logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2025
38m 42s

England's Darkest Folklore

History Hit
About this episode

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.


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.  


You can take part in our listener survey here.


All music from Epidemic Sounds.


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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Jan 19
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 mummified bodies and beetles that came to life.Was this a desire to connect with ... Show More
40m 19s
Jan 15
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 the highest execution rates in Europe, and implicated the town's women and the su ... Show More
40m 56s
Jan 12
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 from its origin in Pudding Lane right up until its dying embers...Who quickly di ... Show More
50m 10s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 16
316: Introducing a chilling new podcast: TWISTED TALES WITH HEIDI WONG
Reality is the real horror.Every Monday, poet and paranormal obsessive Heidi Wong unearths the chilling true stories behind the world’s most terrifying legends. From haunted dolls to cursed houses, each episode of Twisted Tales reveals the disturbing real-life events that inspire ... Show More
8 m
Oct 6
THE JUNIPER TREE - A German Tale of Murder, Cannibalism, and Resurrection
When a stepmother's jealousy transforms domestic life into unspeakable horror, a murdered child's bones sing out for justice from beneath an ancient tree—proving that some truths refuse to stay buried. Discover more TERRIFYING podcasts at http://eeriecast.com/ Follow Carman Carri ... Show More
44m 16s
Sep 2025
136. Reddit Scary Stories: True Camping Horror Tales (feat. ‪National Park After Dark)
From a recent and tragic double murder in Devil's Den State Park, to a hiker entering a time warp, to unknowingly encountering a serial killer while camping, today we're talking through all the terrifying and mysterious national park stories. Make sure to follow our guests of tod ... Show More
1h 20m
Nov 12
CRIMES: The Murder of Charles Walton
In 1945, the quiet village of Lower Quinton, England, was rocked by a brutal killing. Seventy-four-year-old Charles Walton was found dead in a field — pinned to the ground with his own pitchfork, his body marked in what looked like ritual sacrifice. Was it a crime of passion… or ... Show More
45m 16s
Jan 2019
Introducing Root of Evil
When Elizabeth Short, also known as "The Black Dahlia," was brutally killed in 1947, it gripped the entire country. More than 70 years later, it remains America's most infamous unsolved murder. Many believe Dr. George Hodel was the killer, thanks to an investigation by Hodel's ow ... Show More
4m 44s
Jul 2025
Two Girls One Ghost Trailer
Welcome to the Most Haunted Podcast in America... Each week, join us as we explore the deepest, darkest, spookiest places in the world, delivering doses of research, history, and spine-tingling tales. Stories of demonic possessions, glitches in time, alien abductions, cryptids, h ... Show More
2m 46s