SHOW NOTES for EPISODE 23 (Season 5)

(March 15, 2026)

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Join host Corinthian Finn, a.k.a. Finn J.D. John 18th Baron Dunwitch,* for a one-hour-long spree through the scandal-sheets and story papers of early-Victorian London!

Each segment is in its own sub-episode. The "Penny Dreadfuls" segment is in this main episode, followed by ...

The “Twopenny Torrids” minisode coming this Thursday evening;

The “Ha’penny Horrids” minisode coming next Sunday ; and finally—

The “Sixpenny Spookies” minisode coming next Thursday .

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* The Barony of Dunwitch is located in a deep forest glade west of Arkham (where, as H.P. Lovecraft put it, “the hills rise wild, and there are valleys with deep woods that no axe has ever cut; there are dark narrow glens where the trees slope fantastically, and where thin brooklets trickle without ever having caught the glint of sunlight.”) Actually it is a good 3,000 miles west of Arkham. It is not to be confused with Dunwich, the English seacoast town that fell house by house into the sea centuries ago, or Dunsany, the home until 1957 of legendary fantasy author Edward J.M.D. Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany.

For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠

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IN TODAY'S "PENNY DREADFULS" SEGMENT:

• 02:30: ON THIS DREADFUL DAY (March 15): The Victoria Pit Disaster of 1851 happened on this day, killing 61 men and boys who happened to be in the mine when it exploded.
• 05:23: VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; or, THE FEAST OF BLOOD, Chapter 45-46: Just as the Rev. Mr. Leigh had got the crowd settled down and preparing to return home, Waggles the beadle recovered his senses and with a roar charged them, staff in hand. In the ensuing melee, the crowd rediscovered its enthusiasm for the job at hand, and started hunting for the graves of the recently inhumed….
• 41:50: BROADSIDE BALLAD: Strange Warning to a Reprobate Publican! A “catchpenny,” that is, a phony story written to try and sell copies; in this case, it’s about a ghostly apparition that appeared to a debauched man and urged him to mend his evil ways. (1850s).

GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:

• ADELPHI AND ADELPHAI: Brothers and sisters. These are the Greek terms, more used by fancy-toff Flash canters like Pierce Egan’s famous Tom and Jerry.
• CHICKSTER: A flame or a sweetheart, with the implication that she is a little edgy, possibly dangerous or disreputable.
• CAPTAIN LUSHINGTONS: Spirited fellows who have had too much to drink.
• KNIGHTS OF THE BRUSH AND MOON: Drunken fellows wandering amok in meadows and ditches, trying to stagger home.
• CORINTHIAN: A fancy toff or titled swell. Used here as a reference to Corinthian Tom, the quintessential Regency rake depicted in Pierce Egan's "Life in London" (usually referred to as "Tom and Jerry").
• CHAFFING-CRIB: A room where drinking and bantering are going on.
• WAPSTRAWS: Country bumpkins.
• TOWN TODDLERS: Easy marks, or suckers.
• SNICKER OF MAX: Glass of gin.
• WET YOUR OTHER EYE: Take another drink.

SHOW NOTES

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MINISODE 22 (Season 5)

(March 12, 2026)

"THE SIXPENNY SPOOKIES"!

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00:30: THE TERRIFIC REGISTER: Five sworn witness descriptions of the haunting of the Portadown Bridge in Northern Ireland, the scene of a dreadful massacre of Protestant settlers by Catholic forces.

06:45: EARLY VICTORIAN GHOSTLY SHORT STORY, to-wit: MISS JEROMETTE and the CLERGYMAN, by WILKIE COLLINS, Part 3 of 3 parts: Our clergyman’s sleazy pupil gets a surprise letter, and leaves abruptly for London, claiming he has “business” there. Afterward the maid finds a photograph in his room … of Miss Jeromette. So HE was the unnamed rival, years earlier! But what is he going to do?

26:00: A SHORT GHOST STORY from the scrapbook of Charles Lindley, Viscount Halifax: “The Woman in White.” A short account of a small child who saw a spectral figure in white come into the garden at the same moment her father drowned, far away, while working in the river.

