After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary. Mary I is known as a brutal tyrant. But what was the reality? In the next two episodes Anthony and Maddy will explore Mary's story. Today they explore the traum…

Today’s story is one that takes us to a very familiar setting - the Tower of London - but shows it in a new light. Edward Francis was an enslaved man who lived in the Lion Tower. In 1691 he decided t…

It wasn't made by Druids (or Aliens or Merlin the wizard). But it was a garden centre. Get ready for the 10 strangest facts (mostly) about Stonehenge! Maddy Pelling takes Anthony Delaney back among t…

You'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, smoking and scoffing oysters, waiting for the show to …

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 skeleton reveal about his life and the purpose o…

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 clothes...then killing them. Welcome to the Dark Sid…

'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) expeditions to find a city of gold, and a plot t…

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, that includes everything from the bloody days of …

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 dismembered her mistress, Julia Martha Thomas in 187…

*TW: This episode contains references to sexual violence.*

Mary Queen of Scots' life was defined by violence, heartbreak and ultimately, betrayal.

Since her bloody death at the hands of her cousin, Eli…

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 this medieval order, which disappeared in the 14t…

One split second - and one individual - can upturn an entire nation.

This was definitely the case when John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre on the night of 14th April 186…

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 this whole story differently if we examine it from t…

When people talk about Ancient Egypt, they often focus on the amazing pyramids, mummies, and the advanced civilisation.

At After Dark, we love to explore the grim reality of all of this: what was lif…

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 stones hold the answers? Anthony and Maddy explore t…

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 historian and author, Hallie Rubehold, to explore one o…

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, this episode is a bloody delight: from flesh-eatin…

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 had claws, wings. He had a tail. He had smart bo…

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 Anthony Delaney on a tour through the dark side of…

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 III, the man unfairly remembered as the mad King…