Could You Survive Victorian Surgery?
Episode Date: June 19, 2025You're laid out on the surgeon's table. Wide awake. He stands over you knife in hand and behind him, in the stands, is a noisy crowd all joking, smoki...
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.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code AFTERDARK - sign up at historyhit.com/subscribe.You can take part in our listener survey here.
178 episodes transcribedYou're laid out on the surgeon's table. Wide awake. He stands over you knife in hand and behind him, in the stands, is a noisy crowd all joking, smoki...
A body is found at Stonehenge. It's the skeleton of a man - an archer - who lived at the time when it was built. How did he die? What secrets does his...
A four thousand(ish) year old murder trial. A procession of the dead. Kings who believed they could escape the gods by dressing gardeners in royal clo...
'Strike, man, strike!' were the last words of Sir Walter Raleigh as his neck lay on the block. After thirteen years in the Tower of London, (multiple)...
Beneath the streets of the French capitol lurks a city of the dead: the Paris Catacombs.Why they were piled up there is a dark and fascinating story,...
It was one of the most gruesome crimes of the Victorian era... and it ended up in David Attenborough's garden! Kate Webster, a servant, killed and dis...
*TW: This episode contains references to sexual violence.*Mary Queen of Scots' life was defined by violence, heartbreak and ultimately, betrayal.Since...
Why are the Knights Templar surrounded by myths and legends? Is there any truth to the tales of the Holy Grail or that the Knights survived? Why does...
One split second - and one individual - can upturn an entire nation.This was definitely the case when John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln...
The lost colonists left behind one clue, the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree. Who were the Croatans? What were their lives like? How can we see thi...
When people talk about Ancient Egypt, they often focus on the amazing pyramids, mummies, and the advanced civilisation.At After Dark, we love to expl...
WTF happened to Virginia Dare, America's first English child? How did her and her mother's legend grow over time? Did mysterious carvings found on sto...
It was a murder that shook Edwardian Britain, and became a media sensation around the world.Joining Maddy and Anthony today is the best-selling histor...
As a lot of new listeners have joined us, and it's a bank holiday in the UK, we thought we'd re-run one of our earliest, goriest episodes. Trust us, t...
The grimy streets of Victorian London were stalked by a shadowy menace: Spring-Heeled Jack! He had glowing eyes and blue flames came out his mouth. He...
A spectral Black Dog with hellish eyes; a homicidal water spirit who drowns children; a mermaid who takes revenge on a vile cad. Maddy Pelling takes A...
How did George III die? Was it raving in a straightjacket? Who stayed with him at the end of his long illness? Today we uncover the truth about George...
Wales is set apart from a lot of countries, with one of its folk tales - the Red Dragon - featuring in its flag. What are the mythical origins of...
*TW: This episode contains discussions and themes of infertility.*Fairies have long been part of Irish folkloric history, with its landscape dotted wi...
Alice Arden wanted her husband Thomas dead. So did the rest of the village of Faversham. What followed was a twisted dance of passion, poison, insane...