They called her a treasonous nymphomaniac who bankrupted France for diamonds and cake. The revolutionaries didn't just execute Marie Antoinette - they waged a brutal smear campaign to ruin her first. But what if almost everything you’ve been told about 'Madame Déficit' is a lie? From fake royal s...

We've spent a lot of time in of Victorian London on this podcast- a world of cobbled streets, grimy buildings and crowded homes. But how accurate is this- what was it really like to live in the slums of Victorian London?

Our guest today is Dr. Jackie Riding! Jackie is a specialist in the history...

In 1381, thousands of ordinary people rose up against the Crown, marched on London, and came close to bringing England’s political establishment to its knees... In this episode, Anthony and Maddy are joined by our very own Matt Lewis to discuss the Peasants’ Revolt: why it happened, who led it, a...

The Chevalier d’Éon was one of France’s most daring spies... until they began making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Armed with explosive state secrets and at the centre of a very public scandal over their identity, d’Éon went from trusted agent to international sensation.

Join Anthony an...

Benedict Arnold was celebrated as a war hero of the American Revolution before he betrayed George Washington and the Continental Army by joining the British.

In today's episode, Anthony and Maddy take you through his rise and infamous plot to hand over West Point, cementing his name as history'...

When you think of the Aztec Empire, what do you picture? Human sacrifice?

In today's episode, Anthony is joined by Aztec expert Dr. Caroline Dodds Pennock, to unpack why we fetishise the Aztecs in this way, why ritualised violence is certainly not limited to this civilisation in this time in hi...

The Magdalene Laundries existed throughout Ireland up until the late 20th century. Women and young girls were sent to these institutions that were run by orders of nuns. They were told they could not leave and were forced to work - all because they were perceived to be ‘fallen’ and in need of sal...

The world of Viking death rituals and their beliefs surrounding the afterlife is truly fascinating... What happened when a Viking died? What ceremonies and practices did they partake in? And what awaited the spirits of the dead when they departed the world of the living?

Today we welcome our re...

It's hard to wrap your head around all the disasters that befell Captain Anson's Royal Navy voyage around the world in the 1740s. Rampant scurvy, horrendous storms, marooning and mutiny to name but a few. 90% of the original crew never returned. Those who made it back to Britain were hailed as he...

Historical would you rather, and with whom? Sound the trumpets! The day has finally arrived: Maddy Pelling is back on After Dark!

To welcome her back into the coven, we're playing a game of historical 'Would You Rather?'. Listen on to hear Anthony and Maddy decide between the many awful scenario...

Born John Cooper, "Princess Seraphina" was one of the first English Drag Queens.

Princess Seraphina was an 18th-century gentleman’s servant who openly embraced her feminine drag persona. But in May 1732, a man named Thomas Gordon robbed her of her clothes and money. The court case that followed...

Dr. Kate Lister is on the podcast to talk about the Affair of the Poisons, the women who were poisoners in French society and their deadly consequences.

In 17th-century France, Louis XIV's court sparkled with luxury. It also teemed with poison, occult rituals and aristocrats trying to murder th...

Deep beneath the sunny streets of Palermo, Sicily, the Capuchin Catacombs are home to over a thousand people, most of them still standing in their Sunday best.

Warning: this episode contains discussions of child death

Why did the residents of the catacombs want to be buried standing up? And how...

Gonorrhea and syphilis are no laughing matter, especially in a time before antibiotics. How were symptoms first recorded, and what were the disturbing treatments people endured?

Joining Anthony today as a special guest co-host is Cat Irving, Human Remains Conservator at Surgeons’ Hall in Edinbu...

What lurks behind the door of Dr. Kahn's Grand Anatomical Museum in Victorian London?

Step inside and find out what shocked the public (and medical establishment) of 19th-century Britain so much that it was eventually forced to close.

To take you there today, Anthony is joined by guest co-hos...

Artemisia Gentileschi's paintings personify female rage against men. She paints women beheading men, hammering nails into their skulls, brandishing their dead faces. In her personal life, Artemisia was the victim of sexual abuse, torture and public shaming. Can we read her traumatic personal life...

This is the story of a fake Princess from far-off lands who hoaxed Georgian Britain. What was the truth of her story? Today we are celebrating the upcoming publication of Maddy's new book 'Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment' by sharing one of the stories from it.

Today we are celebrating the upcoming publication of Maddy's new book 'Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment' by sharing one of the dark stories from it. The haunting of Cock Lane is the most iconic ghost story in London's long history, taking place in the year 1762. Was it a hoax?

In Ancient Mesopotamia, the boundary between the living and the dead was not always fixed... some even believed it could be crossed. But why would the living seek counsel from the dead? How common were these practices? And what answers did people hope the spirits might reveal?

In this episode, A...

On a summer day in Sarajevo in 1914, a young man fired two rounds of his pistol in the middle of the street, killing a Royal couple... He didn't know it then, but his actions would cause a chain reaction, resulting in the First World War. But who were Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the Du...

On the night of Saturday, the 9th of March, 1566, a pregnant Mary Queen of Scots was having a dinner party. It was a night that ended in the brutal murder of one of her closest friends, David Rizzio, led by her husband, Lord Darnley. How did this happen? How did Mary handle this traumatic moment?...

He's known as one of history's most murderous kings, but was he always a monster? Or was he acting in ways expected of a king during his time.

Joining Anthony as special guest co-host is author and historian Gareth Russell, to explore the theories that support the latter.

Did the break from R...

The book and TV series "Outlander" has introduced millions of fans to Scottish history and the story of the Jacobites.

One of those fans is Maddy Pelling! Maddy is back (in a pre-recorded episode) to delve into the tragic story of the Bonnie Prince Charlie and his army.

Joining her today is Dr...

It was the original modern ghost hunt, the one that set the template for all the haunted houses to come. When a wealthy plantation family moves into a crumbling Georgian mansion in the 1760's the haunting begins. By the end, even royalty were on tenterhooks. Eleanor Janega joins Anthony Delaney ...