uncover dark truths about Victorian society - and our own. Why were these men, most of them almost certainly innocent, singled out as monsters?</p><br><p>Today Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling about how the celebrated artist Walter Sickert became a leading suspect for many. His art is unsettling, gruesome even, but does that make him a murderer?</p><br><p>Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick and Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The wounds that Christ received on the cross - the stigmata - have had a strange afterlife, reappearing on the flesh of followers from St Francis of Assisi right through to the present. The stigmata are most commonly found on young women and are often accompanied by other miracles. What can this strange history teach us?</p><br><p>Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney are joined today by Kristof Smeyers author of <em>Supernatural Bodies: Stigmata in modern Britain and Ireland</em></p><br><p>Edited and produced by Freddy Chick and Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Part 2/4. By looking at the men accused of being Jack the Ripper, we uncover dark truths about Victorian society - and our own. Why were these men, most of them almost certainly innocent, singled out as monsters?</p><br><p>Today Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling about Aaron Kosminski, a Polish Jew living in Whitechapel who later became suspected of being Jack the Ripper. It's a story of immigration and antisemitism; of mental illness and of an effort to use DNA to link Kosminski to the crime.</p><br><p>Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick and Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Ned Kelly is a murdering, bank-robbing, Australian folk hero. What is the true history of this mythic figure? And how did an outlaw - or bushranger - rise up to become a symbol for a new nation?</p><br><p>Anthony Delaney and Maddy Pelling are joined by Dr Meg Foster, research fellow at the University of Technology, Sydney and award winning author of <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Boundary-Crossers-history-Australias-bushrangers/dp/1742237525" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Boundary Crossers: the hidden history of Australia's other bushrangers</em></a>.</p><br><p>Edited and produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p><br></p><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Part 1/4. By investigating the men accused of being Jack the Ripper, we uncover dark truths about Victorian society - and our own. Why were these men, most of them almost certainly innocent, singled out as monsters?</p><br><p>Today Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling about how Prince Albert Victor, grandson to Queen Victoria, became suspected of being Jack the Ripper. It's a story of Victorian masculinity and how our twentieth century relationship with monarchy helped ferment baseless accusations.</p><br><p>Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick and Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The colonists of Roanoke Island in the 1580's were the very first English people to try to establish a permanent settlement in America. They completely disappeared. The only clue was the word 'CROATOAN' carved into a tree where they had been. What happened?</p><br><p>Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney are joined today by Misha Ewen, author of <em>The Virginia Venture: American Colonization and English Society, 1580-1660</em> and lecturer in early modern history at the University of Sussex.</p><br><p>Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick and Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The myth of the Minotaur has endured thousands of years for good reason... it's hard to forget! Today, Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the story of King Minos of Crete, the monster in his maze, and the son of Athens that comes to kill it, thanks largely to the cunning of Princess Ariadne.</p><br><p>Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>It was beyond Biblical in its horror. Around half of all Europeans are estimated to have died in the Black Death. Death ravaged towns and villages, castles and hovels. What did it feel like to live through this darkest of histories? Bestselling author Helen Carr guides Anthony Delaney and Maddy Pelling through disease, death and self-flagellation! Helen's new book on the fourteenth century, <em>Sceptred Isle</em>, will be out next May.</p><br><p>Edited by Max Hennessy and Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. The senior producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Edgar Allan Poe was a poster boy for the macabre whose work thrilled readers throughout America and beyond. How did he end up in a gutter in Baltimore, delirious, and wearing clothes that were not his own? Maddy Pelling takes Anthony Delaney through the mysterious death of a mysterious man.</p><br><p>Written by Maddy Pelling. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>A skull a day! People ate people in the name of medicine across Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Charles II kept powdered skull in a bag on his belt and mummified corpses were the greatest cure of all... but why? Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney visit the apothecary with guide Hannah Slajus, whose PhD was on human ingredients in medicinal remedies in seventeenth century.</p><br><p>Edited by Max Hennessy. Produced by Freddy Chick. The senior producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Picture a serial killer in your mind’s eye. What do you see... Is it your gran?</p><br><p>Today is the story of one of America’s most notorious female serial killers: Nannie Doss, aka the Giggling Granny. She killed 11 people, four of which were husbands. This lead to her also being known as the Lonely Hearts Killer, due to her supposed search for love.</p><br><p>This is an episode from our sister-podcast <em>Betwixt the Sheets</em> with host Kate Lister. Kate was joined by Tori Telfer, author of <em>Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History.