After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

For Albert Pierrepoint, execution was a family affair. His father and uncle were hangmen and from the 1940s until the late 1950s Albert was Britain's "Number One" executioner. Which meant he was the one sent to hang the Nazis who ran the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the end of the war. Who was Albert Pierrepoint? What does it take to be able to execute hundreds of people? And what is 'The D...

Today we’re going behind the foreboding doors of the Victorian workhouse to ask - ‘Could we survive it?’. From Oliver Twist's gruel to songs about flogging, from lice-ridden clothing to soul destroying isolation. Our guest is Oskar Jensen, author of "Vagabonds: Life on the Streets of Nineteenth Century London". Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long. Ple...

If you think your job is bad, have you tried being a plague doctor in 17th century Venice? Join Anthony and Maddy as they wake up on a quarantine island and take you through a day in the life of a plague doctor, including the sights, smells and horrors of what you would have seen as you explored plague-riddled Venice in 1631. Find out what they would have worn, what they did on their lunch break,...

Conspiracy theories swirl about the final days of Napoleon. Was he poisoned by a friend? By the British? By his wallpaper? Did he cologne himself to death? Was his penis taken away by a vengeful priest!? Anthony and Maddy sweep aside the myths to find the truth of the final days of Napoleon Bonaparte. Edited by Tim Arstall. Research by Phoebe Joyce. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Cha...

What was it like living in London, 1665, when the plague first crept in? Within weeks, the gruesome symptoms were being spotted around London, crosses were marked on the doors of the damned, and King Charles II had fled the city. To take us back to this time and find out how the city reacted, Anthony and Maddy are joined by historian and author Rebecca Rideal. Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by St...

Would you have joined the OG Luddites? In 1811 and 1812 across the midlands and north of England which were the Silicon Valley of the day, Luddites smashed machines. They would not stop, not even at murder, in order to fight technology that was tearing down their way of life. Maddy tells Anthony the story this week. Edited by Tomos Delargy, produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Lo...

In the 6th century, the Roman Empire was split and its future hung in the balance. Emperor Justinian dreamed of restoring it to its former glory. That was until the first great plague devastated Constantinople. Thousands died, bodies were piled in the streets - even the Emperor fell ill. How did this effect ambitions to restore the Empire to its former glory? And how did citizens react to this dea...

Against a time of radical change, a gothic masterpiece was written by the teenage Mary Shelley. Published in 1818, Frankenstein takes us into a dark world where man and monster meet in mutual torment. A world of raw, animalistic fear. How was this story influenced by the tragedies in Mary Shelley's own life, and the early 19th century obsessions with playing God? Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced...

Last week we heard about Mary's formative years. Today we get to her reign, the infamous burnings and ask ourselves if Bloody Mary was as bad as people think. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long. Please vote for us for Listeners' Choice at the British Podcast Awards! Follow this link , and don’t forget to confirm the email. Thank you! You can now...

In the aftermath of the bloody Russian revolution, the Romanovs went from being a glittering royal family, to vulnerable everyday citizens who were soon murdered. In the wake of their deaths, the that one family member survived, began to gain traction. How do the claims of Princess Anastasia's survival begin? Why did people want her to survive? And why do humans need to believe in myths? Joining A...

Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary. Mary I is known as a brutal tyrant. But what was the reality? In the next two episodes Anthony and Maddy will explore Mary's story. Today they explore the traumatic early years that shaped her. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long. You can now watch After Dark on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit Ple...

Today’s story is one that takes us to a very familiar setting - the Tower of London - but shows it in a new light. Edward Francis was an enslaved man who lived in the Lion Tower. In 1691 he decided to poison his enslavers. Maddy and Anthony are joined by (friend of the pod) Dr Misha Ewen who helped bring this history to light. Misha is the author of "The Virginia Venture: American Colonization and...

