After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

It was a murder that shook Edwardian Britain, and became a media sensation around the world. Joining Maddy and Anthony today is the best-selling historian and author, Hallie Rubehold, to explore one of the most infamous murders of the 20th century, and the rapidly changing world it took place in. You can now watch After Dark on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit Produced by Freddy Chick...

As a lot of new listeners have joined us, and it's a bank holiday in the UK, we thought we'd re-run one of our earliest, goriest episodes. Trust us, this episode is a bloody delight: from flesh-eating fish and humiliating deaths inside sacks, to a deadly re-enactment of the Icarus myth. For a culture that is seen as an emblem of civilisation (whatever that means), the Romans expended a lot of crea...

The grimy streets of Victorian London were stalked by a shadowy menace: Spring-Heeled Jack! He had glowing eyes and blue flames came out his mouth. He had claws, wings. He had a tail. He had smart boots. He had literal springs in his heels. Confusing...who was Spring-Heeled Jack? Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney are joined by Ceri Houlbrook, whose new book "Folklore: A Journey Through the Past an...

A spectral Black Dog with hellish eyes; a homicidal water spirit who drowns children; a mermaid who takes revenge on a vile cad. Maddy Pelling takes Anthony Delaney on a tour through the dark side of English folklore. The episode also features thoughts from artist, author and filmmaker, Ben Edge. Find out more about Ben's work here: https://www.benedge.co.uk/ Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by S...

How did George III die? Was it raving in a straightjacket? Who stayed with him at the end of his long illness? Today we uncover the truth about George III, the man unfairly remembered as the mad King who lost America. Produced by Freddy Chick. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every...

Can it be murder if you think you're killing a ghost? In 1804 the London suburb of Hammersmith was being terrorised by a ghost. One man set out to hunt down whoever, or whatever, this was. He almost swung from the end of a rope for his troubles. Join Anthony and Maddy for this ghostly Halloween episode. Written by Maddy Pelling. Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is C...

Wales is set apart from a lot of countries, with one of its folk tales - the Red Dragon - featuring in its flag.  What are the mythical origins of Wales, and other dark folk tales and traditions, such as the Cŵn Annwn; the hounds of the otherworld? Why does the skull of a dead horse, the Mari Lwyd, visit people at Christmas? And how did Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks play a part in Welsh folklo...

*TW: This episode contains discussions and themes of infertility. * Fairies have long been part of Irish folkloric history, with its landscape dotted with thousands of 'fairy forts'. But there's a dark side to these beliefs. Changelings are thought to be evil fairies who steal humans from families, taking them to the fairy world and replacing them with weak, disfigured fairy lookalikes. It taps in...

Alice Arden wanted her husband Thomas dead. So did the rest of the village of Faversham. What followed was a twisted dance of passion, poison, insane plots and dastardly assassins. A tale so macabre that it became a true crime sensation in its own day. Returning to help tell the story is Dr Blessin Adams whose new book Thou Savage Woman: Female Killers in Early Modern Britain is out now. Edited by...

From misty mountains to deep-sea caves, we explore the dark side of Scottish folklore. Tales of Selkies - seal folk caught between sea and shore - Kelpies - murderous water-horses -and the ancient figure of the Cailleach. Maddy and Anthony's guest today is Donald Smith, founding director of the Scottish Storytelling Centre, and a storyteller who has written and lectured widely on the folklore of S...

(Part 2/2) On Easter Monday in 1916, Irish rebels read a proclamation of independence that sparked a week-long battle with the British army. Over the next six days, this new bloody frontier of the First World War unfolded and became known as the Easter Rising. How did the Irish rebels plan to take on the might of the British army? How did this pave the way for eventual Irish independence? And did...

***This episode contains a description of mass murder*** As the Black Death moved across Europe, something darker and more insidious spread ahead of it. An antisemitic conspiracy theory that blamed European Jews for the plague. Across Europe, Jews were persecuted and often executed en masse. Maddy and Anthony are joined by Joshua Teplitsky, Professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania. H...

(Part 1/2) With Britain engaged in the First World War in Europe, Irish rebels sensed an opportunity. Irish revolutions had fought for independence from Britain in the past, would the Easter Rising be any different? In this first of two-parts, Anthony and Maddy talk to Dr. Conor Mulvagh, lecturer in Irish History at University College Dublin, about the dramatic events that lead to the 1916 Easter...

It was a plague like no other. It provoked strange cures like no other. Anthony Delaney takes Maddy Pelling in search of the oddest cures concocted in the face of the Black Death, busting a few myth along the way (sorry Plague Doctor, but you're in the wrong century). Edited by Max Carrey. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of...

(Part 2/2) Joan of Arc, mystic leader of a French army, was captured and sold to the English who tried her as a witch. What do the final days of this iconic figure tell us? With so much myth swirling around her, how can we get at the real Joan d'Arc? Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original doc...

Around 50% of everyone in Europe died during the Black Death. It's very hard to make sense of that. What did it look and feel like to live through this calamity? Today Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney are joined by historian Helen Carr whose new book Sceptred Isle: A New History of the Fourteenth Century is out in May. Produced by Freddy Chick. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Charlott...

(Part 1/2) So many things make Joan of Arc iconic. The fearless, crossdressing warrior saint who dies a martyr's death. Today Maddy begins a two-part exploration by telling Anthony the story of who Joan of Arc was and how she rose to fame. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries,...

The myth goes thus: the Black Death reached Christendom at the Siege of Caffa when Mongols catapulted diseased bodies over the walls. Where did we get this story? What actually happened at Caffa? And how did the Black Death really enter Europe? Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney are joined by Professor Hannah Barker, medieval historian from Arizona State University. She's the author of That Most Pr...

During the victory celebrations of World War One, a rising star is found dead in her bed after a suspected overdose. 22-year-old Billie Carlton’s death caused shockwaves across the nation, adding fuel to a growing moral panic about sex, scandal and drugs. Anthony and Maddy are joined by Virginia Berridge, Professor of History and Health Policy at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, t...

Why did two servants living in Plymouth, England, poison their whole household in 1675? How did they sneak arsenic into the food? And what on earth is pottage? Today Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney talk to Dr Blessin Adams, author of " Thou Savage Woman: female killers in early modern Britain ". Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week...

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 fata...

From ruthless schemer to pragmatic hero - who is the real Thomas Cromwell? And how did he meet his end? Today Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling the story. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit...

(Part 2/2) On the 13 February 1692, Scottish government troops slaughtered between 30-40 members of Clan MacDonald in their home in Glencoe, in the Scottish Highlands. Who was behind the killings? How has this atrocity been remembered? Is Glencoe haunted by its past? Maddy and Anthony's guests today are Dr Allan Kennedy whose new book 'Serious Crime in Late Seventeenth-Century Scotland' is out now...

(2/2) A boy King, a rebel army, and the first ever execution at Tower Hill. Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the days in the summer of 1381 when rebels took control of London and King Richard II, only fourteen, restored a world turned upside down. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original docume...

On the 13 February 1692, Scottish government troops slaughtered between 30-40 members of Clan MacDonald in their home in Glencoe, in the Scottish Highlands. They fell upon them without warning, killing indiscriminately. Who were the MacDonalds? Why did this atrocity happen? Maddy and Anthony's guests today are Dr Allan Kennedy whose new book 'Serious Crime in Late Seventeenth-Century Scotland' is...