</em></p><br><p>Produced by Sophie Gee. Mixed by Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The second part of our story on the Salem Witch Trials. Anthony Delaney takes Maddy Pelling inside the courtroom as unbelievable stories of witchcraft are told and a terrifying power dynamic reveals itself, which ultimately ends in innocent souls being sent to their deaths.</p><br><p>The drama is brought to life thanks to the acting talents of Carolina Hoyos, Jessica Reagan and Don Wildman.</p><br><p>Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p> First of two episodes on the Salem Witch Trials. We begin the story as accusations are made throughout the town of Salem and a climate of fear is palpable. Maddy Pelling takes Anthony Delaney into the most famous witch trials of all time.</p><br><p>Written by Maddy Pelling. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Harry Houdini was the greatest magician that ever lived. He was also the greatest ghostbuster ever, exposing countless spiritual mediums as frauds. Why?</p><br><p>Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney are joined by Efram Sera-Shriar, historian of the occult and author of "<em>Psychic Investigators</em>: <em>Anthropology, Modern Spiritualism, and Credible Witnessing in the Late Victorian Age"</em>.</p><br><p>Get ready for the moving story of Harry Houdini, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and a son's love for his mother that would not die even after she was gone.</p><br><p>Edited by Ella Blaxill. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><br><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The life of Joseph Merrick, the man they dared to call "The Elephant Man", will fill you with pain and anger. He was treated so cruelly by society that he found becoming a freak show exhibit preferably to the life available to him elsewhere. Yet alongside darkness there is light and love in his story, and a sense of his own indomitable spirit throughout it all.</p><br><p>Visit <a href="https://www.changingfaces.org.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.changingfaces.org.uk/</a> to learn more about living with visible difference today.</p><br><p>Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>When a series of mysterious disappearances and gruesome murders happened on the American Frontier in the 19th century, fingers started to point in the direction of not one murderer…but a family of killers. As the case unraveled, their grisly crimes cemented their place in history and earned their nickname as the 'Bloody Benders'.</p><br><p>Joining Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney this episode is Susan Jonusas, historian and author of 'Hell's Half-Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, A Serial Killer Family on the American Frontier'.</p><br><p>This episode was edited by Tomos Delargy and produced by Freddy Chick. The senior producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>It's one of the most infamous trials in American history, Lizzie Borden's story is breathtaking even today. In 1893 she was accused of using an axe to murder her father and step-mother. The case obsessed America and despite evidence against her, Lizzie was let off. Was that justice?</p><br><p>Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the story today.</p><br><p>Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK.</p><br><p><u>You can take part in our listener survey</u><a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u> here</u></a><u>.</u></p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The unclaimed dead of New York City's streets and rivers were once brought to the notorious New York Morgue. It's a history that has never been studied before, full of dark stories and buried secrets.</p><br><p>Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney are joined by Cat Byers who is a writer and historian based in Paris currently finishing a PhD on the Paris Morgue and the never-before-studied New York Morgue.</p><br><p>Edited and produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK.</p><br><p><u>You can take part in our listener survey</u><a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u> here</u></a><u>.</u></p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>How did Marie Antoinette, last Queen of France, spend her final days before the guillotine took her head? Did she ever really stand a chance? Anthony Delaney takes Maddy Pelling on a journey back to the French Revolution's reign of terror to meet icon of history Marie Antoinette.</p><br><p>Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Tomos Delargy, produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK.</p><br><p><u>You can take part in our listener survey</u><a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u> here</u></a><u>.</u></p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>"The internet is full of dark and wicked things" said a police chief after a shocking crime by two children claiming to be acolytes of the Slenderman. Today we unpick the origins of Slenderman - the internet's scariest creation - and link it back to the pre-internet urban legend of the Mothman. Strap in for a wild ride!</p><br><p>Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney are joined by Ceri Houlbrook, folklorist and lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire.</p><br><p>Edited by Tomos Delargy, Produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK.</p><br><p><u>You can take part in our listener survey</u><a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u> here</u></a><u>.</u></p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast</p><p><br></p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>In 1860 Britain was rocked by the brutal murder of 3-year-old Francis Kent inside his family home. Scotland Yard sent their finest but when a teenage sister, Constance Kent, was accused there was outcry. How could a well-mannered young lady be guilty of murder? It was a crime against class and gender to suggest such a thing. The detective was sent packing, but was he right all along?</p><br><p>Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling the story this week.</p><br><p>Edited by Tomos Delargy, produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK.