For Albert Pierrepoint, execution was a family affair. His father and uncle were hangmen and from the 1940s until the late 1950s Albert was Britain's "Number One" executioner. Which meant he was the one sent to hang the Nazis who ran the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the end of the war.

Who was Albert Pierrepoint? What does it take to be able to execute hundreds of people? And what is 'The Drop'?

Edited and produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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

Today we’re going behind the foreboding doors of the Victorian workhouse to ask - ‘Could we survive it?’. From Oliver Twist's gruel to songs about flogging, from lice-ridden clothing to soul destroying isolation. Our guest is Oskar Jensen, author of "Vagabonds: Life on the Streets of Nineteenth Century London".

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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If you think your job is bad, have you tried being a plague doctor in 17th century Venice?

Join Anthony and Maddy as they wake up on a quarantine island and take you through a day in the life of a plague doctor, including the sights, smells and horrors of what you would have seen as you explored plague-riddled Venice in 1631.

Find out what they would have worn, what they did on their lunch break, and what the perks of the job were!

This podcast was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

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

Conspiracy theories swirl about the final days of Napoleon. Was he poisoned by a friend? By the British? By his wallpaper? Did he cologne himself to death? Was his penis taken away by a vengeful priest!? Anthony and Maddy sweep aside the myths to find the truth of the final days of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Research by Phoebe Joyce. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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

What was it like living in London, 1665, when the plague first crept in?

Within weeks, the gruesome symptoms were being spotted around London, crosses were marked on the doors of the damned, and King Charles II had fled the city.

To take us back to this time and find out how the city reacted, Anthony and Maddy are joined by historian and author Rebecca Rideal.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

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

Would you have joined the OG Luddites? In 1811 and 1812 across the midlands and north of England which were the Silicon Valley of the day, Luddites smashed machines. They would not stop, not even at murder, in order to fight technology that was tearing down their way of life. Maddy tells Anthony the story this week.

Edited by Tomos Delargy, produced by Freddy Chick, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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

In the 6th century, the Roman Empire was split and its future hung in the balance.

Emperor Justinian dreamed of restoring it to its former glory. That was until the first great plague devastated Constantinople.

Thousands died, bodies were piled in the streets - even the Emperor fell ill.

How did this effect ambitions to restore the Empire to its former glory? And how did citizens react to this deadly disease?

Joining Anthony and Maddy is Kyle Harper, historian and author of The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

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

Against a time of radical change, a gothic masterpiece was written by the teenage Mary Shelley.

Published in 1818, Frankenstein takes us into a dark world where man and monster meet in mutual torment. A world of raw, animalistic fear.

How was this story influenced by the tragedies in Mary Shelley's own life, and the early 19th century obsessions with playing God?

Edited by Tomos Delargy. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

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