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. 5.18: Choked by the fingers of a chain-rattling corpse! — Haunted by a child’s ghost? — The clergyman’s unpleasant pupil. (Segment 4 — The “Sixpenny Spookies.”)

    16H AGO · BONUS

    5.18: Choked by the fingers of a chain-rattling corpse! — Haunted by a child’s ghost? — The clergyman’s unpleasant pupil. (Segment 4 — The “Sixpenny Spookies.”)

    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.⁠ ———— 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.

    35 min
  2. 5.17: Setting a trap for Sweeney Todd! — The Edgeware Road dismembered-torso murder. — Hanged Today in History. (Segment 3 — The “Ha’penny Horrids.”)

    1D AGO · BONUS

    5.17: Setting a trap for Sweeney Todd! — The Edgeware Road dismembered-torso murder. — Hanged Today in History. (Segment 3 — The “Ha’penny Horrids.”)

    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. ———— 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.

    35 min
  3. 5.16: A scream rings out in the deserted mansion! — “German Princess” was a magnificent con artiste. (Segment 2 — The “Twopenny Torrids” feat. Highwayman Dick Turpin)

    2D AGO · BONUS

    5.16: A scream rings out in the deserted mansion! — “German Princess” was a magnificent con artiste. (Segment 2 — The “Twopenny Torrids” feat. Highwayman Dick Turpin)

    SHOW NOTES — for — MINISODE 16 (Season 5) (February 23, 2026) THE "TWOPENNY TORRIDS"! For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see pennydread.com/discord. ———— IN TODAY'S "TWOPENNY TORRID" MINISODE: 01:00: THE LIVES OF THE HIGHWAYMEN: The short and merry life of one of history’s most gifted con artistes — Mary Carleton, a.k.a. The German Princess.12:15: BLACK BESS; or, THE KNIGHT OF THE ROAD (starring HIGHWAYMAN DICK TURPIN), Chapter 54: Dick finishes telling the story of how he acquired his mare. By the time he’s done, morning has broken; so the two highwaymen set out to explore their new temporary digs. But just as they do, an unearthly scream rings out in their ears …24:45: STREET POETRY: From a yard-long collection of street ballads: “Henry’s Cottage Maid,” and “Single Life for Me!” (Early 1800s).28:00: A RATHER NAUGHTY C**K-AND-HEN-CLUB SONG: "The Lady’s Wound” (about how Simple Simon learned on his wedding night that that, um, wasn’t a wound down there.)30:00: A FEW MILDLY DIRTY JOKES from what passed in 1830 for a dirty joke book: "The Joke-Cracker" by Martin Merryman, Esq. GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE — just two this time: ARCH DOXY: High-ranking female criminal or underworld figure. CUT AWAY: Fled.

    34 min
  4. 5.15: Torches, pitchforks, and a vampire! — Unsolicited advice for ladies during courtship. — Lord Bellamont’s third ball. (Segment 1 — The “Penny Dreadfuls” — feat. Varney the Vampyre.)

    3D AGO

    5.15: Torches, pitchforks, and a vampire! — Unsolicited advice for ladies during courtship. — Lord Bellamont’s third ball. (Segment 1 — The “Penny Dreadfuls” — feat. Varney the Vampyre.)

    (ART: The angry mob and Dr. Chillingworth, from this episode’s chapter of Varney the Vampyre.) SHOW NOTES — for — EPISODES 15-18 (Season 5) (February 22-25, 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 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 Monday evening;The “Ha’penny Horrids” minisode on Tuesday evening; and finallyThe “Sixpenny Spookies” minisode on Wednesday. ———— THE "PENNY DREADFULS" SEGMENT: For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠ ———— IN TODAY'S "PENNY DREADFULS" SEGMENT: 02:50: ON THIS DREADFUL DAY (February 22): Lord Bellamont, the “Hybernian Seducer,” took a pistol ball to the groin in a duel with Lord Townshend. (1773)04:10: VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; or, THE FEAST OF BLOOD, Chapter 40: The mob of angry villagers arrive at Sir Francis Varney’s house, with Dr. Chillingworth in front, importuning them to turn back the whole way. They form up in front of Ratford Abbey and thunderously demand admittance to the place. Upon getting in, they search it; Varney is not there. Then a shepherd tells them he saw Varney heading towards the duelling-spot, and they race thither, hot on the vampyre’s track … how do you suppose our bold, bad eldritch anti-hero will get out of this one?41:05: BROADSIDE BALLAD: “SECRETS for ladies during courtship! TEASING MADE EASY!” (Mid-1800s).GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE: WOOD PECKERS: Jokers, with the implication that they favor dry humour. WATER PADS: Highway robbers of the river — freshwater pirates, basically. 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. TARTARS: Stern and disapproving old ladies. AUTEM DIPPERS: Hard-shell Baptists. FLICKER: Drinking glass. BLUE JACKY: Gin. * 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.

    44 min
  5. 5.14: The mysterious Miss Jeromette. — The ghost’s return after 20 years. (A Sixpenny Spookies segment.)

    FEB 15

    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
  6. 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.

    FEB 15

    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
  7. 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)

    FEB 15

    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
  8. 5.11: The duel is interrupted by a mob with torches and pichforks! — The Wild and Wicked Youth. (Two-Bob Blood-and-Thunders segment)

    FEB 15

    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
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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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