31:30: A FEW SQUEAKY-CLEAN DAD JOKES from the early-1800s' most popular joke book: "Joe Miller's Jests; or, The Wit's Vade-mecum."

GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:

• VADE MECUM: Latin for "hand book."
• JOE MILLER: A player at Drury-lane, in the early 1700s, who was famous for a Leslie Nielsen style of stone-faced comedy. Mr. Miller was always so serious (and don’t call him Shirley) that he was hilarious on stage. When he died leaving some dependents uncared-for, the jestbook was created by Joe’s friends as a sort of inside joke, as a fundraiser to support his bereaved family.
• PIKE OFF: Run away.
• RED WAISTCOAT: Uniform apparel of the Bow-street Runners, an early London police force replaced by the New Model Police (who dressed in blue rather than red) in 1839.
• GAMMONERS: Swindlers or bullshitters.
• ROMONERS: Gammoners who pretend to have occult powers.
• SHARPS: Swindlers and confidence men, who prey upon the “flats” (marks).
• OLD ST. GILES: The most famous slum parish of London, also called "The Holy Land."

SHOW NOTES

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MINISODE 21 (Season 5)

(March 8, 2026)

"THE HA’PENNY HORRIDS"!

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• 01:00: HANGED TODAY IN HISTORY (MARCH 8, 1734): Judith Dufour, convicted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter to sell her clothes for a quartern of gin. It’s a well-known cautionary tale about the evil influence of alcohol. But, is that all there is to the story? No. No, it is not. Let’s explore “The Rest of the Story” of this Lost Girl. (Art: See pennydread.com/discord)
• 11:25: SWEENEY TODD, THE BARBER OF FLEET-STREET, Chapter 90-91: Todd reads the two letters. The first is Colonel Jeffery’s letter, saying he doesn’t find it convenient to prosecute just now, but if Todd ever comes around again, he will. The other letter is from the Hamburg ship line that he’s booked passage on. At Sir Richard’s request, they have sent a letter telling Todd that the ship has been delayed 24 hours. The two letters put Todd into a frightful rage, to Johanna’s great alarm. — Speaking of Johanna: It turns out she’s been recognized in Fleet-street … by Mr. Lupin, the hypocritical drunken Puritan preacher with designs on Johanna. (Art: See ⁠pennydread.com/discord⁠)

• 39:15: HORRID BROADSIDE: The Committal of W. THOMPSON, to the County Gaol at Oxford for the MURDER OF HIS WIFE and THREE CHILDREN on the 12th Inst.! (1840s). A probably-made-up account of a super-heinous murder committed under the influence of Demon Rum (or, more likely, Demon Gin). (Art: See ⁠pennydread.com/discord⁠)

GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE: (Just two this time.)

• SCRAGGED: Executed by hanging.
• QUARTERN: One quarter of an Imperial pint, that is, roughly 5 1/3 ounces. A common measurement of hard liquor.

SHOW NOTES

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MINISODE 20 (Season 5)

(MARCH 5, 2026)

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EPISODE 5.20: The skeletons in the vault. — A golden age of highway robbery and crime! — A very naughty song about sailing on “The Open C—.” (Segment 2 — The “Twopenny Torrids.”)

NOTE: The full show notes, including images and links, can be accessed at https://pennydread.com/discord

01:20: THE LIVES OF THE HIGHWAYMEN: A little scene-setting of what life was like during the Golden Age of Britain’s criminal underworld, and some theories about what caused such a startling outbreak of violent crime.

17:50: BLACK BESS; or, THE KNIGHT OF THE ROAD (starring HIGHWAYMAN DICK TURPIN), Chapter 56-58: The ghostly mystery solved, the two highwaymen start exploring the house. They soon find a locked door that apparently is Sir Ernest’s room; it has a seal stamped over the lock hole with sealing-wax. Somebody really wanted to keep people out of that room … our friends have their work cut out for them, but by the end of the day, they’ve figured out why.

