Guy Fawkes & the 1605 Gunpowder Plot
Other countries celebrate their victories and independence. But in Britain, we celebrate a bungling terrorist from the 17th century. Why? Who was Guy Fawkes? What was the Gunpowder Plot? And why must ...
1 Nov 202349min
Hammersmith Ghost: How to Murder a Poltergeist
Can it be murder if you think you're killing a ghost? In 1804 the London suburb of Hammersmith was being terrorised by a ghost. One man set out to hunt down whoever, or whatever, this was. He almost s...
29 Okt 202331min
Hauntings, Hangings & a Beast: Bodmin Jail
Bodmin Jail can claim to be one of the most haunted buildings in Britain. Perhaps that's because of all the hangings that took place here. Or the postmortem punishment the jail dolled out to prisoners...
26 Okt 202342min
Last Witch of Scotland
In 1727, Janet Horne of the Highland community of Dornoch became the last person in Britain to be tried and executed for witchcraft.As the poet Edwin Morgan put it; They tarred her and feathered her, ...
23 Okt 202329min
Banshees: Ireland's Harbinger of Death
Today Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls) joins Anthony Delaney and Maddy Pelling for the story of the Banshee. In Irish folklore the Banshee heralds the death of a family member, usually by shrieking, or...
19 Okt 202341min
HMS Terror: Cursed Arctic Expedition
Was ever a ship more aptly named? In 1845, HMS Terror (and its forgettably named sister ship HMS Erebus) set off from Victorian Britain. Their quest was to discover the fabled Northwest passage throug...
16 Okt 202339min
Burke & Hare: Scotland’s Most Notorious Serial Killers
They’re the most famous grave-robbers in the world…except they never actually robbed any graves. Discover the true story of Burke and Hare’s murderous rampage through the streets of Edinburgh, all to ...
16 Okt 202341min
Goriest Murders in Ancient Rome
This episode is a bloody delight: from flesh-eating fish and humiliating deaths inside sacks, to a deadly re-enactment of the Icarus myth. For a culture that is seen as an emblem of civilisation (what...
16 Okt 202337min
