After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

One million people died. Two million emigrated. The Great Irish Famine was the world turned upside down. The darkest chapter in Ireland's past.

It is not solely Ireland's history to bear. This is a pi…

***Spoiler Alert: this episode contains spoilers for the Harry Potter books and films***

Giant snakes, winged horses and hooded demons. The world of Harry Potter is full of bizarre and terrifying beas…

Violence, sex, betrayal, death and ... SHIPS! This is the story of how a voyage that began with scientific aims and a regimented daily routine ended in all this drama. This is the story of mutiny on …

In 1649, Charles I had his head chopped off for treason. It's a unique, divisive moment in English history. Was Charles a tyrant or a martyr? Was his trial justice or a kangaroo court? Did he deserve…

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 help…

According to legend, Sawney Bean and Agnes "Black" Douglas 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 …

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'…

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…

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 …

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 ‘danc…

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. …

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 ho…

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…

‘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 boo…

This is the incredible history of Dracula, from medieval ruler Vlad the Impaler, to Bram Stoker and the Victorian theatre world. Get ready for a very bloody history indeed!

Anthony tells Maddy the sto…

Inside the heavy walls of Lancaster Castle, the darkest & deadliest of English witch trials played out in 1612 - the Pendle Witch Trials. By the end ten people would be executed and many more lives r…

He wasn't Irish. He didn't wear green. There were no snakes. So who was the real St Patrick? How did his myth grow? And how did he invent the goatee?

Podcaster and comedian Alison Spittle joins Maddy …

This episode contains descriptions of execution and torture.

To be Hanged, Drawn & Quartered. Put on the Rack. Impaled on a spike. This list paints a very dark picture. What was the reality of executi…

Mary Ann Cotton is known as the first British female serial killer. A trail of bodies, many her own children, followed her through life. Bodies she happened to have insurance policies out on. Arsenic…

Mary Read and Anne Bonny are legendary female pirates from the golden age of piracy. Raised as boys, they sailed with captain Calico Jack and fought their enemies bare-breasted, if legends are to be …