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 English folklore.

The episode also features thoughts from artist, author and filmmaker, Ben Edge. Find out more about Ben's work here: https://www.benedge.co.uk/

Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

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 who lost America.

Produced by Freddy Chick. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

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 swung from the end of a rope for his troubles.

Join Anthony and Maddy for this ghostly Halloween episode.

Written by Maddy Pelling.

Edited by Tom Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Wales is set apart from a lot of countries, with one of its folk tales - the Red Dragon - featuring in its flag. 

What are the mythical origins of Wales, and other dark folk tales and traditions, such as the Cŵn Annwn; the hounds of the otherworld? Why does the skull of a dead horse, the Mari Lwyd, visit people at Christmas? And how did Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks play a part in Welsh folklore? 

Taking Anthony and Maddy through some of the darker corners of Welsh folklore is Russ Williams, author of Where the Folk: A Welsh Folklore Road Trip. 

Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

*TW: This episode contains discussions and themes of infertility.*

Fairies have long been part of Irish folkloric history, with its landscape dotted with thousands of 'fairy forts'. But there's a dark side to these beliefs.

Changelings are thought to be evil fairies who steal humans from families, taking them to the fairy world and replacing them with weak, disfigured fairy lookalikes.

It taps into a dark history of disease, poverty and even murder.

Joining Anthony and Maddy today is Cecily Gilligan, author of Cures of Ireland: A Treasury of Irish Folk Remedies, to take us back to Ireland's unique and dark folk history.

Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Alice Arden wanted her husband Thomas dead. So did the rest of the village of Faversham. What followed was a twisted dance of passion, poison, insane plots and dastardly assassins. A tale so macabre that it became a true crime sensation in its own day.

Returning to help tell the story is Dr Blessin Adams whose new book Thou Savage Woman: Female Killers in Early Modern Britain is out now.

Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

From misty mountains to deep-sea caves, we explore the dark side of Scottish folklore. Tales of Selkies - seal folk caught between sea and shore - Kelpies - murderous water-horses -and the ancient figure of the Cailleach. Maddy and Anthony's guest today is Donald Smith, founding director of the Scottish Storytelling Centre, and a storyteller who has written and lectured widely on the folklore of Scotland.

Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

Maddy's book, Writing on the Wall: Graffiti and Rebellion in Eighteenth-Century Britain, is now available on paperback! See more information here.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

(Part 2/2) On Easter Monday in 1916, Irish rebels read a proclamation of independence that sparked a week-long battle with the British army.

Over the next six days, this new bloody frontier of the First World War unfolded and became known as the Easter Rising.

How did the Irish rebels plan to take on the might of the British army? How did this pave the way for eventual Irish independence? And did the 1916 Rising spark the beginning of the end for the British Empire?

In this second of two-parts, Anthony and Maddy talk to Dr. Conor Mulvagh, lecturer in Irish History at University College Dublin, about the dramatic events of 1916 Easter Rising and its aftermath.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

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After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

***This episode contains a description of mass murder***

As the Black Death moved across Europe, something darker and more insidious spread ahead of it. An antisemitic conspiracy theory that blamed European Jews for the plague. Across Europe, Jews were persecuted and often executed en masse.

Maddy and Anthony are joined by Joshua Teplitsky, Professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania. He studies Jewish life in Early Modern Central Europe and is currently working on a book about plague in Prague during the early eighteenth century.

Edited by Max Carrey. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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(Part 1/2) With Britain engaged in the First World War in Europe, Irish rebels sensed an opportunity.

Irish revolutions had fought for independence from Britain in the past, would the Easter Rising be any different?

In this first of two-parts, Anthony and Maddy talk to Dr. Conor Mulvagh, lecturer in Irish History at University College Dublin, about the dramatic events that lead to the 1916 Easter Rising.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.