Dark Histories

In the early 1700s, when maps still had blank spaces and “here be dragons” felt like a reasonable warning, a stranger arrived in Europe with a fantastic story to tell. Calling himself George Psalmanazar, and claiming to be a native of far-off Formosa, where people lived in underground houses and dined on human meat. He translated scriptures into a language no one had ever heard and tutored missionaries in the customs and culture of his country. But the greatest fiction wasn’t his island at all, it was Psalmanazar himself. And for a while, the world believed every dazzling word.SOURCES

Psalmanazar, George (1704) An Historical & Geographical Description of Formosa. London, UK.

Psalmanazar, George (1764) Memoirs of ****. Commonly Known by the Name of George Psalmanazar, a Reputed Native of Formosa. London, UK.

Keevak, Michael (2001) The Pretended Asian. Wayne State University Press. USA

Foley, Frederic (1968) The Great Formosan Imposter. St. Louis Jesuit Historical Institute, USA.

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For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠darkhistories.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support the show by visiting our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://author.to/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Dark Histories merch is available here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3GChjk9⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Connect with us on Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Or you can contact us directly via email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye

Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017

Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

 
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At the turn of the twentieth century, a pattern of unusual deaths began to surface, when three unrelated women were found drowned in their bathtubs, following a fit or a feinting. The cases seemed unconnected, scattered across towns and surnames, until the similarities grew too precise to ignore. At the center of the widening suspicion was a man named George Joseph Smith, though very few actually knew him by that name until reports of his crimes began to filter into the newspapers, and purely by chance, people around the country began connecting the dots.

SOURCES

Robins, Jane (2010) The Magnificent Spilsbury & The Case of the Brides in the Bath. F. A. Thorpe, Leicestershire, UK.

Kentish Express (1912) Drowned In A Bath. Kentish Express, Sat 20 July 1912, p5. Kent, UK.

Weekly Dispatch (1914) Bride’s Death In Bath. Weekly Dispatch, Sun 27 Dec 1914, p13. London, UK.

Coleraine Chronicle (1915) The Execution of Smith. Coleraine Chronicle, Sat 21 Aug 1915, p4. Londonderry, UK.

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For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠darkhistories.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support the show by visiting our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://author.to/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Dark Histories merch is available here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3GChjk9⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Connect with us on Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Or find us on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://twitter.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

& Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Or you can contact us directly via email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

or join our Discord community: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye

Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017

Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

 
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In 1933 when a young, London inventor died under suspicious circumstances, his two surviving brothers turned to the talents of spiritualist mediums in the hopes of finding some answers to the many questions they had following the wholly satisfying inquest. Over a period of six months, the two men sat for several well known mediums, but by the end of it all, were given no hard answers to any of the bigger matters; Exactly who had been with him at the time of his death, and how had it come about? If anything, they were only asked a new question; Were any of the details given by the mediums to be trusted at all?SOURCES

Gay, Kathleen (1957). The case of Edgar Vandy. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 39, 2-61. London, UK.

Mackenzie, Andrew (1970) The unexplained; some strange cases in psychical research. Abelard Schumann, London, UK.

​​Keen, M. (2002). The case of Edgar Vandy: Defending the evidence. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 66, 247-59. London, UK.

West Ham & South Essex Mail (1912) Funeral of Mr G.H Vandy. West Ham & South Essex Mail, Fri 7 June 1912, p8.  London, UK.

Liverpool Daily Post (1967) The Unexplained. Liverpool Daily Post, Mon 6 Feb 1967, p9. Liverpool, UK.

BBC (1975) Leap in the Dark. [Video] https://youtu.be/_9LrYSWaDxY?si=pdJCgxyv7j0ziQTU. BBC, London, UK.

Sussex Express (1933) Bathing Fatality At Nutley. Sussex Express, Fri 11 Aug 1933, p5. Sussex, UK.

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For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠darkhistories.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support the show by visiting our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://author.to/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Dark Histories merch is available here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3GChjk9⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Connect with us on Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Or find us on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://twitter.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

& Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Or you can contact us directly via email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

or join our Discord community: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye

Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017

Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy New Year! Here is part two of the Christmas Campfire for 2025, though I guess it's more of a New Years Campfire! I hope you enjoy it, it's been another great year for the Christmas Campfire and a huge thank you for everyone for taking part and being brave enough to put there stories out there for our entertainment! I'll be back in January for Season 10, but until then, Happy New Year, wishing you all the very best xxx
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It's Christmas Eve, so it must be time for the Christmas Campfire! Thank you so much to everyone that submitted their stories this year, it's been another great year for entires and there's plenty enough for two episodes. I'll release the second part sometime after Christmas and before the New Year when I return home after visiting family and whatnot. I hope you enjoy this episode, and have a wonderful Christmas! Best wishes to you and all your loved ones! Ben xx
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