</p><br><p><u>You can take part in our listener survey</u><a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u> here</u></a><u>.</u></p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast</p><p><br></p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>There really was a secret society called the Illuminati that aimed to create a New World Order. This is true story of the Illuminati and how they were transformed into the world's first conspiracy theory by the French revolution.</p><br><p>Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney are joined by Michael Taylor whose new book is called <em>Impossible Monsters: Dinosaurs, Darwin, and the War between Science and Religion</em> and who is working on a full length history of the Illuminati.</p><br><p>Edited by Tomos Delargy, Produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK.</p><br><p><u>You can take part in our listener survey</u><a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u> here</u></a><u>.</u></p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>In 1810 a valet called Joseph Sellis was found dead in St James's Palace. All eyes turned to his master the Duke of Cumberland, fifth son of George III. The scandal that would follow hounded the Duke for decades.</p><br><p>Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney this story about royal scandals and the freedom of the press that rings a lot of bells today!</p><br><p>Written by Maddy Pelling, Produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK.</p><br><p><u>You can take part in our listener survey</u><a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u> here</u></a><u>.</u></p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Untimely deaths followed the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb by Howard Carter. Coincidence or ancient curse? When the tomb of King Tutankhamun was sealed more than 3000 years ago, it was rumoured to be protected by a curse, which would ruin the life of anyone who disturbed the pharaoh's final resting place. A mere two weeks after the tomb was discovered in 1922, one of the explorers died from a fatal mosquito bite. This wasn't the end of the bad luck, there was more to come... Anthony and Maddy are joined by Egyptologist Campbell Price to unpick fact from fiction, and get to the bottom of one of the most notorious curses in the world.</p><br><p>Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK.</p><br><p><u>You can take part in our listener survey</u><a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u> here</u></a><u>.</u></p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>It's America's greatest ghost story: the 1817-1821 haunting of a rural family by a mysterious entity—sometimes violent, sometimes mischievous, even offering marriage advice. Poltergeist? Witch? Hoax? Or pure legend from the beginning?</p><br><p>Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the story this week.</p><br><p>Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK.</p><br><p><u>You can take part in our listener survey</u><a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u> here</u></a><u>.</u></p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>"You've got to pick a pocket or two" says Fagan to Oliver Twist about the foggy streets of Victorian London where poverty and oppression abounded. Today we look at the every day crimes of Victorian London from pickpockets on omnibuses to the trauma of domestic violence with the help of Drew Gray, author of <em>Nether World: Crime and the Police Courts in Victorian London.</em></p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK.</p><br><p><u>You can take part in our listener survey</u><a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u> here</u></a><u>.</u></p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Would you have gone? Would you have drunk with the condemned? Paid your way into their prison the night before? Public executions in London were big business with hundreds of thousands carousing through the streets alongside the condemned as they went from Newgate prison to Tyburn's infamous gallows. It was a grisly performance but one that many revelled in. Perhaps you would have too.</p><br><p>Anthony Delaney takes Maddy Pelling out for a day at the hangings.</p><br><p>Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited and produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK</p><br><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.</p><p><br></p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Do you dare try? The Ouija board was invented in 1890. It was an idea lifted from Spiritualist devices for communicating with the dead. Find out the spooky origin story of the Ouija board and our attempts to pierce the veil between the worlds.</p><br><p>Today's guest is Brandon Hodge - leading expert and collector of talking boards. <a href="https://www.mysteriousplanchette.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.mysteriousplanchette.com/</a></p><br><p>(And here's his candy store! <a href="https://www.bigtopcandyshop.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.bigtopcandyshop.com/</a>)</p><br><p>Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up for 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARK at <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/</a></p><br><p>After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>What if a leisurely visit to the Palace of Versailles transported you back to the court of Marie Antoinette — would you believe it or question your sanity?</p><br><p>This is the story of two English women from St Hugh's College, Oxford University, who in 1901 believed that they slipped back in time to the 1790s and came face-to-face with one of the most famous figures of history.</p><br><p>Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling the story this week.</p><br><p>Written by Anthony Delaney</p><br><p>Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit.com/subscription/</u></a> </p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>This is the dark history of the last people to be executed for witchcraft in England. In 1682, Temperance Lloyd, Mary Trembles and Susannah Edwards, from the town of Bideford in the South-West of England, were tried and hanged as witches. They were convicted on the flimsiest of evidence under the cynical eye of uncaring authorities. Their fates encapsulates the turmoil of the seventeenth century and its deadly consequences.