After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Latest Episodes:

Who Was the Man In The Iron Mask? Feb 23, 2026

Show notes

For decades a mysterious figure was held prisoner by Louis XIV. His face was covered, his identity was a secret beyond all others. Why? Who was this figure? How much of the story is myth and how much is fact? Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the story today.

This episodes was edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Stuart Beckwith and researched by Phoebe Joyce. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.

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

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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 Truth about the Haitian Revolution Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

The Haitian Revolution is the only successful, permanent slave revolt in history, resulting in the creation of an independent state.

Haiti is also the first modern nation of the world to permanently abolish slavery.

So what happened the August night of 1791 when the enslaved people of what was known as Saint-Domingue, rose up and started burning plantations?

It's a history that involves American and French Revolutions, with the British and Spanish also waging in on the fighting.

Joining Anthony and Maddy is Marlene Daut, Professor of French and African Diaspora Studies at Yale University and author of several books on Haiti, including Awakening the Ashes: An Intellectual History of the Haitian Revolution.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. 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 French Revolution's Reign of Terror Feb 16, 2026

Show notes

The French Revolution was famously inspired by ideals such as republicanism and individual liberty. Yet, for all its promises of freedom, the Revolution also descended into what is often considered its darkest chapter... the Reign of Terror.

Today's guest is Dr Michael Rapport, a Reader in Modern European History at the University of Glasgow and is author of works including ‘The Napoleonic Wars: A Very Short Introduction’, ‘1848: Year of Revolution’ and most recently ‘City of Light, City of Shadows: Paris in the Belle Epoque’.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Stuart Beckwith and Tom Delargy. 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 Dark Truth about Wuthering Heights Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Brontë in 1847, depicts a gothic world full of violence and passion, set against the wild Yorkshire Moors.

So how did the daughter of a clergyman create such a story? How was it received at the time? And what darkness and intrigue happened in the Brontê's lives that could have influenced such stories?

With a new Wuthering Heights film being released, Anthony and Maddy are exploring that world with you in today's episode.

It’s one of relentless death and tragedy, wild creativity, and supernatural belief, all to the backdrop of an industrial Victorian England.

If you're interested to find out more, you can watch the documentary Death at the Parsonage: The Brontês, on HistoryHit.com.

This episode was edited 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.

Bloody Beginning of the French Revolution Feb 09, 2026

Show notes

The Storming of the Bastille in 1789 marked the beginning of the French Revolution... the day a Parisian crowd stormed the royal fortress-prison that had come to embody absolutist power. This is the story of how mounting unrest erupted into full-scale revolution, and how one looming stone fortress became a lasting symbol of freedom, violence, and the power of the people.

Today’s guest is Michael Rapport, a Reader in Modern European History at the University of Glasgow. His works include ‘The Napoleonic Wars: A Very Short Introduction’, ‘1848: Year of Revolution’ and most recently ‘City of Light, City of Shadows: Paris in the Belle Epoque’.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Stuart Beckwith and Tom Delargy. 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.

Al Capone and the Valentine's Day Massacre Feb 05, 2026

Show notes

Bootleg liquor. Tommy guns. Gangs ruling the city with crooked cops.

The Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929 Chicago sounds cinematic, but the fear and the bloodshed was very real.

What was the perfect storm that created this horrifying moment? How did it unfold? And how did the cops finally catch their man?

Joining Anthony and Maddy today is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jonathan Eig, to take us back to this bloody moment almost 100 years on.

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.

Dark Truth About Victorian 'Freak Shows' Feb 02, 2026

Show notes

Julia Pastrana was a Mexican woman exploited as a sideshow attraction in life and grotesquely exhibited even after her death because of her appearance. Her story is part of the dark history of the Victorian 'freak show'. Anthony tells Maddy the story.

This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Stuart Beckwith and researched by Phoebe Joyce.

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.

Essex's Darkest Witch Hunt Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

This is the story of a 16th century cunning woman, a folk healer, who was found guilty of being a witch. Accusations spiralled until more than a dozen women faced the threat of death. The St Osyth witch hunt became a landmark case, setting a dark precedent for the witch hunts that would explode across the country in the century that followed.

Our guest today is Marion Gibson, author of 'Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials'.

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.

Who Was the Witchfinder General? Jan 26, 2026

Show notes

Mathew Hopkins, also known as the ‘Witchfinder General,’ was responsible for a campaign of terror across 17th-century England. In just a few short feverish years, his witch hunts swept through East Anglia, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people…

Edited by Tim Arstall, Produced by Tom Delargy, 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.

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.

Inside A Medieval Leper Colony Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

Come back with us to a Medieval leper colony.

What was life really like for patients inside the gates? What did it mean when the 'leper bell' rang? And what happened at a 'living funeral'?

Join Anthony and Maddy as they separate popular myth from fact, taking you through a typical day inside a leper colony in medieval Europe.

This episode was edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick and researched by Phoebe Joyce.

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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