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

Finn J.D. John/ Pulp-Lit Productions
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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 c**k-and-hen-club songs, broadsheet street ballads, and lots of old Regency "dad jokes." A fresh episode (in four segments) every Sunday evening. Join us!

  1. 5.14: The mysterious Miss Jeromette. — The ghost’s return after 20 years. (A Sixpenny Spookies segment.)

    3D AGO

    5.14: The mysterious Miss Jeromette. — The ghost’s return after 20 years. (A Sixpenny Spookies segment.)

    SHOW NOTES — for — EPISODE 14 (The fourth of four linked episodes aired February 15, 2026) ———— 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 old London!* ———— "THE SIXPENNY SPOOKIES" segment (No. 4 of 4): 00:30: THE TERRIFIC REGISTER: God’s judgement on a bishop who became cruel to his congregation.02:05: EARLY VICTORIAN GHOSTLY SHORT STORY, to-wit: MISS JEROMETTE AND THE CLERGYMAN, by WILKIE COLLINS, Part 1 of 3 parts: We open on our narrator’s brother reading a book about famous criminal trials, when his brother, a clergyman, sees the one he’s reading about. The defendant was acquitted in the trial — but the brother knows with absolute certainty that the man was guilty of the charge. How so, the narrator asks? Instead of answering, the brother asks if the narrator believes in ghosts … and then agrees to tell his story if the brother will promise to let the story be revealed only after his death.On his deathbed, then, he beckons to the narrator and tells him he may now share his strange tale ….19:15: A SHORT GHOST STORY from the scrapbook of Charles Lindley, Viscount Halifax: “Here I am again!” — a story of a most persistent, if rather ineffectual, haunt.25:25: 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 FLASH TERMS 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.TIP YOUR RAGS A GALLOP: Run away as fast as you can.GRABS: Police and magistrates.THE TOUCH: Getting arrested.HELL CATS: Dangerous ladies who frequent the “hells” (gambling dens).BLACKLEGS: Professional gamblers who cheat to win.SPEELING-CRIB: A gambling den. RUM TE TUM WITH THE CHILL OFF: Most emphatically excellent.———— * 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.

    29 min
  2. 5.13: Sweeney Todd escapes … for now! (A Ha’penny Horrid H’episode.) Also — Hanged Today in History: The corpse that testified! — The bloody crime of William Corder.

    3D AGO

    5.13: Sweeney Todd escapes … for now! (A Ha’penny Horrid H’episode.) Also — Hanged Today in History: The corpse that testified! — The bloody crime of William Corder.

    SHOW NOTES — for — EPISODES 11-14 (The third of four episodes aired February 15, 2026) ———— 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 old London! ———— "THE HA'PENNY HORRIDS" (Segment 3 of 4): 00:30: HANGED TODAY IN HISTORY (February 15, 1688): On this day, Philip Stansfield was hanged for murdering his father. And yeah, he probably did it — there was a lot of circumstantial evidence — but the clincher was an account of how, when the body was found and Philip helped retrieve it, it bled on him. Which, the prosecutor said, “he must ascribe to the wonderful Providence of God, who in this manner discovers murder.” Divine forensics!04:55: SWEENEY TODD, THE BARBER OF FLEET-STREET, Chapter 88: Todd, stuck on the roof, jumps across to the next house and makes his way out through it. As he leaves, he overhears Colonel Jeffery giving a letter to his footman to carry to Sir Richard Blunt … Todd follows him, wondering what’s in that letter … and making plans to find out!19:25: HORRID BROADSIDE: The confession and execution of William Corder, who murdered his onetime sweetheart Maria Martin (1828).GLOSSARY OF FLASH TERMS USED IN THIS EPISODE: PADDINGTON FAIR: Hanging day at the old Tyburn Tree gallows, which was located in Paddington Parish. Many of the convicts hanged there were “pads,” that is, thieves. ———— *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.

