Charles Dickens' Christmas Ghosts
Like Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve, we are visited by three Dickensian ghosts today. One rattling chains, one made out of dark memories, and one tapping out messages on a train. Did Dickens himsel...
20 Dec 202331min
Palmer the Poisoner: Victorian England's Doctor of Death
In a century of poisoners, William Palmer stands out as the prince of them all. Charles Dickens called him "the greatest villain that ever stood in the Old Bailey".Maddy tells Anthony the story this w...
18 Dec 202337min
Why Do People Kill at Christmas?
Why do people kill in the season of goodwill? Why are we fascinated when they do? And what does it say about us?Professor David Wilson, leading criminologist and bestselling author, joins Maddy and An...
13 Dec 202339min
Ghost That Solved Its Own Murder: Red Barn Murder
The Red Barn Murder in 1827 was ground zero for true crime podcasts. It become one of the first cases to explode in the media and caused a national sensation. It had everything - sex, murder and a gho...
10 Dec 202351min
The Ghost of Anne Boleyn
We talk the ghost of Anne Boleyn, Queen of England before Henry VIII chopped off her head, with the marvellous Tracy Borman.Where can Anne Boleyn's ghost be seen? What form does it take? And why does ...
7 Dec 202332min
Hellfire Club: Sex, Scandal & Satanism in Georgian England
Sex, Satanism and Scandal surrounded the Hellfire Club that operated out of a network of caves in the country estate of 18th century aristocrat Francis Dashwood. The most powerful men in the country c...
4 Dec 202346min
Amelia Dyer: Victorian Baby Farm Killer
Some estimates have it that Amelia Dyer killed more than 400 babies. It's hard to say for sure because so few victims were recovered. She was a phantom that grew up in a very dark corner of Victorian ...
29 Nov 202340min
The Real Origins of Witches
Have you ever wondered what the ancient origins of witchcraft is? How did the black-hat-broomstick stereotype emerge? And what causes the waves of witch trials throughout history, right up to the pres...
27 Nov 202334min