46:45: STREET POETRY: From a broadside ballad: “Stock and Wall” and “Low-back’d Car.” (Early 1800s).

51:40: TWO RATHER NAUGHTY COCK-AND-HEN-CLUB SONGS: "The C—” (about naughtybits, of course) and “Oh, do it, dear charmer, again.”

54:40: A FEW MILDLY DIRTY JOKES from what passed in 1830 for a dirty joke book: "The Joke-Cracker" by Martin Merryman, Esq.

GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:

• SWAG: Stolen property.
• BULLY: In this context, a brothel muscle-man there to protect the girls and make sure they get paid as agreed.
• FIDDLER: This word was used to mean a sixpence piece, a whip, a con artist, and sometimes a lady’s reproductive bits.
• FLASH CRIBS: A hospitality house of ill repute, often a brothel.
• FANCY GIRLS: Sporting ladies, provocatively dressed.
• KINCHIN: Child.
• LINK-BOY: A lad with a link or torch, hired to light the way.

SHOW NOTES

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EPISODES 19-22 (Season 5)

(March 1-14, 2026)

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Join host Corinthian Finn, a.k.a. Finn J.D. John 18th Baron Dunwitch,* for a one-hour-long spree through the scandal-sheets and story papers of early-Victorian London!

Each segment is in its own sub-episode.

• The "Penny Dreadfuls" segment is in this main episode, followed by ...
• The “Twopenny Torrids” minisode coming Thursday evening, March 5;
• The “Ha’penny Horrids” minisode on next Sunday evening; March 8; and finally—
• The “Sixpenny Spookies” minisode, two Thursdays hence, on March 14.

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THE "PENNY DREADFULS" SEGMENT:

For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠

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02:20: ON THIS DREADFUL DAY (March 1): It must have seemed like a great idea to embezzle nearly 8,000 quid from a business partner; William Anderson got to feeling differently after his eight-year sentence was handed down. (1854)

04:00: VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; or, THE FEAST OF BLOOD, Chapter 44: We cut back to the dungeon in which the prisoner is incarcerated. He hears someone running toward the dungeon, and then a tall gaunt man runs in and collapses beside him. He rises from his bed, grapples him by the throat, and cries, “Villain, monster, vampire! I have thee now!” Meanwhile, the mob of villagers, cheated of their prey, start thinking about seeking more vampyres in the graves of the recently deceased ….

42:10: BROADSIDE BALLAD: Basically, an early-Victorian episode of Judge Judy, pitting a disgruntled customer against his tailor — who claimed the unwearable pair of “inexpressibles” (trousers) he made for the customer were a new fashion he’d seen Prince Albert wearing. (1840s).

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GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:

• HIGH SPICERS: First-class highwaymen.
• LADYBIRDS: Sweethearts.
• KNIGHTS OF THE BRUSH AND MOON: Drunken fellows wandering amok in meadows and ditches, trying to stagger home.
• CORINTHIAN: A fancy toff or titled swell. Used here as a reference to Corinthian Tom, the quintessential Regency rake depicted in Pierce Egan's "Life in London" (usually referred to as "Tom and Jerry").
• CHAFFING-CRIB: A room where drinking and bantering are going on.
• NIPPERKIN: Half a pint.
• EYE-WATER: Gin.
• CABBAGE: Fabric used by a tailor to make clothing.
• KICKSIES: Trousers.
• ARTFUL CARD: Crafty character.
• TWIG: Recognize. To twig to something is to figure it out; to twig the prince is to recognize him on the street.
• KIDDY: Fashionable fellow.
• FARDEN: Phonetic spelling for the Cockney pronunciation of “farthing,” which was a quarter-penny.
• SPOOONEY: A silly, stupid fellow.
• MAG: A ha’penny.

* The Barony of Dunwitch is located in a deep forest glade west of Arkham (where, as H.P. Lovecraft put it, “the hills rise wild, and there are valleys with deep woods that no axe has ever cut; there are dark narrow glens where the trees slope fantastically, and where thin brooklets trickle without ever having caught the glint of sunlight.”) Actually it is a good 3,000 miles west of Arkham. It is not to be confused with Dunwich, the English seacoast town that fell house by house into the sea centuries ago, or Dunsany, the home until 1957 of legendary fantasy author Edward J.M.D. Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany.