    27 min
  3. 5.12: Dick Turpin’s first highway robbery! — The Swedish count who tried to woo a wife by murdering her husband. — A very naughty song about spoon-making! (Twopenny Torrids segment)

    3D AGO

    5.12: Dick Turpin’s first highway robbery! — The Swedish count who tried to woo a wife by murdering her husband. — A very naughty song about spoon-making! (Twopenny Torrids segment)

    SHOW NOTES — for — EPISODES 12 (The second of four aired on February 15, 2026) ———— 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 old London! ———— "THE TWOPENNY TORRIDS" SEGMENT: 00:40: THE LIVES OF THE HIGHWAYMEN: The affair of Count Koenigsmark, a feisty Swedish nobleman who in 1682 tried to murder his way into the good graces of a 13-year-old heiress, and barely got out of the country unhanged ….12:13: BLACK BESS; or, THE KNIGHT OF THE ROAD (starring HIGHWAYMAN DICK TURPIN), Chapter 54: Turpin continues the story of his first heist. After it was over, he tried to go back to honest work; but he found nobody would hire him, so back he went upon the road! Also, Dick tells how he became the owner of his amazing mare, Black Bess.24:20: STREET POETRY: From a broadside ballad: The Young Woman’s ABC (a delightfully flirty bit of fun in the vein of Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5”) on the same page as a deeply moving ballad of a Maryland man whose (free) Black wife was kidnapped by a gang of “fugitive slave catchers.” (1860).30:45: A RATHER NAUGHTY C**K-AND-HEN-CLUB SONG: "The Metal Spoon-makers” (about sex, of course; what else?)33:00: A FEW MILDLY DIRTY JOKES from what passed in 1830 for a dirty joke book: "The Joke-Cracker" by Martin Merryman, Esq.GLOSSARY OF FLASH TERMS USED IN THIS EPISODE: KNIGHT OF THE BLADE: A swaggering braggadocio. BLUNT: Money, with the implication that there is a lot of it. RHINO: Same as “blunt.” BULLY ROCKS: Cheap muscle, usually a reference to “protection” men in a whorehouse. BOLT THE MOON: Fly by night. * 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.

    36 min
  4. 5.11: The duel is interrupted by a mob with torches and pichforks! — The Wild and Wicked Youth. (Two-Bob Blood-and-Thunders segment)

    3D AGO

    5.11: The duel is interrupted by a mob with torches and pichforks! — The Wild and Wicked Youth. (Two-Bob Blood-and-Thunders segment)

    SHOW NOTES — for — EPISODE 11 (One of four aired on February 15, 2026) ———— 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 old London! ———— * 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. ———— SEGMENT 1 of 4: “THE TWO-BOB BLOOD-AND-THUNDERS.” 02:10: ON THIS DREADFUL DAY: The story of a man garrotted and robbed at Leeds; but he survived to identify his attackers! (Feb. 15, 1853)03:45: VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; or, THE FEAST OF BLOOD, Chapter 39: It’s dueling time! But only Henry fires his pistol. It’s a clean miss, apparently. Varney raises his pistol … and fires at the sky. Henry demands another fire, as Marchdale and the Admiral urge him to call it good. But just then Mr. Chillingworth arrives … with a mob of villagers equipped with torches and pitchforks, chanting “Down with the vampire!”31:00: BROADSIDE STREET BALLAD: Opening the Exhibition! A fantastic example of street-poet John Morgan writing about the exhibition at the Crystal Palace in 1854. It was the event of the century! GLOSSARY OF FLASH TERMS USED IN THIS EPISODE: CONVEYANCERS: Highway robbers and thieves. CAPER MERCHANTS: Dancing instructors. 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. HENS: Married ladies, usually of middle age. JET AUTEMS: Preachers and parsons. WHITE TAPE: Gin. SLUICE YOUR GOB: Take a big drink.

    38 min
  5. 5.10: Sweeney Todd prepares to fly by night. — The murdering body-snatchers of Bethnel-green! — The highwaymen look for clues to Lady Dane’s fearful fate!

    FEB 8

    5.10: Sweeney Todd prepares to fly by night. — The murdering body-snatchers of Bethnel-green! — The highwaymen look for clues to Lady Dane’s fearful fate!

