تنزيل التطبيق!
show episodes
 
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 ...
  continue reading
 
Loading …
show series
 
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'. Joining Maddy Pell…
  continue reading
 
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? Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the story today. Edited by Tom…
  continue reading
 
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. 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 …
  continue reading
 
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. Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Tomos Delargy, produced by Fred…
  continue reading
 
"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! Maddy Pelling and Anthony De…
  continue reading
 
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 …
  continue reading
 
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. Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney are joined by Michael Taylor whose new book is called Impossible Monsters: Dinosaurs, …
  continue reading
 
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. Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney this story about royal scandals and the freedom of the press that rings a lot of bells today! Written…
  continue reading
 
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 discove…
  continue reading
 
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? Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the story this week. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior …
  continue reading
 
"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 Nether World: Crime and the Police Courts …
  continue reading
 
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 re…
  continue reading
 
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. Today's guest is Brandon Hodge - leading expert and collector of talking boards. https://www.mysteriouspla…
  continue reading
 
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? 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 famo…
  continue reading
 
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 enc…
  continue reading
 
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? 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 …
  continue reading
 
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. Our guest is Dr Anna McKay f…
  continue reading
 
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 The Conjuring 2. 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 belie…
  continue reading
 
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. Our guest today is author Alex Hortis whose book The Wit…
  continue reading
 
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 HMS Pandora 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. Writte…
  continue reading
 
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 a…
  continue reading
 
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 hard…
  continue reading
 
Garden gnomes have a secret life all of their own. If you don't believe us, then go ask Paris Hilton. 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. Our guest is Twigs W…
  continue reading
 
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'. Today Anthony concludes his two-part history of the Great Irish Famine wit…
  continue reading
 
***Warning: today's episode contains graphic description of violence*** 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. Anthony and Maddy are joined again today by Ronald Hutton - one of Britain's forem…
  continue reading
 
One million people died. Two million emigrated. The Great Irish Famine was the world turned upside down. The darkest chapter in Ireland's past. 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? Written by Anthony Delaney with special g…
  continue reading
 
***Spoiler Alert: this episode contains spoilers for the Harry Potter books and films*** 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…
  continue reading
 
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 Bounty in 1789. Maddy tells Anthony the story this week. Written by Maddy Pelling. Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer…
  continue reading
 
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? 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 thre…
  continue reading
 
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? Maddy t…
  continue reading
 
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? Cat Byers…
  continue reading
 
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. We're delighted to be joined by Pranaya Rana, a writer based in Kathmandu whose blog is at https://recordnepal.substack.com/ Written by Maddy Pelling. Ed…
  continue reading
 
Loading …

دليل مرجعي سريع