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Dark Histories

Dark Histories

By: Ben Cutmore
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 Fortnightly narratives on the unsolved and the unexplained, mysteries, historical true crime, touches of the paranormal and cultural peculiarities.Copyright © Ben Cutmore . All rights reserved. World
Episodes
  • The Woman in Black & The Cheltenham Ghost Scare of 1886

    The Woman in Black & The Cheltenham Ghost Scare of 1886
    May 13 2025
    In the quiet elegance of 1880s Cheltenham, a spectral presence stirred unease in a grand old family mansion in the centre of town. The ghost—described as a tall, veiled woman in black—appeared repeatedly to the daughters of the Despard family, moving silently through the house and vanishing without trace. Witnessed by multiple family members over several years, the haunting became one of Britain’s most documented supernatural cases, thanks to the efforts of the newly founded Society for Psychical Research, who jumped at the chance to study a haunted house, first hand. SOURCES Morton, R.C (1892) Record of a Haunted House. Proceedings for the Society of Psychical Research, Vol VIII, 1892. London, UK. Mackenzie, Andrew (1970) The Unexplained. Abelard-Schuman. London, UK. Abdy Collins, B. (1948) The Cheltenham Ghost. The Psychic Press. London, UK. Underwood, Peter (1977) Hauntings: new light on the greatest true ghost stories of the world. J.M Dent, London, UK. Cheltenham Chronicle (1875) An Assault By An Errand Boy. Cheltenham Chronicle, 16 Nov 1875, p2. Cheltenham, UK. Cheltenham Examiner (1875) Fooling And Its Result. Cheltenham Examiner, 17 Nov 1875, p3. Cheltenham, UK. Cheltenham Citizen (1886) Superstition. Cheltenham Citizen, Fri 27 Aug 1886, p4. Cheltenham, UK. Cheltenham Chronicle (1886) Solution Of The Suffolk Street Ghost Mystery. Cheltenham Chronicle, Sat 4 Sep 1886, p2. Cheltenham, UK. Gloucester Citizen (1886) The Cheltenham Ghost. Gloucester Citizen, Sat 25 Sep 1886, p5. Gloucester, UK. Pall Mall Gazette (1886) Ghosts And Ghosts. Pall Mall Gazette, Fri 10 Sep 1886, p4. London, UK. Rogerson, Peter (2001) Images of Imogen. Magonia Magazine, Issue 74, April 2001. London, UK. ------- For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit 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 contact@darkhistories.com 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
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Yesterday Today - 04/05

    Yesterday Today - 04/05
    May 4 2025
    Back with another episode of Yesterday Today, the shoot off podcast for Dark Histories. ------- For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit 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 contact@darkhistories.com 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
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    32 mins
  • The Strange Discovery of the Hexham Heads

    The Strange Discovery of the Hexham Heads
    Apr 28 2025
    In 1971, in the quiet town of Hexham, England, two small stone heads were unearthed — and with them, a series of strange and unsettling events began to unfold. Shadows moved where none should be, and visitors spoke of an unseen presence lingering in the air. Were the heads simple curiosities, ancient artifacts, or did they hold a deeper, forgotten power? Or were they simply modern toys, made by a doting father looking to entertain his young daughter? As questions grew and answers slipped further away, the mystery of the Hexham Heads only deepened, and then one day, they simply vanished, never to be seen or heard from again.SOURCES Screeton, Paul (2012) Quest for the Hexham Heads. CFZ Press, London, UK. Screeton, Paul (1981) Tales of the Hexham Heads. Self Published. UK. Newcastle Journal (1972) Eerie Tale of the Two Idol Heads. Newcastle Journal, Fri 3 March 1972, p9. Newcastle, UK. Evening Chronicle (1972) Out of the Mists of 1956…. Evening Chronicle, Mon 6 March 1972, p1. Newcastle, UK. Sunday People (1974) Myth of the ‘Evil’ Heads. Sunday People, 13 Jan 1974, p2. London, UK Ferrol, Stuart (2012) The Hexham heads. Fortean Times issue 294, Nov 2012. London, UK. Ferrol, Stuart (2012) The Hexham heads. Fortean Times issue 295, Dec 2012. London, UK. Brophy, K. (n.d.). The Hexham Heads Part 3 – The Cursed Fieldtrip. The Urban Prehistorian. https://theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com/2019/12/06/the-hexham-heads-part-3-the-cursed-fieldtrip/ ------- For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit 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 contact@darkhistories.com 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
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 10 mins
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Featured Article: The Best History Podcasts of All Time


