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.

(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.

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.

(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.

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.

(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.

Queen Victoria was synonymous with grief and the Victorian cult of death. Yet her own funeral wasn't that at all. Today Dan O'Brien explains to Anthony Delaney and Maddy Pelling how to bury a Queen like Victoria. Dr Dan O'Brien is a of historian of undertakers and funerals in Eighteenth Century England and researcher at the Centre for Death and Society, University of Bath. 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.

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 AFTERDARK You can take part in our listener survey here. After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

The ghost of Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, screaming down a corridor. A nursemaid's spinning wheel clicking in the walls. Robed Tudor figures slamming open fire exits. A noisy group of ghosts haunt Hampton Court Palace. Tracy Borman, Joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, joins Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney to guide them through the spectres of Hampton Court. 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 AFTERDARK You can take part in our listener survey here. After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Part 2/2. Iceberg, panic and lives changed forever. Loss, survival, and myth-making. Today is part two of the most famous maritime disaster in history. Maddy Pelling takes Anthony Delaney through the tragic sinking of Titanic, from the fateful moment the iceberg is spotted through to what the wreck means today for people around the world. Special thanks to our guest Marnie Wood a cultural historian and a producer on Titanic: In Colour. Voice acting by Lucy Davidson and Stephen Ventura. Written by Maddy Pelling. 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 AFTERDARK You can take part in our listener survey here. After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Maddy and Anthony have a new TV documentary out all about King James VI of Scotland's witch hunts, available on History Hit TV. When James VI of Scotland's new wife, Anne of Denmark, is almost lost in a storm at sea he thinks he knows who is to blame. Witches. The King personally leads the investigation that follows, coming face-to-face with at least one of the accused, Agnes Sampson. What on earth is going on here? Anthony and Maddy are joined by Dr Louise Yeoman, historian of witchcraft and radio producer for BBC Scotland who latest series is House of the Lion. 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 AFTERDARK You can take part in our listener survey here. After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Part 1/2. Come on board the White Star Line's latest marvel, the splendour of the sea, the Titanic. Today we begin the story of the most ill-fated voyage in history. Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the story this week with special thanks to our guest Marnie Wood a cultural historian and a producer on Titanic: In Colour. Written by Maddy Pelling. 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 AFTERDARK You can take part in our listener survey here. After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

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 traditional Samhain 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/homeofhalloween Produced 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 AFTERDARK You 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 AFTERDARK You 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 AFTERDARK You 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 AFTERDARK You 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 AFTERDARK You 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 AFTERDARK You 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 AFTERDARK You can take part in our listener survey here. After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.