After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds and the Paranormal
Hosted by Tristan Hughes
Historians and expert guests explore history's spookiest and most sinister stories, from ancient conspiracies to modern paranormal myths.
A bi-weekly dive into historical true crime and paranormal events, where academic historians interview expert guests to separate fact from folklore. The hosts bring a rigorous historical lens to sensational topics, exploring the evidence behind stories like the H.H. Holmes 'Murder Castle', the assassination of Ramesses III, and the Affair of the Poisons in 17th-century France.
“The show stands out by consistently featuring credentialed experts—curators, authors, and fellow historians—to ground its exploration of sensational topics. This approach effectively blends academic rigor with engaging, often grim, storytelling, setting it apart from more speculative paranormal or true crime podcasts.”
Who hosts this show
After Dark is a bi-weekly podcast from History Hit hosted by historians Dr. Anthony Delaney and Dr. Maddy Pelling. Each Monday and Thursday, they delve into the shadier corners of the past, examining everything from historical true crime and royal conspiracies to folklore and paranormal events. The show launched in October 2023 and was named Rookie of the Year at the 2024 True Crime Awards.
Credentials & credits
- Dr. Anthony Delaney: PhD in History from the University of Exeter, Honorary Fellow at the University of Exeter.
- Dr. Maddy Pelling: PhD from the University of York, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
- Anthony Delaney: Author of 'Queer Georgians' (2025).
- Maddy Pelling: Author of 'Writing on the Wall' (2024) and 'Hoax' (2026).
- Anthony Delaney: Actor, known for roles in 'Fair City' and 'Harry Wild'.
- Maddy Pelling: Broadcaster and expert contributor for Channel 4, Sky, and the BBC.
Other ventures
- Anthony Delaney: Actor on stage and screen.
- Maddy Pelling: Co-hosted 'Travelling Sisterhood of Art Historians' podcast.
- Maddy Pelling: Television presenter and expert for documentaries.
- History Hit: The podcast and content network that produces the show.
What kind of podcast
When new episodes drop
- 01The Serial Killer Coven of Women PoisonersJun 24, 2026 · 46 min
- 02H.H. Holmes: The American Jack The Ripper?Jun 22, 2026 · 1h 07m
- 03The Harem Women Who Assassinated A PharaohJun 17, 2026 · 1h 03m
- 04The Victorians ARRESTED 'Drag Queens' Fanny and StellaJun 15, 2026 · 1h 04m
- 05The Clothed Skeletons Of 16th Century Sicilian CatacombsJun 10, 2026 · 52 min
- 06Bodies in the Walls: Postwar London's Darkest Crime | After Dark ClassicsJun 8, 2026 · 51 min
Notable episodes
- 01H.H. Holmes: The American Jack The Ripper?
This episode is a prime example of the show's mission to separate myth from fact, deconstructing the popular folklore around a notorious historical figure.
- 02The Harem Women Who Assassinated A Pharaoh
Showcases the podcast's use of expert guests (an Egyptologist) to explore an ancient mystery, connecting archaeological evidence like the 'Screaming Mummy' to the historical narrative.
- 03The Serial Killer Coven of Women Poisoners
Features a guest co-host from a sister podcast ('Betwixt the Sheets') and delves into the social and gender history behind a specific crime, the Affair of the Poisons in 17th-century France.
What you'll be asked on this show
The format is typically a conversational interview between one or both hosts and a subject-matter expert. Episodes often begin with a scripted, atmospheric narration to set the theme. While co-hosted by Anthony Delaney and Maddy Pelling, one host often takes the lead, with the other sometimes absent or, as in the provided evidence, replaced by a guest co-host.
Questions Tristan Hughes keeps coming back to
- “Can you give us a little bit of context?”
- “Who was [subject of the episode]?”
- “What does this case tell us about [the historical era]?”
- “How does [a specific event] start to impact that level of society?”
- “What would you want to bring back if you could find one missing artifact or document from this period?”
Signature segments
- · Narrated 'Listener Beware' introduction
- · Content warnings for sensitive topics
- · Interviews with credentialed academic experts
- · Outro promoting the History Hit subscription service
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are almost always academic or professional experts—historians, curators, archaeologists, and non-fiction authors—who can provide deep, evidence-based context on the episode's specific historical topic.
- Dr. Kate Listeron The Serial Killer Coven of Women Poisoners
- Dr. Campbell Priceon The Harem Women Who Assassinated A Pharaoh
- HRH Aphroditeon The Victorians ARRESTED 'Drag Queens' Fanny and Stella
- Cat Irvingon The Clothed Skeletons Of 16th Century Sicilian Catacombs
- Kate Summerscaleon Bodies in the Walls: Postwar London's Darkest Crime | After Dark Classics
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The podcast is produced by History Hit and primarily promotes its own subscription service, which offers ad-free listening and access to hundreds of original documentaries. It does not appear to feature third-party advertisements.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
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People also ask
- Who are the hosts of After Dark?
- The podcast is co-hosted by Irish historian Dr. Anthony Delaney and English cultural historian Dr. Maddy Pelling.
- What is the podcast's format?
- Each episode is a deep dive into a specific historical topic, usually structured as a conversational interview with a guest expert, such as an author, curator, or fellow historian.
- How often do new episodes come out?
- New episodes are released twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays.
- Is this a History Hit podcast?
- Yes, After Dark is produced by History Hit, the same network behind 'Dan Snow's History Hit' and 'Gone Medieval'.
- Where can I listen to the podcast?
- The podcast is available on all major podcast providers, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, as well as on the History Hit website.
- What happened to Tristan Hughes?
- Tristan Hughes is another historian and presenter for History Hit, but he hosts a different podcast called 'The Ancients', which focuses on ancient history. The hosts of 'After Dark' are Anthony Delaney and Maddy Pelling.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormalhistoryhit.com
- [02]After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal on Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com
- [03]Anthony Delaney - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [04]Madeleine Pelling - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [05]Dr Madeleine Pelling - Official Websitemadeleinepelling.com
- [06]Anthony Delaney - Andrew Nurnberg Associatesnurnberg.co.uk
- [07]History Hit Launches Myths, Misdeeds and Paranormal Podcast - Podnewspodnews.net
- [08]Tristan Hughes - History Hit Presentertristanhughes.co.uk
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