After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal
This is After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds and the Paranormal. The podcast that takes you to the shadiest corners of the past, unpicking history’s spookiest, strangest, and most sinister stories.Join historians Anthony Delaney and Maddy Pelling, every Monday and Thursday to take a look at the darker side of history. From haunted pubs and Houdini, to witch trials and weird UFO sightings.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds and the Paranormal - a podcast by History Hit, the world's best history channel and creators of award-winning podcasts Dan Snow's History Hit, Gone Medieval, and Betwixt the Sheets.Sign up to History Hi...
Episodes
The Dark Reality of Life at Sea
Dan Snow joins After Dark to reveal the brutal reality of life of sailors during the golden age of sail. From the cat o' nine tails, to the pressgang, from scurvy to mutineers. How did people survive the most extreme conditions imaginable?E…
Dark Side of Elizabeth I
The end of Elizabeth I's life was shrouded in darkness and plots as powerful figures circled her throne. How did Elizabeth hold off contenders reaching for the crown? And did James VI & I steal it in the end?Our guest today is Dr Tracy Borm…
Who Was Ancient Egypt's Most Evil Pharaoh?
We often think of Egyptian Pharaohs as a glamorous god-king of Ancient times, yet the truth of these people is a lot, lot darker.Who was the first Pharaoh? What shocking, violent stories surround some of these figures? How did their rule of…
Who Was Ancient Rome's Darkest Emperor?
There are a disturbingly high number of contenders for the title of Rome's Darkest Emperor - so as you can imagine, things get extremely disturbing in this episode.Joining Anthony and Maddy to introduce you to a couple of them, is Rome-base…
Day In The Life Of A Body Snatcher
Join Anthony and Maddy as they spend a day - or should that be night? - in the life of a 19th century body snatcher.Find out which months they favoured for body snatching, why they never stole the dead body's possessions, and why they would…
Georgian England's Notorious Dumpling Poisoner
Did she do it? Did serving girl Eliza Fenning poison the dumplings she served the Turner family? This is a true crime case from 1813 that brings together class tensions, sexism, the law. have a go hero forensics! It's easy to see why this t…
Dark Truth About Ancient Egypt's Mummification
The Ancient Egyptians had a very different idea about death than most people do today.And the idea of mummification is (excuse the pun) wrapped up in so many modern ideas, that we can lose its real purpose.Joining Anthony and Maddy today to…
Who was the 'Man-Monster' Of New York?
On June 16, 1836, in New York City, Mary Jones stood in a courtroom that was a cauldron of hatred. Mary was African American and one of the first known transgender women in US history. Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling the final story fro…
BONUS: Hear a chapter of Anthony's new book, Queer Georgians
Hear a chapter of Anthony's new book, Queer Georgians: A hidden history of lovers, lawbreakers and homemakers. It's out now!For more information, click here.Anthony tells listeners why he wanted to write this book, and introduces a special …
Dark Side of Ancient Rome's Colosseum
In today's episode, we're taking you inside the towering walls of Ancient Rome's Colosseum to find out the dark reality of what happened there.From the sex appeal of gladiators, to the choreographed means of human sacrifice, and the eternal…
Gay Sex Scandal that Outraged the Georgians
What price might a man pay for sex in the 18th century? Well, if it was with another man, he might pay with his life.In this episode, Anthony introduces us to 43-year-old milkman Gabriel Lawrence. Together, he and Maddy take us inside the M…
Jack the Ripper: Invention of a Monster
Jack the Ripper as we think of him, is an invention of the Victorian media. They took the complete absence of hard facts about the killer, and populated it with the period's anxieties, fantasies and fears.We're joined again by Dr Bob Nichol…
The Dark Side of Medieval England
This episode contains descriptions of execution and torture.To be Hanged, Drawn & Quartered. Put on the Rack. Impaled on a spike. This list paints a very dark picture. What was the reality of execution and torture in the Medieval world? Was…
The Darkest Scandal in Victorian Britain
Today we step into the shadowy world of W.T. Stead—a Victorian journalist whose life was as controversial as it was groundbreaking. Hear how he uncovered a sex scandal which shocked the nation, dabbled in the supernatural, and also… predict…
New York's Wildest Murder Case
This 1897 New York murder case that has it all - a villain, an incredibly useless police force, and a duck who saves the day. The incredible Dr Cat Byers (@heymorguegirl) joins Maddy and Anthony to tell this story.Edited by Tomos Delargy. P…
Victorian Love Triangle Murder
Through the industrial fog of Victorian London, in one of the city's most notorious slums, a murder took place that shocked a nation.The Bermondsey Horror, as it was called at the time, centred around a young woman and her older partner, an…
The Body In The Trunk: France's Shocking 19th Century Murder Case
It was a murder mystery that gripped 19th century France and changed crime investigation forever.Who was the body in the trunk? What were the groundbreaking techniques used in the forensics investigation? And how did the murder case unfold …
Bloodiest Mutiny & Shipwreck in History: Batavia
What happens when you're left on a desert island with a psychopath? This is a story so horrendous it would be hard to believe were it not for the skeletons left behind. Maddy Pelling takes Anthony Delaney through the shipwreck of the Batavi…
Britain’s Most Prolific Executioner
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 Be…
Could You Survive The Victorian Workhouse?
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, …
Day In The Life Of A Plague Doctor
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 …
Final Days of Napoleon
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 my…
The Great Plague of London
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 b…
Dark History of the Luddites
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…
The Plague That Shook The Roman Empire
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 pil…
The Truth About Frankenstein
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…
How Bloody Was 'Bloody Mary'?
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…
The Final Days of Anastasia Romanov
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 gai…
Bloody Mary: The Real Woman in the Mirror
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 b…
Poison in the Tower of London
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…
Stonehenge: 10 Strangest Facts
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 …
Could You Survive Victorian Surgery?
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! Coul…
Murder at Stonehenge
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 …
Dark Side of Ancient Mesopotamia
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 a…
Final Days of Sir Walter Raleigh
'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 m…
Inside the Paris Catacombs
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 '…
Victorian England's Most Gruesome Murder
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…
The Ghost of Mary Queen of Scots
*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 …
The Truth About the Knights Templar
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?T…
Final Days of Abraham Lincoln
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 …