The Darkives

Leo Eaton and Jamie Tavenner

This isn't your typical history podcast, it's a little bit dark history with a splash of dark humor Host Jamie and co-host Leo delve into history's darkest archived stories. They shed a little light on some of the creepy, weird, dark and sometimes downright disturbing stories you won't find in history books (at least not the more nasty bits). From killer cults, forgotten voyages, true crime and generally dark moments in world history. We'll all go into the past to reveal the more obscure and take a lighthearted look at the macabre. Join our hosts as they pull bizarre history stories of from The Darkives. perfect for fans of: funny conversations about history, eerie historical tales, alternative history, grim historical stories, spooky history, offbeat history, banter podcasts, casual conversational history, laid-back history, weird facts about history

  1. The Dark History of: The Man-Eaters of Tsavo

    3 DAYS AGO

    The Dark History of: The Man-Eaters of Tsavo

    This week we travel back to late 19th century Africa to learn this true horror story in history. A case of real-life man-eating lions! In British East Africa (now Kenya) during the construction of the Uganda Railway in the Tsavo river region, we find two African lions more terrifying than your average animal predators. Full of deadly animal attacks and railway construction disasters, we learn what happened during one of the deadliest animal attacks in African history. Get ready to sink your teeth into this shocking historical event from The Darkives. The main source for this episode: Patterson, John Henry. The Man-Eaters of Tsavo and Other East African Adventures. link to book: https://amzn.to/4aEQYU6 *As Amazon Associates we earn from qualifying purchases* Other Sources: https://www.fieldmuseum.org/blog/tsavo-lionshttps://wildlifecollege.org.za/the-man-eaters-of-tsavo/https://www.livescience.com/58735-man-eating-lions-analyzed.htmlhttps://tsavotrust.org/why-are-tsavos-male-lions-maneless/Theme music: Ways of the Wizard Composed by: geoffharvey Licensed through: Pixabay Used with permission, Thank you Geoff! Other sounds used licensed through Pixbay African Tribal Music- BackgroundMusicForVideosCrunching Bones- spookymodem (Freesound)Horror Trailer- SimpleSoundLion Roaring Sound Effect- Engyclickused under the Pixabay Content License Keywords: Tsavo lions, Tsavo lion attacks, lions that ate people, dark history of the Man-Eaters of Tsavo, colonial Africa tragedies, Tsavo National Park history, Kenya wildlife history, Kenya dark history, dark history podcast episode, bizarre tragedies in history

    36 min
  2. The Dark History of: Madame LaLaurie

    26/12/2025

    The Dark History of: Madame LaLaurie

    This week we uncover the LaLaurie Mansion horrors. The tale of Delphine LaLaurie is hidden away in the French Quarter buried deep in New Orleans true crime history. Here we expose historical serial abuse and brutal crimes so disturbing that the LaLaurie house is now known as one of the most haunted places in New Orleans. Let's band together and break down the door hiding the true story of the LaLaurie Mansion in this episode of The Darkives. Sources: Retrospect of Western Travel, Volume II, Harriet Martineau- https://amzn.to/4pcrd1d*As Amazon Associates we earn from qualifying purchases*23456Theme music: Ways of the Wizard Composed by: geoffharvey Licensed through: Pixabay Used with permission, Thank you Geoff! Other sounds used licensed through PixbaySpooky-NikitaKondrashevWood Break-BOAAY (Freesound)Gasplaft2k-(Freesound)Locked door being forced open-Talitha5 (Freesound)used under the Pixabay Content License Keywords: Madame LaLaurie history, Madame LaLaurie, Delphine LaLaurie mansion LaLaurie House New Orleans, brutal crimes in history, haunted New Orleans, French Quarter history, Royal Street New Orleans, Louisiana dark history ,LaLaurie Mansion ghosts, haunted LaLaurie House, who was Madame Delphine LaLaurie, what happened at the LaLaurie House, LaLaurie Mansion slave abuse, dark secrets of Madame LaLaurie, Madame LaLaurie crimes explained

