The Penny Dreadful Hour; or, A Feast of Early-Victorian Street Literature and Stories (no AI)

Books & Literature

This is the podcast that carries you back to the sooty, foggy streets of early-Victorian London when a new issue of one of the "Penny Dreadful" blood-and-thunder story paper comes out! It's like an early-Victorian variety show, FEATURING ... — Sweeney Todd ... — Varney, the Vampyre ... — Highwayman Dick Turpin ... — mustache-twirling villains ... — virtuous ballet-girls ... —wicked gamblers ... ... and more! Spiced with naughty cock-and-hen-club songs, broadsheet street ballads, and lots of old Regency "dad jokes." A fresh episode every Sunday and Thursday evening. Join us!

Episodes

158. Torches and pitchforks for Mrs. Lovett! Will she survive the trip to prison? — The phantom bridegroom claims his living bride! — A trio of murderous husbands. (The “Ha’penny Horrors.”)

157. “The pies are made with human flesh!” — Hanged Today in History: A teen-age mother executed (for shoplifting!) in 1771. (Part One of a two-part “Ha’penny Horrors” episode).

156. The villain Marchdale slips into the dungeon, dagger in hand! — The life and times of James MacLaine, a.k.a. “The Gentleman Highwayman.” — Christabel. (The “Graanum Gothicks.)

155. Count Dracula arrives in England! — The Phantom Coach. — Lady Christabel meets a strange, sinister damsel in the forest. (The “Sixpenny Spookies.”) (updated)

154. Highwayman Dick Turpin sets out to break his friend out of prison! — Sundry spicy street poetry. — Meet our hostess, Miss Davis! (The “Twopenny Torrids + Ninepenny Naughties”)

153. Sweeney Todd is nabbed at last! — Bigamy or Murder? The “heiress whisperer” makes his choice! — The murderess who had been Prince Edward’s wet nurse. (The “Ha’penny Horrors.”)

152. Varney the Vampire contemplates his prisoner: To kill him, or set him free? — The lovely vampire Clarimonde proves allergic to holy water! — The Lives of the Highwaymen. (The “Graanum Gothics.)

151. The vampire-courtesan leaves the grave to claim her lover! — A strange ghostly schooner approaches England’s shores. — Two haunted abbeys. (The “Sixpenny Spookies.”)

150. OOPS! ALL VAMPIRES! Dracula en route to Carfax! — The vampire-courtesan Clarimonde fixes her eye on a young novitiate! — Moonlight revives the murdered vampire!

149. Highwayman Tom King plots his escape from the prison! — The Smuggler’s Bride! — Introducing MISS BROWN, our Ninepenny Naughties hostess! (The “Twopenny Torrids”)

148: Sweeney Todd’s attempt to kill Mrs. Lovett backfires! — A husband-killing wife, a wife-murdering husband, and a husband-and-wife murder team. (A “Ha’penny Horrors” episode))

14: Someone tries to MURDER the VAMPYRE ... but the moon is full tonight! — A Highwayman’s APPRENTICESHIP program. — The BODY-SNATCHERS. (A "Graanum-gold Gothics" theme episode)

Ep. 13: Alone in CASTLE DRACULA with three thirsty VAMPIRE-MAIDENS! — The body-snatcher’s grisly trade. — Death was poor Lenore’s bridegroom! (The “Sixpenny Spookies.”)

Ep. 12: Highwayman TOM KING is in a tight spot! Can Dick Turpin save him? — Sundry street poetry, naughty songs, and dirty jokes fit for a Regency rake! (The “Twopenny Torrids & Ninepenny Naughties”)

11. The “Reverend” hides his murdered wife in someone else’s coffin! — The murdering mitten-knitters get their virtue rewarded! — The notorious 1849 Liverpool Lodger murders. (The “Ha’penny Horrors.”)

10. Breakfast with Varney the Vampyre goes about as well as you might expect. — A baronet caught SHOPLIFTING? — Introducing Old Mobb, the cross-dressing highwayman-poet! (The “Graanum Gothics”)

09: The three vampire-maidens: Was it really a dream? — The ghost of Chesney Wold. — A dead man who came back … from Hell! — Lord Byron’s “The Giaour.” (The “Sixpenny Spookies.”)

8. Rev. Mr. Lupin turns out a wolf in sheep’s clothes! — The murderer who had to be hanged twice. — When price gouging triggered riots. (The “Ha’penny Horrors.”)

7. A prisoner in Castle Dracula! — The restless spirit of a murdered boy. — A wrestling match with the dead, in a tomb! (The “Sixpenny Spookies.”)

Ep. 6: Highwayman Dick Turpin’s miraculous escape from the soldiers! — “Making Love by Moonlight.” — Introducing our hostess, MISS LITTLETON (The “Twopenny Torrids + Ninepenny Naughties”)