It wasn't made by Druids (or Aliens or Merlin the wizard). But it was a garden centre. Get ready for the 10 strangest facts (mostly) about Stonehenge! Maddy Pelling takes Anthony Delaney back among the stones. Edited by Amy Haddow. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long. You can now watch After Dark on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit Sign up to History Hit for hu...

You're laid out on the surgeon's table. Wide awake. He stands over you knife in hand and behind him, in the stands, is a noisy crowd all joking, smoking and scoffing oysters, waiting for the show to start. Welcome to Victorian surgery! Could you survive? Joining Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney this week is Sara Yorath, from the Old Operating Theatre museum in London. Edited by Tim Arstall. Produ...

A body is found at Stonehenge. It's the skeleton of a man - an archer - who lived at the time when it was built. How did he die? What secrets does his skeleton reveal about his life and the purpose of Stonehenge? In today's episode, Anthony and Maddy investigate a 4,000 year-old murder mystery, as well as exploring the big questions that surround Stonehenge: how was it built? Who built it, and why...

A four thousand(ish) year old murder trial. A procession of the dead. Kings who believed they could escape the gods by dressing gardeners in royal clothes...then killing them. Welcome to the Dark Side of Ancient Mesopotamia! Guiding Maddy and Anthony through this most ancient and most fascinating civilisation is the incredible Professor Amanda Podany, author of 'Weavers, Scribes and Kings: A New H...

'Strike, man, strike!' were the last words of Sir Walter Raleigh as his neck lay on the block. After thirteen years in the Tower of London, (multiple) expeditions to find a city of gold, and a plot to kill the king, Walter Raleigh finally met his end. Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the story of how it all played out. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Research by Phoebe Joyce. Produced by Freddy Chick....

Beneath the streets of the French capitol lurks a city of the dead: the Paris Catacombs. Why they were piled up there is a dark and fascinating story, that includes everything from the bloody days of the French Revolution, to the making of 'corpse candles' and a mystery man found amongst its passageways. Joining Anthony and Maddy for today's episode is the fantastic Cat Irving, Human Remains Conse...

It was one of the most gruesome crimes of the Victorian era... and it ended up in David Attenborough's garden! Kate Webster, a servant, killed and dismembered her mistress, Julia Martha Thomas in 1879. It's a story that show us the everyday life of Victorian Londoners, and how that world can be turned upside down. Edited by Tomos Delargy, Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long...

*TW: This episode contains references to sexual violence. * Mary Queen of Scots' life was defined by violence, heartbreak and ultimately, betrayal. Since her bloody death at the hands of her cousin, Elizabeth I, many have claimed to have seen chilling sightings of her ghost. What are these sightings like? And what do they say about the tragic events of her life? And what do they say about the hist...

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? To uncover the real history of the Knights Templar we are joined by Dan Jones - historian, author, podcaster and host of  This Is History,  whose seri...

One split second - and one individual - can upturn an entire nation. This was definitely the case when John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre on the night of 14th April 1865. What were the final days leading up to this huge moment like? How did the nation, and the future of enslaved African Americans, hang in the balance? And how did that long night after the gun was fi...

The lost colonists left behind one clue, the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree. Who were the Croatans? What were their lives like? How can we see this whole story differently if we examine it from their perspective? Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney are joined today by Professor Robbie Richardson, author of The Savage and Modern Self: North American Indians in Eighteenth-Century British Literatur...

When people talk about Ancient Egypt, they often focus on the amazing pyramids, mummies, and the advanced civilisation. At After Dark, we love to explore the grim reality of all of this: what was life like for the people who built those pyramids? What happened if you stole from the Valley of the Kings? And how common were dark arts and sorcery? Today Anthony and Maddy are joined by Egyptologist C...

WTF happened to Virginia Dare, America's first English child? How did her and her mother's legend grow over time? Did mysterious carvings found on stones hold the answers? Anthony and Maddy explore the mysterious after life of Virginia Dare with Dr Misha Ewen, author of The Virginia Venture: American Colonization and English Society, 1580-1660 You can now watch After Dark on Youtube: www.youtube.c...