After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Pumpkins, trick or treating and ghost stories are what we associate with Halloween, but what about turnips, fairies and a fortune-telling cake? Anthony and Maddy are joined by historian Dan Snow, and host of sister podcast Dan Snow’s History Hit. They go in search of the origins of Halloween, rooted on the island of Ireland, in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when the harvest ends and winter looms.The trio try Barmbrack cake, a fruit loaf filled with charms that foretell the fate of the consumer, and Dan speaks to food historian Dr Regina Sexton about the traditionalSamhain practices that inform our present Halloween customs. Meanwhile, Maddy and Anthony discover the historic Irish folklore of the ‘three worlds’, and the ghouls and fairies that occupy them, with Dr Kelly Fitzgerald. You can discover more at Ireland.com/homeofhalloweenProduced by Charlotte Long, Mariana Des Forges, Freddy Chick, edited by Tom Delargy, Dougal Patmore and the production coordinators were Beth Donaldson and Peta Stamper.

This Tudor's story is intense and tragic. She's known as Lady Jane Grey but we ought to change that to 'Queen Jane'. That's who she was, even though she didn't want it, and it cost her her life in the end. Hear how Jane Grey became Queen Jane and how the shortest reign in English history ended in execution.Our guest is Dr Tracy Borman who has a documentary on Channel 5 about Queen Jane and whose latest book is Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History.Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARKYou can take part in our listener survey here.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Today we’re exploring the grim and heroic final days of the Anne Boleyn, the thousand day queen.We are joined by the one-and-only Dr Tracy Borman who bestselling book on this topic is Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History.Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARKYou can take part in our listener survey here.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Edith Thompson was the model 1920's flapper girl. Her husband Percy was more suburban. When young Freddy Bywater entered the marriage home, things became deadly.This week Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the story of a murder case that gripped the nation.Written by Maddy Pelling. Edited and Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARKYou can take part in our listener survey here.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

John Reginald Christie was the most notorious murderer of his era. On the outside he was every inch the Old Fashioned Englishman, respectable norms personified. But inside the walls and under the floors of his flat at 10 Rillington Place were the bodies of the women and babies he had killed.Our guest today is Kate Summerscale, groundbreaking true-crime writer whose new book is The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place. She guides Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney through this shocking history that shows 1950's Britain's ugliest face.Edited by Tomos Delargy, Produced by Sophie Gee, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARKYou can take part in our listener survey here.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Part 4/4. By looking at the men accused of being Jack the Ripper, we uncover dark truths about Victorian society - and our own. Why were these men, most of them almost certainly innocent, singled out as monsters?Today Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling about how quack doctor Francis Tumblety, an American, became a prime suspect in the case. He is a shining example of medical malpractice but does that make him a murderer?Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Freddy Chick & Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick and Charlotte Long. With thanks to the Little Dot Studios team for their voices.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARKYou can take part in our listener survey here.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Discover the true story of Burke and Hare’s murderous rampage through the streets of Edinburgh, all to serve the needs of the city’s scientific minds. We're rerunning this early episode to mark the release of Maddy and Anthony's new documentary on History Hit TV all about Burke and Hare's story.Anthony tells Maddy the unnerving details about the infamous 19th century serial-killing duo.Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Tom Delargy. Producer is Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARKYou can take part in our listener survey here.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Part 3/4. By looking at the men accused of being Jack the Ripper, we uncover dark truths about Victorian society - and our own. Why were these men, most of them almost certainly innocent, singled out as monsters?Today Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling about how the celebrated artist Walter Sickert became a leading suspect for many. His art is unsettling, gruesome even, but does that make him a murderer?Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick and Charlotte Long.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARKYou can take part in our listener survey here.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

The wounds that Christ received on the cross - the stigmata - have had a strange afterlife, reappearing on the flesh of followers from St Francis of Assisi right through to the present. The stigmata are most commonly found on young women and are often accompanied by other miracles. What can this strange history teach us?Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney are joined today by Kristof Smeyers author of Supernatural Bodies: Stigmata in modern Britain and IrelandEdited and produced by Freddy Chick and Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARKYou can take part in our listener survey here.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Part 2/4. By looking at the men accused of being Jack the Ripper, we uncover dark truths about Victorian society - and our own. Why were these men, most of them almost certainly innocent, singled out as monsters?Today Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling about Aaron Kosminski, a Polish Jew living in Whitechapel who later became suspected of being Jack the Ripper. It's a story of immigration and antisemitism; of mental illness and of an effort to use DNA to link Kosminski to the crime.Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick and Charlotte Long.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AFTERDARKYou can take part in our listener survey here.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.