    29 min
  3. The History of: Saint Nicholas

    19/12/2025

    The History of: Saint Nicholas

    This week, the history of Christmas traditions. We time travel back to the 4th century to learn of an early Christian Saint that serves as the origins of Santa Claus. Beginning with the true history of Saint Nicholas we follow his path to becoming the Bishop of Myra. After the verifiable tales we'll get into Saint Nicholas' folklore and legends. Finally we end with the evolution of Santa Claus and bridge the gap between ol' Saint Nick and Santa Claus. Deck the heretic, halls, whatever! in this Holiday special of The Darkives. Sources: 1234567Theme music: Ways of the Wizard Composed by: geoffharvey Licensed through: Pixabay Used with permission, Thank you Geoff! Other sounds used licensed through Pixbay real_punches_and_slaps (Freesound)Chopping wood with a hatchet (Freesound)Magic 03 UniversfieldHarp Glissando Ascending Short Serge Quadrado MusicAncient Histroy BackgroundMusicMasterJail Door Closing (Heavy Door) TanwerAmanPain/Anger Scream 2 TheLlywellynSnow Lantern Waltz BFCMUSICused under the Pixabay Content License Keywords: Saint Nicholas facts, miracles, myths, Christmas folklore

    25 min
  4. The Dark History of: The Burning of the Washington DC

    12/12/2025

    The Dark History of: The Burning of the Washington DC

    This week we cover the destruction of the U.S. capital and the British burning Washington D.C. in 1814. During the war of 1812 (President Madison era) few skirmishes hit harder than the British invasion of Washington after the Bladensburg battle. We cover some early American history with dramatic historical attacks that lead to the White House burning. Pull up a chair and get toasty as we listen to the new world burn in this episode of The Darkives. Sources: 123456789Theme music: Ways of the Wizard Composed by: geoffharvey Licensed through: Pixabay Used with permission, Thank you Geoff! Other sounds used licensed through Pixbay Party horn TiesWijnen (Freesound)Short Crowd Cheer qubodup (Freesound)Sad Dramatic Music TunetankFire Sound Efftect MaxHammarbäckCrowd In Panic SdanezisVINYL STOP ALEXIS_GAMING_CAMused under the Pixabay Content License Keywords: darkest moments in history, dark history podcast, shocking events in American history, lesser-known U.S. history, historical disaster, 19th century American conflicts, War of 1812 history

    29 min
  5. The Dark History of: Ice Mummies

    05/12/2025

    The Dark History of: Ice Mummies

    This week ice mummies! We 'chisel' out a few stories from The Darkives of ancient burial practices, unsettling stories, and icy tomb discoveries. Learn the stories behind Ötzi the Iceman, Inca ice mummies in the Andes, and Siberian ice burials. Let's thaw the veiled history covering these ancient and chilling archaeological mummy finds. Bundle up in something warm, we're climbing mountains to uncover the true stories of some of the most famous Ice mummies and maidens of all time. Sources: https://secretsoftheice.com/ice-mummies/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/141017-white-war-first-world-war-italy-austro-hungarian-mountains-historyhttps://www.iceman.it/en/oetzi/the-bodyhttps://www.britannica.com/topic/Otzihttps://www.cnn.com/2023/11/03/world/ice-maiden-juanita-facial-reconstruction-scnhttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/sacrificial-ceremony/https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/science/peruvian-ice-maidenhttps://www.livescience.com/38504-incan-child-mummies-lives-revealed.htmlhttps://www.history.com/articles/ice-maiden-mummy-siberiahttps://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0b5vtbj/the-mystery-of-siberia-s-2-500-year-old-ice-maiden- Theme music: Ways of the Wizard Composed by: geoffharvey Licensed through: Pixabay Used with permission, Thank you Geoff! Keywords: frozen mummies, ancient ice mummies, preserved bodies in ice, ice mummy discoveries, ancient human remains, ancient burial practices, eerie archaeological finds, chilling ancient mysteries, macabre historical discoveries unsettling mummy stories, Inca ice mummies, Andes sacrifice mummies, high-altitude mummies, dark history podcast episode, creepy history podcast topics, bizarre historical events, mysterious archaeological finds, ancient mysteries explained, true story of ice mummy discoveries, ancient rituals and ice burials, chilling stories from archaeological history, real history behind ice mummy legends