    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 old London! ——— PART I: “THE HA’PENNY HORRIDS”: 01:44: HANGED TODAY IN HISTORY: On Feb. 8, 1804, 23-year-old Miss Ann Hurle was launched into eternity for a forgery/counterfeiting con so audacious that it’s hard to believe she worked it alone. (https://capitalpunishmentuk.org/ann-hurle-hanged-for-forgery-in-1804/)08:15: SWEENEY TODD, THE BARBER OF FLEET-STREET, Chapter 85-87: Once Mrs. Lovett is gone, Todd sits down to think. He decides the next day’s dawn must find him on his way, and his shop in flames. He makes himself a little to-do list: First, go find and murder Tobias; then, pack all his things off to the wharf to be shipped to Hamburg; third, arrange combustibles to fire the building; fourth, murder “Charley Green”; and fifth, post a letter to Sir Richard Blunt accusing Mrs. Lovett….48:39: HORRID BROADSIDE: A double-sided summary of the crime, trial, and execution of the “London Burkers of 1831” — John Bishop, Thos. Williams and James May, who in that year murdered an “Italian Boy” and cashed him in at the nearest medical college! This broadside was selected because J. Draper just released a fantastic London History Show episode on resurrection-men. Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXyUCPek6EYPART II: "THE TWOPENNY TORRIDS": 1:00:30: LIVES OF THE HIGHWAYMEN: In the “golden age of highway robbery” in England, money wasn’t the only thing bold bad men were after. Well, actually it was; but, some of them thought they could acquire it by kidnapping and forcibly marrying wealthy heiresses. 1:07:00: BLACK BESS; or, THE KNIGHT OF THE ROAD (starring HIGHWAYMAN DICK TURPIN), Chapter 51-53: Tom King tells Dick Turpin the story of the mansion. It was owned by a debauched old baronet named Sir Ernest Dane, who at his death was nearly 60, and four years into a marriage that had been forced upon the beautiful daughter of a neighbor, a 17-year-old maiden named Kate Enderby. Kate had already been betrothed to a sailor named Ralph Anderdon; but her father insisted, and she was forced to the altar with this old roue instead….1:37:15: STREET POETRY: From a broadside ballad: “The Very Pretty Maid and the Amorous ‘Squire”! (Circa 1860).1:39:45: A RATHER NAUGHTY C**K-AND-HEN-CLUB SONG: “The Landlady’s ‘Count” (about a little risque confusion engendered by a gentleman’s thick French accent).1:43:30: A FEW MILDLY DIRTY JOKES from what passed in 1830 for a dirty joke book: "The Joke-Cracker" by Martin Merryman, Esq. *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. GLOSSARY OF FLASH TERMS USED IN THIS EPISODE: CROWDSMAN: xxx. GIN SPINNER: xxx. 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. MACE GIRL: Female swindler or con artiste. SHERRY OFF: Run away.There are more! But we’re out of space here. A full glossary of all the flash-cant terms used in this episode is at ⁠https://pennydread.com/discord⁠ in the "#season-5-episodes" thread.

    1h 47m
  6. 5.09: A view to a duel … with a vampire! — The murderer tries to claim his “prize,” but his ghostly victim has other plans for him. — What a lark on the Lord Mayor’s Day!

    FEB 1

    5.09: A view to a duel … with a vampire! — The murderer tries to claim his “prize,” but his ghostly victim has other plans for him. — What a lark on the Lord Mayor’s Day!

    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 old London! PART I: “THE PENNY DREADFULS”: 04:15: ON THIS DREADFUL DAY (FEB. 1): Two young men were playing at fencing with real swords … when one of them slipped. (1855)05:45: VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; or, THE FEAST OF BLOOD, Chapter 38: Dr. Chillingworth, who is Henry’s second for the duel, and Jack Pringle, who is the admiral’s, both arrive at Ratford Abbey at the same time. The arrangements are duly made, although they are a little odd. On the way home, they meet Marchdale, who offers to step in as Henry’s second so that Dr. Chillingworth will not suffer the various sanctions that would fall to him, as a professional man, if he were found to have been directly involved in a duel. Everything is building to a showdown …43:16: BROADSIDE BALLAD: The Lord Mayor’s Day in old London-town! (1850).PART II: "THE SIXPENNY SPOOKIES": 48:15: TERRIFIC REGISTER ARTICLE: A freak lightning-strike that left the dead looking uncommonly alive … and a child born with three eyes.50:15: EARLY VICTORIAN GHOSTLY SHORT STORY, TO-WIT: Shadow of a Shade, by Tom Hood, Part 2 of 2 parts: One has to admire the creation of Vincent Grieve, as a villain. He is sketched with a deft hand, kind of just shy of unbelievable reprehensibleness. There can be little doubt in anyone’s mind but that he murdered George to get to Lettie, and no one will be the least surprised when, in this concluding segment, he starts showing up and trying to renew his unwelcome and repellant effort to court her. But, there’s something not quite right, and it soon becomes clear that there are powerful supernatural forces at work on the case … forces that cast, behind Grieve, a second shadow.1:07:21: A SHORT GHOST STORY from the scrapbook of Charles Lindley, Viscount Halifax: The Telephone at the Oratory. Ghosts usually don’t use the telephone, but apparently this one did!1:16:30: A FEW SQUEAKY-CLEAN DAD JOKES from the early-1800s' most popular joke book: "Joe Miller's Jests; or, The Wit's Vade-mecum."*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. GLOSSARY OF FLASH TERMS USED IN THIS EPISODE: OWLERS: Smugglers. MALTY COVES: Beer drinkers. 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. GENTRY COVES: Gentlemen. LAWFUL BLANKETS: Wives. NIPPERKIN: Half a pint. OLD TOM: Top-shelf gin. BADGE COVES: Poor men who are being subsidized by the parish for charity. CROSS-COVES: Swindlers and other criminals. SHEEP’S JEMMIES: Roasted sheep’s head. SPOONEY: Foolish fellow. MORRIS OFF: Run away. BEAKS ON THE NOSE: Police detectives or magistrates on an investigation. HELL CATS: Racy ladies who haunt gambling-hells. BLACKLEGS: Card-sharpers and other professional gamblers who cheat. SPICE ISLANDERS: Swindlers. SPEELING-CRIB: Gambling den.RUM TE TUM WITH THE CHILL OFF: Most emphatically excellent.

