
After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal
This is After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds and the Paranormal. The podcast that takes you to the shadiest corners of the past, unpicking history’s spookiest, strangest, and most sinister stories.Join historians Anthony Delaney and Maddy Pelling, every Monday and Thursday to take a look at the darker side of history. From haunted pubs and Houdini, to witch trials and weird UFO sightings.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds and the Paranormal - a podcast by History Hit, the world's best history channel and creators of award-winning podcasts Dan Snow's History Hit, Gone Medieval, and Betwixt the Sheets.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.
Latest episodes

Dec 12, 2024 • 40min
Predicting Death: Strange History of the Premonitions Bureau
Can we see beyond the veil, glimpse the future before it arrives? John Barker, a psychiatrist with a fascination for the unexplained, thought maybe we could. In 1966, he created a bureau for people who claimed to foresee disaster.Maddy and Anthony are joined by Sam Knight, writer for the New Yorker and author of the book tells this incredible history: The Premonitions Bureau.Edited by Tomos Delargy and Freddy Chick. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.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.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Dec 9, 2024 • 50min
Ireland's First Witch: Medieval Murderer? (Part 2)
(Part 2/2) Anthony returns to his hometown of Kilkenny to conclude the tale of the first person to be executed for witchcraft in Ireland. Set 700 years ago in 1324, this is the story of a successful business woman called Alice Kyteler, her servant Petronilla de Meath, and a Bishop hell bent on their destruction.Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling the story.Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick and Charlotte Long.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.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Dec 5, 2024 • 34min
History's Greatest Ghost Hunters: the Warrens
Ghost hunting couple Ed and Lorraine Warren transformed twentieth century America into an enchanted land dotted with haunted houses, cursed objects, and portals to hell. Their exploits are the basis for the Conjuring movie franchise. They are the originators of the Annabelle doll. They are the most famous demon hunters ever. Who were the Warrens? Did they make it up? Or did they believe it all?Maddy and Anthony's guest today is Professor Joseph Laycock from Texas State University. He was our guest last week on our episode about the Amityville Horror. Joseph is the author of: The Penguin Book of Exorcisms and co-author of The Exorcist Effect: Horror, Religion, and Demonic Belief.Edited & produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.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.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Dec 2, 2024 • 48min
Ireland's First Witch: Medieval Murderer? (Part 1)
(Part 1/2) 700 years ago, in 1324, the first person to be executed for witchcraft in Ireland died in Kilkenny. This is the story of a successful business woman called Alice Kyteler, her servant Petronilla de Meath, and a Bishop hell bent on their destruction.Anthony takes Maddy back to his hometown of Kilkenny to tell the tale.Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick and Charlotte Long.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.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Nov 28, 2024 • 30min
Most Haunted House in America: The Amityville Horror
112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville (Long Island) is arguably the most haunted house in America. Inside its walls demonic forces were, allegedly, unleashed. It's a story that is a troubling mixture of real murders and deliberate myth-making. It's also a story that owes a lot to a movie that shaped America in the 1970s in profound ways...The Exorcist.Anthony and Maddy's guest to explore this incredible piece of paranormal history is Professor Joseph Laycock, associate professor of Religious Studies at Texas State University. He's the author of The Exorcist Effect: Horror, Religion, and Demonic Belief and The Penguin Book of Exorcisms.Edited by Freddy Chick and Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.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.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Nov 24, 2024 • 43min
English Village Sacrificed to Plague (Part 2)
(Part 2/2) They could've run, but they stayed. In 1665 plague arrived in the idyllic English village of Eyam. What followed was a story of suffering and self-sacrifice.Maddy tells Anthony the story. Today's episode takes you to the heart of the plague village and its deadly lockdown. Why did they do it?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.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Nov 21, 2024 • 52min
Ghosts of the Deep South
The Deep South is a haunted landscape where dark tourism thrives, supplying spine-tingling thrills to eager visitors. But is there a darker truth behind these tales? Maddy and Anthony's guest today is Tiya Miles, author of Tales from the Haunted South. Tiya reveals how ghost tours exploit and distort the true history of slavery for profit, feeding troubling narratives.Tiya Miles is the Michael Garvey Professor of History and Radcliffe Alumnae Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Her latest book is Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People (Penguin 2024).Edited by Freddy Chick. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.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.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Nov 18, 2024 • 47min
English Village Sacrificed to Plague (Part 1)
(Part 1/2) They could've run, but they stayed. In 1665 plague arrived in the idyllic English village of Eyam. What followed was a story of suffering and self-sacrifice.Maddy tells Anthony the story. Today we set the scene with the outbreak of the plague in London and how the pestilence arrived, via a bolt of cloth, in the village of Eyam.With special guest Rebecca Rideal, author of "1666: Plague, War and Hellfire".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.After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

8 snips
Nov 14, 2024 • 38min
Queen Victoria's Funeral & the Cult of Death
Dan O'Brien, a historian focused on 18th-century funerals and at the Centre for Death and Society, unravels the complexities surrounding Queen Victoria's funeral. He discusses the emotional impact of her death on the nation and her family's farewells. O'Brien highlights her unique burial wishes, emphasizing the blend of public mourning and personal significance. He also explores the evolving views on death in Victorian society, illuminating how this grand event marked a departure from traditional customs towards a more individualized celebration of life.

Nov 11, 2024 • 37min
Final Days of Captain Cook
The violent death of Captain James Cook, British explorer, on a Hawaiian beach in 1779 has become the stuff of legend. Should we believe the story that's been handed down? How should we remember a man who means so many different things to so many different people?Anthony Delaney tells Maddy Pelling the story of the Final Days of Captain Cook.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.