The Origins of Halloween

The Origins of Halloween

From its prehistoric origins until today, Halloween has always had the Shiver of Terror running through it. First as a pagan festival of Winter-the-Bringer-of-Death. Then as a Catholic holy day dedicated to lost Souls in purgatory. Now as a celebration of horrifyingly bad fancy dress!


Maddy and Anthony speak to the one-and-only Professor Ronald Hutton, a national treasure who is the author of too many wonderful books to list here. His latest is Queens of the Wild: Pagan Goddesses in Christian Europe.


Producer is Stuart Beckwith. Edited by Tom Delargy. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long


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Who Was the Witchfinder General?

Who Was the Witchfinder General?

Mathew Hopkins, also known as the ‘Witchfinder General,’ was responsible for a campaign of terror across 17th-century England. In just a few short feverish years, his witch hunts swept through East An...

26 Tammi 50min

Inside A Medieval Leper Colony

Inside A Medieval Leper Colony

Come back with us to a Medieval leper colony.What was life really like for patients inside the gates? What did it mean when the 'leper bell' rang? And what happened at a 'living funeral'?Join Anthony ...

22 Tammi 33min

The Victorian's Dark Obsession with Ancient Egypt

The Victorian's Dark Obsession with Ancient Egypt

The Victorians had a lot of twisted fascinations, but their fixation on Ancient Egypt might be the darkest of the lot.From 'mummy unwrapping parties' (yes, really), to gothic stories of romances with ...

19 Tammi 40min

The Deadly Arctic Witch Trials

The Deadly Arctic Witch Trials

It all started when a huge storm drowned 40 men on Christmas Eve, 1617.The people of Vardø, northern Norway, needed someone to blame.What followed were devastating witch trials which featured one of t...

15 Tammi 40min

The Great Fire of London As It Happened

The Great Fire of London As It Happened

The Fire that struck London in 1666 was one of the city's darkest chapters. In this episode, Anthony and Maddy examine the accounts of people who witnessed the disaster at the time, tracing the story ...

12 Tammi 50min

Day in the Life of a Salem Puritan

Day in the Life of a Salem Puritan

What did it feel like to wake up Salem Village during the darkest days of the witch trials? Would you be able to swallow down your beer and pottage breakfast? As you walked towards the simple wooden M...

8 Tammi 49min

Inside the Victorian Asylum

Inside the Victorian Asylum

One of the dark symbols of the Victorian age is the asylum. It struck fear into the mind but what was the reality of life inside its walls? Maddy Pelling tells Anthony Delaney the story today.Edited b...

5 Tammi 40min

The Truth About the Conjuring's Ghost Hunters

The Truth About the Conjuring's Ghost Hunters

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 f...

1 Tammi 33min

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