    1h 21m
  7. 5.08: Sweeney Todd stalks abroad with a murder-list in his pocket! — The highwaymen investigate the secret of the old mansion. — 'Swift Nick' Nevison, the gentleman-robber friend of King Charles II!

    JAN 28

    5.08: Sweeney Todd stalks abroad with a murder-list in his pocket! — The highwaymen investigate the secret of the old mansion. — 'Swift Nick' Nevison, the gentleman-robber friend of King Charles II!

    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 old London! PART I: "THE HA’PENNY HORRIDS”: 01:20: HANGED TODAY IN HISTORY: The story of a colonial governor hanged in 1803 for murder after he had seven employees whipped so severely that three of them died. If you’re into schadenfreude, this is your week.06:50: SWEENEY TODD, THE BARBER OF FLEET-STREET, Chapter 83-84: The two ladies, Mrs. Ragg and her friend (Martha Jones), bustle back to the Temple and set themselves up in the office of Martha’s employer, an attorney named Mr. Juggas, and starts plying Mrs. Ragg with Mr. Juggas’ old ale. Todd follows them up the stairs, listens at each door till he finds the right one, and overhears some very interesting news ….35:00: BROADSIDE BALLAD: A sad account of a pair of convicts sacrificed to the old English “bloody code” on the scaffold, one for burglary and one for arson. Reading this one, I had to wonder if the spectacle the arsonist made in struggling for his life helped turn public opinion against this barbarity.PART II: "THE TWOPENNY TORRIDS”: 43:50: THE LIVES OF THE HIGHWAYMEN: Meet William “Swift Nick” Nevison, one of the northlands’ most notorious high spicers. The tale is that he was friends with King Charles II himself.50:30: BLACK BESS; or, THE KNIGHT OF THE ROAD (starring HIGHWAYMAN DICK TURPIN), Chapter 49-50: Dick picks the lock on the front gate and the two bandits make their way through the park and up to the front door of the house. There they find it’s very secure; heavy shutters cover all the windows, the door is fast as a rock. But, of course, no place is burglar-proof to a sufficiently resourceful burglar, right?1:19:00: SOME STREET POETRY from an 1830s “broadside”: "The Bonny Blue Handkerchief” and “The Jolly Rover.”1:23:00: A SUBTLY NAUGHTY C**K-AND-HEN-CLUB SONG: "Cowslip and the Gardener’s Leek.” (about a little misunderstanding of what was meant by “prithee sow your seed in my bed, kind sir.”)1:27:00: A FEW MILDLY DIRTY JOKES from what passed in 1830 for a dirty joke book: "The Joke-Cracker."*The Barony of Dunwitch is located in a wood 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 Dunsany, the home until 1957 of legendary fantasy author Edward J.M.D. Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany. GLOSSARY OF FLASH TERMS USED IN THIS EPISODE: • COUNT CARDS: Fine fellows. • FAMILY COVES: Members of the “family” of thieves and other cross-men (criminals). • 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. • HIGH SPICERS: Well-mounted highwaymen. • SHERRY OFF: To run away at top speed. Adopted from the nautical term "to sheer off." • FLATS: Suckers. • FLY TO: Wised-up about, aware of. • FAKEMENT: Plot or scheme. • BUMS: Bailiffs. • CRAPPING COVES: Pronounced "crêpe-ing," it means hangmen, who cause the widows of the criminals they execute to wear crêpe in mourning. • THE OLD STONE JUG: Newgate Prison, or prisons in general. • PADDINGTON FAIR: Execution day at Tyburn Tree gallows, which was in Paddington parish; during the years when the “Bloody Code” was in effect, and one could get “scragged” for stealing less than 10 modern dollars’ worth of goods, it was also a blackly humourous pun, as “pad” was Flash slang for “thief” or “robber.”

