After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Horror struck the East End of London twice in December 1811. Two brutal sets of murders within a few days of each other. It became ground zero for True Crime as for the first time ever the press helped turn this murder case into a nationwide sensation. The whole country was hysterical and hooked, who was the killer? Would they strike again?

Maddy tells Anthony the story this week.

Written by Maddy Pelling. Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick...

According to legend, Sawney Bean and Agnes Black raised a clan of cannibals in a remote Scottish cave. They killed and ate unlucky travellers on lonely roads. This went on for decades with more than a thousand perishing. Who invented this gruesome story? Why? And why has Sawney Bean become a kind of cult hero in Scotland itself?

Cat Byers is our guest today, a writer and historian based in Paris currently finishing a PhD on the Paris Morgue...

Did you know legendary mountaineer Edmund Hillary found evidence of the Yeti? Or that David Attenborough is on board with the idea it exists? Today we explore the history of the hunt for the Yeti.

We're delighted to be joined by Pranaya Rana, a writer based in Kathmandu whose blog is at https://recordnepal.substack.com/

Written by Maddy Pelling. Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long...

Charles Hamilton allegedly had fourteen wives according to the newspapers, but the headline was that Charles used to be called Mary. In the 18th century newspaper stories about 'female husbands' were not uncommon; people assigned female at birth who assumed the legal, social and economic position reserved for men.

Today we explore two stories with Jen Manion, author of Female Husbands: A Trans History.

Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick...

Our second episode examining the very real history of Bigfoot. This time we're looking at ancient Native American rock art and meeting the extinct (or is it?) giant ape Gigantopithecus.

Our returning guest is the wonderful Dan Schreiber - host of We Can Be Weirdos and co-host of No Such Thing As a Fish.

Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long...

When people think of Medieval diseases, hysterical dancing is not usually what first comes to mind. Yet in 14th and 15th century Germany, dozens of ordinary people claimed to be infected by the ‘dancing plague’. What was this mysterious phenomenon? What caused it? And was it even a real disease?

Anthony and Maddy are joined by Dr. Eleanor Janega, co-host of History Hit podcast 'Gone Medieval'.

Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Charlotte Long...

Does Bigfoot really walk among us? Today we start a three-part mini-series exploring the very real histories of Bigfoot and the Yeti.

We begin with Bigfoot and the 1967 home-movie that lit the spark. Maddy & Anthony are joined by the one-and-only Dan Schreiber - host of podcast 'We Can Be Weirdos' and of co-host of 'No Such Thing As A Fish'. There can be no better guide into the world of weirdness.

Edited and Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long...

What is it about this case that holds the imagination after all these years? When did that fascination with it begin? How early on did the myths of Jack the Ripper evolve?

Anthony and Maddy look at how the newspapers and showmen were quick to pounce on this case, turning these tragic murders into the most infamous true crime story of all.

Written by Anthony Delaney. Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. The Senior Producer is Charlotte Long...

Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire was an institution of national significance from the late seventh century until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. It was home to eminent writers and had strong royal connections. It housed the tomb of Æthelstan, first king of all England, and Queen Matilda, wife of Henry I, took a close interest in its affairs. But it was also home to arguably the most immoral abbot of the Middle Ages, the mass-murdering monk John of Tintern...

‘If only walls could talk’ is a phrase which feels particularly relevant to mysterious murder cases throughout history. And in today’s episode, walls do have a story to tell. To celebrate Maddy’s book about Eighteenth-Century graffiti coming out this week, she’s sharing two intriguing murder cases where graffiti played an integral role. First case is a murderous midwife in London, followed by the mystery of the body discovered floating in a Bristol estuary...