If you’re a history buff looking for a new podcast to check out, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the array of options available. There are literally thousands of podcasts focusing on every corner of history. To help you know where to start, we’ve waded through nearly everything out there and selected just a few of the best of the best in history podcasts. And we've divided them by categories and interests. You’re sure to find your next favorite listen in our list.

Featured Article The Best History Podcasts of All Time
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Not much for podcasts for several reasons, but mostly because so many feel rushed with too many irritating voices that aren't made for radio, much less a podcast. Ben's narration and style is hands down the best I've ever heard on radio or any podcast. He crafts fun, interesting, scary and sometimes macabre stories filled with rich detail that paints a truly vivid picture for some of history's odd yet fascinating tales. His style hearkens back to radio before television, which was long before my time; however I've seen and heard enough about those times to understand the importance of telling a good story. The comfort derived in those days by families and friends gathered around the radio to hear good storytelling is something of a lost art. Podcasting has attempted to bring this back through a different medium, but sadly most fail to deliver anything compelling. And even when it's compelling the person's narrative style or not made for radio or podcasting voice ruins the experience. Obviously Ben has a passion for the subject matter and moreover, telling a good story. He deserves to have an immensely popular podcast given the quality of both content and style. I rarely, if ever, write reviews, but felt I should here, given how much I enjoy it. Since I started following about two months ago, I believe I've listened to almost all of the episodes. Until finding this podcast I've avoided most and had nearly zero interest. Keep up the good work Ben! And although I know it's quite the common phrase in the UK, you should make "let's crack on" your signature line.

Best podcast voice hands down

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I LOVE this podcast and listen to episode after episode while I work at the point his voice is my internal narrator. Excellent stories!!

This voice now narrates my dream...

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I've been following Ben since the spring of this year. He really does an excellent podcast. There's so much research that he puts into each episode. I think he writes about 10k words each episode, and the quality is excellent. Please give him a listen, you won't regret it!

Great podcast!

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Every episode is well researched, fascinating, and enjoyable. I never get tired of listening and always look forward to new episodes and the production quality is excellent.

Favorite podcast

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Deeply researched, richly presented, intellectual, dark enough for my black heart with wrapups diffusing grimness.

Just Right!

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Always an interesting story here. Interesting also to find how history does seem to repeat itself. Just good stories. Some are just plain creepy.

Great podcast

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Really Love this Podcast…Very interesting and easy to listen to and learn. Podcaster seems real..not as awkward and stiff as some…I feel like I’m listening to my friend tell me a story that I can rely on to be well researched. Awesome podcast Ben Cutmore!!

Awesome

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He could honestly give a masterclass on podcasting. Voice, tempo, delivery - very soothing and calming. I have difficulty with insomnia and whenever it gets too rough, I’ll pop on an episode I’ve already heard before or one I know very well and drift off to sleep. Which isn’t to say that you’ll fall asleep listening to this. He’s entertaining and engaging, especially with turns of phrase, if you’re already alert and awake but he’s also gentle enough that if you need something soft to listen to… this will do it.

Soothing voice, calm tempo

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Love the stories and Ben. He does a great job giving all known information without boring you to death.

Great work listen

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Ben offers such detail and delivers in a cadence that is hypnotic. I love this podcast!

Great research and presentation

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