SHOW NOTES

— for —

MINISODE 18 (Season 5)

(February 25, 2026)

"THE SIXPENNY SPOOKIES"!

• For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠

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IN TO-DAY'S "SIXPENNY SPOOKIES" EPISODE:

• 00:45: THE TERRIFIC REGISTER: Screams awakened the traveler, and running to investigate he found the fingers of a corpse, shackled with chains, locked around the throat of his companion!
• 05:15: EARLY VICTORIAN GHOSTLY SHORT STORY, to-wit: MISS JEROMETTE AND THE CLERGYMAN, by Wilkie Collins, Part 2 of 3 parts: After the narrator’s brother’s love affair with Miss Jeromette has been going on in secret for some time, his dying mother begs him to leave off the law and enter the church, and he promises he’ll do it. Obviously carrying on an extramarital with a secret French girl is one thing for a law student, but quite another for a divinity student. He goes to her house, sadly and regretfully, resigned to break it off….
• 28:30: A SHORT GHOST STORY from the scrapbook of Charles Lindley, Viscount Halifax: “Head of a Child.” Guests in the manor of Sutton Verney complained they’d wake up in the night with the feeling of a child nestled in bed with them. It got so nobody would stay in that room; finally, the owners demolished that wing … and thereby learned its secret.
• 30:45: A FEW SQUEAKY-CLEAN DAD JOKES from the early-1800s' most popular joke book: "Joe Miller's Jests; or, The Wit's Vade-mecum."

GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:

• VADE MECUM: Latin for "hand book."
• JOE MILLER: A player at Drury-lane, in the early 1700s, who was famous for a Leslie Nielsen style of stone-faced comedy. Mr. Miller was always so serious (and don’t call him Shirley) that he was hilarious on stage. When he died leaving some dependents uncared-for, the jestbook was created by Joe’s friends as a sort of inside joke, as a fundraiser to support his bereaved family.
• KIDDIES AND KIDDIESSES: Flash fellows — basically, early-1800s hep cats.
• SHERRY OFF: Run away.
• FLATS: Suckers.
• GET FLY TO THE FAKEMENT: Get wise to the swindle.
• BUMS: Bailiffs.
• CRAPING COVES: Hangmen.
• YE OLD STONE PITCHER: Newgate Prison.
• PADDINGTON FAIR: Execution day at Tyburn, which is in Paddington Parish. Paddington is also a pun, as “pad” was a flash word for “thief” or “robber.”
• BRUSH OFF: Leave. Note this phrase means something slightly different today.

SHOW NOTES

— for —

MINISODE 17 (Season 5)

(February 22-25, 2026)

"THE HA'PENNY HORRIDS"!

• For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠pennydread.com/discord.

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IN TODAY'S "HA'PENNY HORRIDS" EPISODE:

• 00:45: HANGED TODAY IN HISTORY (February 24): A real downer, you might want to skip this one. But on Feb. 24, 1823, a 54-year-old closeted gay man named William North, outed by the discovery of some love letters, was hanged for “an unnatural crime.”
• 07:45: SWEENEY TODD, THE BARBER OF FLEET-STREET, Chapter 89: Todd has escaped through the neighbor’s house, terrifying them in the process. But now he has a problem — the heat is going to be on! And Sir Richard Blunt has a problem: He doesn’t want Todd to go dark quite yet, he’s working on a plan to catch him red-handed. How can he reassure Todd enough to keep him in England for another day — and make sure Johanna is safe in his shop?
• 23:00: HORRID BROADSIDE: “Life, Trial, Confession & Execution of JAMES GREENACRE, for the EDGEWARE ROAD MURDER!” (1836). Truly a nasty crime, in which Mr. Greenacre killed and dismembered his fiancée on Christmas Eve, the night before their wedding.

GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:

• SCRAGGED: Hanged.
• BULLY ROCKS: Swaggering braggadocios.