After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Latest Episodes:

The Real Dick Turpin Jan 21, 2024

Show notes

"Your money or your life!"

Those are the immortal words ascribed to this famous outlaw. Terror of the rich. Hero to the poor. Charmer of ladies. The galloping figure on Black Bess. The imagery surrounding him is iconic... but who was the real Dick Turpin? Anthony and Maddy discuss his story in today's episode.

Edited and produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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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

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The Many Murders of Alexander the Great Jan 18, 2024

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Alexander the Great - conqueror, legend, murderer. After ascending to the throne at aged 20 in 336BCE, his rule started with mass executions and political assassinations - themes that would follow throughout his tumultuous reign. But why was Alexander's reign so bloody, and what does it tell us about Hellenistic society at the time?

In today's episode Anthony and Maddy are joined by Tristan Hughes, host of History Hit's 'The Ancients'. Together they delve into the violent rule of Alexander the Great, discussing funerals riddled with assassinations, murderous brawls, and asking whether Alexander was truly dead when they started the embalming process...

You can take part in our listener survey here.

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.

Ghost Ship: The Mary Celeste Jan 15, 2024

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In 1872 the ghost ship Mary Celeste is found sailing across the Atlantic without a single crew member left on board. Theories over what happened on the Mary Celeste range from insurance fraud to a violent mutiny... this week, Maddy and Anthony discuss what they think happened to the ship's crew.

Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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.

Myths of King Arthur: Origins, Creepy Sex & Magic Swords Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

King Arthur. Merlin. The Knights of the Round Table and the Sword in the Stone. We think we know these stories but they've changed a lot since they were first told... In this episode, Maddy and Anthony are joined by History Hit's very own Dr. Eleanor Janega, host of the Gone Medieval podcast, to tell us about the rather creepy origins of the Arthurian legend.

Edited by Tom Delargy, Produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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.

Ireland's Bloodiest Murders: Maamtrasna Murders Jan 08, 2024

Show notes

One summer night in 1882 the Maamtrasna Valley in the West of Ireland became forever notorious when three generations of the Seoige (Joyce) family were brutally murdered.

What followed was a trial so full of colonial injustice that it turned a story of gory murder into something of national significance. From all the blood and cruelty, a man called Maolra Seoighe (Myles Joyce in English) emerges as a figure embodying the tensions and injustices of Ireland in this time.

Anthony tells Maddy the story this week.

Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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.

Medieval Werewolves, Ghosts & Zombies Jan 04, 2024

Show notes

How did Medieval people fight against the Undead? What motivated their Ghosts? And why do stories of Werewolves persist until today?

Anthony and Maddy are joined today by Matt Lewis, host of History Hit podcast "Gone Medieval", and by Paul Sinclair whose film Wolflands is available on Amazon.

Edited by Tom Delargy and Freddy Chick. Produced by Annie Coloe and Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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.

Exploding Kings & Red Hot Pokers: Gruesome Deaths of Monarchs Jan 01, 2024

Show notes

Edward II died by red-hot poker. William the Conqueror exploded on his way into the coffin. Mary II went down covered in so many pustules she was unrecognisable.

Kings and Queens are more much more likely than the rest of us to meet a grizzly end. Sometimes it's because they're murdered. Sometimes it's that we try too hard to keep them alive. And sometimes it's because we don't stick them in the ground soon enough once they've gone.

Edited by Tean Stewart-Murray, Produced by Stuart Beckwith and Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long

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.

Blood Countess of Hungary: Sixteenth Century Serial Killer Dec 28, 2023

Show notes

The inspiration behind countless gothic novels, Countess Elizabeth Báthory is said to be one of the most prolific serial killers of all time, accused of the murder of 600 girls during the late 16th century. Maddy and Anthony talk to Professor Kimberly Craft, a legal historian who has spent over a decade researching the life and trial of Countess Báthory and over a year translating original source material into English. Where does the truth lie, a conspiracy started by her enemies or a psychopathic vampire?

Edited by Ella Blaxill, Produced by Beth Donaldson and Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long

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.

Christmas Day Strangler: the murder of Gwen Ellen Jones Dec 25, 2023

Show notes

On Christmas Day 1909, Gwen Ellen Jones was murdered by William Murphy in the Welsh town of Holyhead. Anthony and Maddy tell the story with an appearance from Dr Hazel Pierce at the end. The episode was based on Hazel's wonderful work.

Hazel is part of the pan-Wales History Points project (https://historypoints.org/). Her first book was about Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury 1473-1541. Her new book is coming next year on the life of Katherine Courtenay, daughter of King Edward IV, and her son and daughter in law, Henry and Gertrude Courtenay, both of whom fell foul of King Henry VIII.

Written by Anthony Delaney. Editing and Sound Design by Anisha Deva. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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.

Charles Dickens' Christmas Ghosts Dec 20, 2023

Show notes

Like Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve, we are visited by three Dickensian ghosts today. One rattling chains, one made out of dark memories, and one tapping out messages on a train. Did Dickens himself believe in ghosts? What do his ghost tales tell us about the beliefs in the supernatural that were swirling around the world he lived in?

Maddy and Anthony talk to Dr Frankie Kubicki, Deputy Director of the Charles Dickens Museum in London. Recorded on location in Charles Dickens' drawing room! To find out more visit: https://dickensmuseum.com/

Edited by Tom Delargy, Produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long

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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