</p><br><p>Our guest today is John Callow, author of "The Last Witches of England" and friend of the podcast - check out John's previous appearance on our episode about the Pendle Witches.</p><br><p>Edited by Tom Delargy, Produced by Sophie Gee, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit.com/subscription/</u></a> </p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The so-called 'Genius' Killer was a murderer who seemed to be both philosopher and psychopath, whose brain was one of the largest ever recorded. But was Edward Rulloff really as smart as all that?</p><br><p>Maddy tells Anthony the story of a husband who murdered his wife and child, killed an innocent shop clerk in a petty theft, and still somehow managed to convince the world he was a 'genius'.</p><br><p>Edited and produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit.com/subscription/</u></a> </p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Convicts, illegal dissections, disease, all taking place on ships described as "Wicked Noah's Arks" where conditions were even worse than in notorious prisons like Newgate. Transportation to Australia awaited those who survived, and they counted themselves the lucky ones. Today it's the dark history of the Prison Hulks.</p><br><p>Our guest is Dr Anna McKay from the University of Liverpool who researches the lives and experiences of prisoners across the British maritime world. Her essay <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14780038.2021.1893917#:~:text=Hulk%20surgeons%20tampered%20with%20convict,to%20confirm%20causes%20of%20death" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">'Allowed to die?'</a> won the Royal Historical Society's Alexander Prize and her latest book proposal is shortlisted for the 2023 Ideas Prize. <a href="https://www.anna-mckay.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.anna-mckay.com/</a> </p><br><p>Edited by Tom Delargy, Produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit.com/subscription/</u></a></p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The Enfield Poltergeist is Britain's most infamous haunting - set in the late 1970s on the outskirts of London, it continues to be told and retold. Most famously in the film <em>The Conjuring 2</em>.</p><br><p>But this is a real piece of history about a real family and a young girl, Janet, who became the focus of newspapers, paranormal investigators and - if we believe what we're told - a malevolent poltergeist.</p><br><p>Written by Anthony Delaney.</p><br><p>Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit.com/subscription/</u></a> </p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>On Christmas night 1843 a mother and child were found murdered inside their burned out home. Suspicion fell on one Polly Bodine. Over the next three years, Polly became the most infamous person in America in a blockbuster series of murder trials that gave birth to a monster - tabloid justice.</p><br><p>Our guest today is author Alex Hortis whose book <em>The Witch of New York: The Trials of Polly Bodine and the Cursed Birth of Tabloid Justice </em>is out now.</p><br><p>Edited by Freddy Chick, Produced by Charlotte Long & Freddy Chick.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit.com/subscription/</u></a> </p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Mutineers, manhunts, uninhabited tropical islands and...SHIPWRECKS! The second part of the story of the Mutiny of the Bounty is even wilder than the first. This time we follow <em>HMS Pandora</em> as it hunts down the mutineers, and uncover the incredible story of how a group of mutineers and Polynesians escaped to the uninhabited island of Pitcairn.</p><br><p>Written by Maddy Pelling.</p><br><p>Edited and produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit.com/subscription/</u></a> </p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Why are the Knights Templar surrounded by myths and legends? Is there any truth to the tales of the Holy Grail or that the Knights survived? Why does this medieval order, which disappeared in the 14th century, continue to enthral us today?</p><br><p>To uncover the real history of the Knights Templar we are joined by Dan Jones - historian, author, podcaster and host of <em>This Is History, </em>whose new series <em>The Iron King </em>is all about man who destroyed the Templars - King Philip the Fair.</p><br><p>Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit.com/subscription/</u></a> </p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>At exactly the same time as Jack the Ripper, another serial killer terrorised London. Just like Jack the Ripper, all their victims were women - their dismembered bodies left floating in the Thames. This is the dark history of the Thames Torso Murders, a case which asks questions about what crimes we choose the remember and what ones we try our hardest to forget.</p><br><p>Written by Maddy Pelling. Edited by Peter Dennis. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit.com/subscription/</u></a> </p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Garden gnomes have a secret life all of their own. If you don't believe us, then go ask Paris Hilton.</p><br><p>Today we discover the hidden history of garden gnomes and meet the eccentric aristocrat - Sir Charles Isham - who firmly believed that the mountains of the world really filled with little folk with pointy red hats and pickaxes.</p><br><p>Our guest is Twigs Way author of <em>Garden Gnomes: A History.</em></p><br><p>Edited by Tomos Delargy, Produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit.com/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit.com/subscription/</u></a> </p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>1847 was the darkest year in the spiralling horror of the Great Irish Famine. It is known in Ireland as 'Black '47'. The British Government withdrew its support, leaving famine and disease to stalk the land. Those who could leave Ireland did, sailing on board 'Coffin Ships'.