    41 min
  6. The Dark History of: The Sankebetsu Bear incident

    28/11/2025

    The Dark History of: The Sankebetsu Bear incident

    This week we cover some of Japan's 1915 frontier history of Sankebetsu and it's brown bear attacks. In this lesser known and shocking historical event we'll cover the terrifying animal attacks of a man eater named Kesagake and the true horror behind the most deadly bear attack in history. Grab your rifles and your lanterns, because this episode of The Darkives, we're bear hunting. sources: https://www.nbcnews.com/world/japan/japan-bear-attacks-warning-americans-us-embassy-state-department-rcna243878https://wakokujp.com/kesagake-the-man-eater/?srsltid=AfmBOorJv5N-MVS6GqKwe5dMja9gpg-Q9UVYO3kQfFjOIYN_uWII6fMLhttp://outsiderjapan.pbworks.com/w/page/25226868/Sankebetsu%20Brown%20Bear%20Incident Theme music: Ways of the Wizard Composed by: geoffharvey Licensed through: Pixabay Used with permission, Thank you Geoff! Other sounds used licensed through Pixbay Window breaking- m1a2t3z4 (Freesound)Pots and Pans Crashing- oneOddEgg (Freesound)Sound of Growling bearHD- MIGHTUSERused under the Pixabay Content License

    22 min
  7. The Dark History of: Pirate Captain Ned Low

    21/11/2025

    The Dark History of: Pirate Captain Ned Low

    Avast ye history lovers! Let's go back to the 18th century to learn some maritime outlaw stories throughout New England and British naval pirate history. We follow one of the most brutal pirate captains, Edward (Ned) Low and his crew of some of the most violent and terrifying real life pirates of the Caribbean. Chock-full of travels across the Atlantic, torture stories, and the worst thing for any pirate captain in the golden era of pirates, mutiny! Get your sea legs under ya and man the sails because we are sailing with someone who might be the most ruthless pirate in history. Sources: https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history/2025/june/hunt-pirate-ned-lowhttps://historyofmassachusetts.org/pirate-edward-low/https://biographics.org/edward-low-the-most-vicious-pirate-to-sail-the-seven-seas/https://www.worldhistory.org/Edward_Low/https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/people-politics/the-martyrdom-of-horst-wessel-how-a-far-right-street-fighter-became-a-nazi-icon/https://sillyhistory.com/2015/03/02/as-low-as-one-can-go-the-pirate-captain-ned-low/https://goldenageofpiracy.org/pirates/edward-lowTheme music: Ways of the Wizard Composed by: geoffharvey Licensed through: Pixabay Used with permission, Thank you Geoff! Other sounds used licensed through Pixbay Eilegeiya- SamuelFJohannsApplause, cheer- Driken5482used under the Pixabay Content License

    35 min
  8. The Dark History of: Bliain an Áir/The Year of The Slaughter

    14/11/2025

    The Dark History of: Bliain an Áir/The Year of The Slaughter

    In this episode we get into Irelands famine history, about 100 years before The Great Potato Famine there was a mini ice age known as The Year Of The Slaughter. We will go to the beginning to find out what the caused the Irish famine, the impact on Irish farming, mass starvation and Irish deaths involved within this dark history of Ireland. Get ready to jump back to the 1740's and learn the legacy of this great famine and how the Irish rebounded after it came to its close. Sources: https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/ireland-famine-history-year-slaughterhttps://www.britannica.com/science/Little-Ice-Agehttps://www.irelandsown.ie/the-great-frost-of-1740/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/the-great-frost-and-forgotten-famine-1.282539https://kids.kiddle.co/Irish_Famine_(1740%E2%80%931741)#Food_riots_and_protestshttps://www.waterfordtreasures.com/bliain-an-air-the-forgotten-famine-of-1740-41/Theme music: Ways of the Wizard Composed by: Geoff Harvey Licensed through: Pixabay Used with permission, Thank you Geoff!

    27 min
See All (24)

About

This isn't your typical history podcast, it's a little bit dark history with a splash of dark humor Host Jamie and co-host Leo delve into history's darkest archived stories. They shed a little light on some of the creepy, weird, dark and sometimes downright disturbing stories you won't find in history books (at least not the more nasty bits). From killer cults, forgotten voyages, true crime and generally dark moments in world history. We'll all go into the past to reveal the more obscure and take a lighthearted look at the macabre. Join our hosts as they pull bizarre history stories of from The Darkives. perfect for fans of: funny conversations about history, eerie historical tales, alternative history, grim historical stories, spooky history, offbeat history, banter podcasts, casual conversational history, laid-back history, weird facts about history

Information

  • Creator
    Leo Eaton and Jamie Tavenner
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Jamie Tavenner 2025
  • Show Website
    The Darkives

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