In the first half of the 19th century, there was a single murder that, having ensnared the English countryside in a web of scandal, permeated throughout society and popular culture for decades after its conclusion. Having all the elements of a story written as a gothic thriller, theso-named Red Barn murder sparked a year-long mystery, culminating in a revelation that exposed a history of darkness, hidden beneath a façade of respectability that shocked the nation to its core.

SOURCES

Harley, Laurence (1988) The Church And Parish of Polstead, Suffolk. BGA Print, Suffolk, UK.

McCorristine, Shane (2014) William Corder & The Red Barn Murder: Journeys of the Criminal Body. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire, UK.

Maggs, Peter (2015) Murder in the Red Barn: The Tragic Story of Maria Martin and William Corder. Mirli Books Ltd. Essex, UK.

Foster, George (1828) An Accurate Account of the Trial of William Corder. George Foster, London, UK.

Gibbs, Dorothy & Maltby, Herbert (1949) The True Story of Maria Marten. East Anglian Magazine, UK.

Morning Chronicle (1828) Horrible Murder. Morning Chronicle, Thurs 24 April 1828, p3. London, UK.

Morning Chronicle (1828) The Mysterious Murder. Morning Chronicle, Sat 26 April 1828, p3. London, UK.

Morning Chronicle (1828) Murder At Polstead. Morning Chronicle, Mon 28 April 1828, p3. London, UK.

For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com

Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories

The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories

Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9

Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast

Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories

& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/

Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com

or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf

The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye

Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hour 4 - On the Big Board...or Not