</p><br><p>Today Anthony concludes his two-part history of the Great Irish Famine with the help of special guest Professor Christine Kinealy, Director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University.</p><br><p>Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Charlotte Long and Freddy Chick.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/ </p><br><p>You can take part in our listener survey here.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>***Warning: today's episode contains graphic description of violence***</p><br><p>In 1661 Oliver Cromwell was hung and beheaded...the only problem was he'd been dead two years already. Charles II had returned and revenge was in the air. It took many strange and gruesome forms.</p><br><p>Anthony and Maddy are joined again today by Ronald Hutton - one of Britain's foremost historians who is working on a three volume biography of Oliver Cromwell. They hear about the strange after life of Cromwell's head and the incredible story of the execution of regicide Thomas Harrison.</p><br><p>Produced and edited by Freddy Chick. Senior producer is Charlotte Long.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>One million people died. Two million emigrated. The Great Irish Famine was the world turned upside down. The darkest chapter in Ireland's past.</p><br><p>It is not solely Ireland's history to bear. This is a piece of British history as well, one which needs to be faced. What really happened in the Great Irish Famine?</p><br><p>Written by Anthony Delaney with special guest Professor Christine Kinealy, Director of Ireland's Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University.</p><br><p>Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Charlotte Long and Freddy Chick.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit/subscription/</u></a> </p><br><p>You can take part in our listener survey <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a>.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>***Spoiler Alert: this episode contains spoilers for the Harry Potter books and films***</p><br><p>Giant snakes, winged horses and hooded demons. The world of Harry Potter is full of bizarre and terrifying beasts... but what are the origins of these mythical creatures? To discuss this, Anthony and Maddy met with Ceri Houlbrook, folklorist and lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire.</p><br><p>Produced and edited by Tom Delargy. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit/subscription/</u></a> </p><br><p>You can take part in our listener survey <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a>.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Violence, sex, betrayal, death and ... SHIPS! This is the story of how a voyage that began with scientific aims and a regimented daily routine ended in all this drama. This is the story of mutiny on the <em>Bounty</em> in 1789. </p><br><p>Maddy tells Anthony the story this week.</p><br><p>Written by Maddy Pelling. Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://historyhit/subscription/</a></p><br><p>You can take part in our listener survey <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>In 1649, Charles I had his head chopped off for treason. It's a unique, divisive moment in English history. Was Charles a tyrant or a martyr? Was his trial justice or a kangaroo court? Did he deserve to die?</p><br><p>Our guest to help tell this truly incredible piece of history is Ronald Hutton - one of Britain's foremost historians who is working on a three volume biography of Oliver Cromwell.</p><br><p>Ronald will be returning next week to help us tell the other half of this story — the Revenge meted out on those responsible after the Restoration of the monarchy eleven years later.</p><br><p>Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit/subscription/</u></a> </p><br><p>You can take part in our listener survey <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a>.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Horror struck the East End of London twice in December 1811. Two brutal sets of murders within a few days of each other. It became ground zero for True Crime as for the first time ever the press helped turn this murder case into a nationwide sensation. The whole country was hysterical and hooked, who was the killer? Would they strike again?</p><br><p>Maddy tells Anthony the story this week.</p><br><p>Written by Maddy Pelling. Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit/subscription/</u></a> </p><br><p>You can take part in our listener survey <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a>.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>According to legend, Sawney Bean and Agnes "Black" Douglas raised a clan of cannibals in a remote Scottish cave. They killed and ate unlucky travellers on lonely roads. This went on for decades with more than a thousand perishing. Who invented this gruesome story? Why? And why has Sawney Bean become a kind of cult hero in Scotland itself?</p><br><p>Cat Byers is our guest today, a writer and historian based in Paris currently finishing a PhD on the Paris Morgue.</p><br><p>Edited and produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit/subscription/</u></a> </p><br><p>You can take part in our listener survey <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a>.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Did you know legendary mountaineer Edmund Hillary found evidence of the Yeti? Or that David Attenborough is on board with the idea it exists? Today we explore the history of the hunt for the Yeti.</p><br><p>We're delighted to be joined by Pranaya Rana, a writer based in Kathmandu whose blog is at <a href="https://recordnepal.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://recordnepal.substack.com/</a></p><br><p>Written by Maddy Pelling. Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.</p><br><p>Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK sign up at <a href="https://historyhit/subscription/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://historyhit/subscription/</u></a> </p><br><p>You can take part in our listener survey <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a>.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>