After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Author: History Hit Language: English Episodes: 100
There’s a side to history that doesn’t make it into the standard textbooks, one filled with unexplained events, chilling folklore, and criminal acts that defy easy explanation. That’s precisely the territory explored in After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal. Hosted by historians Anthony Delaney and Maddy Pelling, this series from History Hit ventures into the shadowy archives of our past every Monday and Thursday. Each episode feels like a deep dive into a long-forgotten case file or a whispered campfire tale, treating these subjects with a historian’s rigor and a storyteller’s flair. You’ll hear them dissect everything from infamous witch trials and the enigmatic legacy of Harry Houdini to accounts of haunted locations and perplexing aerial phenomena. The conversation is engaging and thoughtful, never sensational, even when the topics are inherently sensational. It’s a podcast for anyone curious about the intersections of fact, fear, and folklore, offering a compelling listen that proves the past is rarely as simple or as settled as it seems. By focusing on these overlooked narratives, Delaney and Pelling provide a unique and fascinating lens on human culture and our enduring fascination with the mysterious.
Episodes
Oscar Wilde's Very Victorian Scandal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:15
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,…
Does Every Family Hold A Dark Past? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:54
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 historia…
What Happened The Day Pompeii was Destroyed? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:03
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 l…
The Dark Side of the Vikings [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:57
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 Vik…
The Only Prime Minister Ever Assassinated [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:16
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 Belling…
Who Was Medieval Europe's Most Evil Monarch? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:24
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 th…
Who was the Last Witch of Scotland? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:02
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…
Could you Survive the Medieval Apocalypse? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:18
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, obvio…
Why Did Henry VIII Kill Catherine Howard? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:18
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 al…
Who Was Nostradamus? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:33
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 a…