After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Latest Episodes:

Oscar Wilde's Very Victorian Scandal Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

In 1895, the world witnessed its first true celebrity trial when Oscar Wilde was charged with “Gross Indecency". To tell the powerful story of Wilde's life in its fullness, Anthony and Maddy are joined by Merlin Holland, grandson of Oscar Wilde. Anthony and Merlin met while Anthony was filming his new History Hit documentary A Very Victorian Scandal: The Trials of Oscar Wilde.

Sign up to History Hit to watch this and hundreds of other original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Stuart Beckwith and Tom Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.

You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does Every Family Hold A Dark Past? Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

Maddy and Anthony dig into their own family history in collaboration with Ancestry! They find stories from the darker side of the past in their own family trees. Huge thanks to Ancestry's genealogists and family historians Jenn Utley, Joe Buggy and Christina Copland.

If you haven’t yet, head to hereto start your own family history journey today for free. The AncestryDNA kit makes an amazing stocking stuffer. Be sure to subscribe to the Ancestry YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@AncestryUS too!

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick, Peta Stamper and Charlotte Long.

You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit

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.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Happened The Day Pompeii was Destroyed? Dec 08, 2025

Show notes

We all know the story of Pompeii: the Roman town reduced to ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted. Roughly two-thousand years later, archaeologists have been able to uncover the stories of its victims. What do we know of the lives of this city's inhabitants? Who were they? And what do we know about their terrible final moments?

Today, Anthony and Maddy are joined by ancient historian Dr Jess Venner, whose book ‘The Lost Voices of Pompeii’ will be published in April 2026.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.

You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit

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.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Dark Side of the Vikings Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

How dark really were the Vikings? How much of a part did human sacrifice play in their world? And what was their relationship with magic?

Joining Anthony and Maddy in today's episode is historian, author and all-round Viking expert Dr Eleanor Barraclough, to take us back to darkest corners of the Viking era.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit

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.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Only Prime Minister Ever Assassinated Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

Was this moment the closest Britain came to revolution? When Prime Minister Spencer Perceval lay dying on the floor of the Parliament, many feared it was the start of bloody revolt. We discover the assassin, John Bellingham, and what drove him to commit murder.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick.

You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit

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.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who Was Medieval Europe's Most Evil Monarch? Nov 27, 2025

Show notes

Who was the very worst of all the Medieval monarchs? No spoilers but we've got monarchs driven psychopathic by love, terrible sadists, and egos that straddled a continent. They were the worst of the worst, but who was the worst of all?

Our guest today is Dr Eleanor Janega, co-host of Gone Medieval from History Hit - if you are a fan of the medieval world, you need to be listening!

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit

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.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who was the Last Witch of Scotland? Nov 24, 2025

Show notes

With the nights closing in, what better time to re-visit a favourite episode of ours.

In 1727, Janet Horne of the Highland community of Dornoch became the last person in Britain to be tried and executed for witchcraft.

As the poet Edwin Morgan put it; They tarred her and feathered her, bound her and barrelled her burning in the peat-smoke, while the good folk of Dornoch paused briefly for a look.

But maybe the events aren’t quite as black and white as they seem?

Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the story this week.

Written by Maddy Pelling. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit

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.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could you Survive the Medieval Apocalypse? Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

For Medieval Europe, the Apocalypse wasn’t just a metaphor - it was very real and very imminent.

We are talking about the four horsemen, locusts the size of horses, the beast of the abyss, the Whore of Babylon, and, obviously, the anti-christ.

We’re going to go through the medieval apocalypse blow-by-blow to see how this obsession with the end led to bizarre real-world cults like the Flagellants, who abandoned all norms for group sex in the woods.

Our guest today is Dr Eleanor Janega, co-host of Gone Medieval with Matt Lewis. Watch Eleanor's documentary about the Medieval Apocalypse here.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit

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.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Did Henry VIII Kill Catherine Howard? Nov 17, 2025

Show notes

In 1540 Henry VIII was getting old, and his eyes turned to teenager Catherine Howard.

He fell hard and fast for Catherine - his "rose without a thorn" - but when he found out about her past, all hell broke loose.

Amidst all the panic and confusion, who was this young woman who rose to be queen? Why did Henry VIII want her killed? And how should we remember her?

Joining Anthony and Maddy is author and historian Gareth Russell, to help us get to know this woman.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit

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.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who Was Nostradamus? Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

Did Nostradamus really predict everything from the Great Fire of London to the rise of Hitler?

We predict that you'll find out in this episode...

Join Anthony and Maddy as they explore the life of 16th century astrologer and so-called seer, Nostradamus, to find out if he really had the ability to see into the future.

This episode was edited by Tim Artsall and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit

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.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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