    1h 30m
  8. 5.07: Fangs at Ten Paces; or, Duelling with a vampyre! — A Bad Romance on the high seas? — “Landlord fill a Flowing Bowl,” a ripping fine drinking-song!

    JAN 25

    5.07: Fangs at Ten Paces; or, Duelling with a vampyre! — A Bad Romance on the high seas? — “Landlord fill a Flowing Bowl,” a ripping fine drinking-song!

    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 old London! PART I: “THE PENNY DREADFULS”: 02:50: VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; or, THE FEAST OF BLOOD, Chapter 37: As soon as he can get away, Henry goes next door and challenges Varney to a duel, following a very unsatisfactory conversation about the disposition of Charles Holland, which Varney claims ignorance of, but Henry frankly accuses him of lying. No sooner is Henry home than Admiral Bell sallies forth on a similar errand….36:15: SPORTY STREET BROADSIDE: “Landlord fill a flowing bowl,” a zesty drinking song, presented alongside “The Fire King,” a poem in praise of stage magician and fire-eater J.X. Chabert.42:45: TERRIFIC REGISTER ARTICLE: A wicked archbishop who called his parishioners vermin was, according to this legend, chased down and devoured by a horde of rats.PART II: “THE SIXPENNY SPOOKIES”: 45:45: EARLY VICTORIAN GHOSTLY SHORT STORY, TO-WIT: SHADOW OF A SHADE, by Tom Hood, Part 1 OF 2: We are introduced to Lettie, the narrator’s sister, and her fiancé, George Mason, a merchant-marine officer who is about to set out on an expedition to find Sir John Franklin’s missing North Pole expedition. A younger brother has painted a portrait of George, which Lettie really likes, and has it hung in the living room to remind her of her loved one. George’s fellow officer, Vincent Grieve, comes to dinner before the expedition began, and all but follows Lettie around with his tongue hanging out — seeming to be trying to cut in on her. On his last visit, he tells Lettie he was in love with her, and should she ever break it off with George, he hopes she’ll have him instead. Outraged, Lettie orders him out of the house.The ship sails. Then, some weeks later, a chill arctic wind seemed to blow through the room, despite it being summer; and when our narrator looks at the painting of George, it looks like the head has become a skull! Upon approaching, the illusion passed; but our narrator very much fears it was an omen …1:03:00: A SHORT GHOST STORY from the scrapbook of Charles Lindley, Viscount Halifax: The tale of a ghostly butler who still walks the halls of an ancient hall in Yorkshire.1:11:15: A FEW SQUEAKY-CLEAN DAD JOKES from the early-1800s' most popular joke book: "Joe Miller's Jests; or, The Wit's Vade-mecum." *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. GLOSSARY OF FLASH TERMS USED IN THIS EPISODE: BLACKLEGS: Crooked gamblers. CAPTAIN TOBERS: Top-tier highwaymen. KNIGHTS OF THE BRUSH AND MOON: Drunken fellows wandering amok in meadows and ditches, trying to stagger home. CHAFFING-CRIB: A room where drinking and bantering are going on. TARTARS: Feisty old ladies. AUTEM DIPPERS: Preachers from Protestant denominations that emphasize baptism by immersion.NOGGEN OF LIGHTNING: Quartern of gin. SUGAR-CANE JUICE: Rum. MORRIS OFF: Flee or run away. BEAKS ON THE NOSE: Magistrates or police detectives on an active investigation.DIDDLE COVES: Bartenders at a dram shop or gin palace.DAFFY DOXIES: Spicy ladies who drink gin (daffy is gin).CAPTAIN LUSHINGTONS: Drunken fellows.There are more! But we’re out of space here. A full glossary of all the flash-cant terms used in this episode is at ⁠https://pennydread.com/discord⁠ in the "#season-5-episodes" thread.

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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 c**k-and-hen-club songs, broadsheet street ballads, and lots of old Regency "dad jokes." A fresh episode (in four segments) every Sunday evening. Join us!

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