SHOW NOTES for EPISODE 21 (Season Six)(Sept. 27, 2026)For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠ ———— 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! Penny Dreadful is a weekly show that cycles through four themes each month. This is the TWOPENNY TORRIDS-theme show. It will be followed by ...The “Sixpenny Spookies” theme episode, coming next Sunday;The “Graanum Gothics” theme episode, coming two Sundays hence; and finally —The “Ha'penny Horrors” theme episode, coming three Sundays from now. Then we’ll be right back around to the “Twopenny Torrids” again, for the fourth Sunday of next month! ———— IN TODAY'S "TWOPENNY TORRIDS" EPISODE:01:55: STREET POETRY: From a broadside ballad: “Sweet Betty of Billingsgate,” a short and very sweet love ballad. (1805).04:00: BLACK BESS; or, THE KNIGHT OF THE ROAD (starring HIGHWAYMAN DICK TURPIN), Chapter 91-95: In which we find Dick in London, staying with old Matthew Gale at the White Horse Inn in Drury-lane. Matthew has connected him with an old costumier who once worked for the theatre there, and the costumier proceeds to utterly transform Dick into an aged country farmer. His plan is to use this disguise to actually go into Newgate Prison, visit Tom King, and slip him something that will help him escape from custody. So, how will that work? We’ll see …50:30: STREET POETRY: An 1845 broadside ballad: “Is Your Rhubarb Up?” — a rather spicy little bit of street verse about sex. If you have ever seen a rhubarb plant just sprouting from the garden soil, you’ll understand the reference immediately.53:10: INTRODUCING MISS DAVIS: One of the “ladies of the evening” listed and described in Harris’s List of Covent-garden Ladies, a directory for bucks and bloods out on the town in the early 1800s. 56:50: A RATHER NAUGHTY COCK-AND-HEN-CLUB SONG: "Jenny’s Sweet Dream” (about an innocent maiden’s not-so-innocent subconscious mind, which serves her up a rather detailed dream likely involving someone played by Colin Firth circa 1995!)1:01:00: A FEW MILDLY DIRTY JOKES from what passed in 1830 for a dirty joke book: "The Joke-Cracker" by Martin Merryman, Esq. These are not very good today, certainly nothing anywhere near the level of last month’s “coal drop’t from your warming-pan” banger.GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:LOTHARIOS: (from intro) Rakish young men on the make, would-be seducers.MACE COVES: (ibid) Con artists.KNIGHTS OF THE ROAD: (ibid) Highway robbers.SKY PARLOUR: (ibid) A garret or attic room.CORINTHIAN FINN (ibid): This nickname is a reference to Corinthian Tom, the rakish hero of Pierce Egan’s Life in London; or, or The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn Esq. and his Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom (1821) and the original Tom of “Tom and Jerry” fame. A “Corinthian” was a sporting man of rank and fashion.CYPRIANS: (From the introduction to Hostess Miss Davis) Ladies of easy virtue, a classical reference to the island of Cyprus, supposedly peopled with sexually frisky ladies. SPORTING THEIR BLUNT: (ibid) Throwing money around. JACKY: (ibid) Gin.SLUICE YOUR IVORIES: (ibid) Take a big drink.MORRIS OFF: (from outro) Run away at top speed.BEAKS ON THE NOSE: (ibid) Police detectives or magistrates on an investigation. BLOWINGS: (ibid) Ladies of the evening. WATER-PADS: (ibid) Thieves who work on the river, also known as ack pirates.RUM GAGGERS: (ibid) Crooks who tell crazy stories about misadventures to beg.CROSS-CRIB: (ibid) Thieves’ house.18th BARON DUNWICH (ibid): A fictional title, adopted as a nod to Edward J.M.D. Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany (Lord Dunsany) and a reference to “The Dunwich Horror” by H.P. Lovecraft.

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! This show cycles through four themes over a month-long cycle, one show per week. As today is the first Sunday of the month, this is the HA’PENNY HORRIDS theme show, featuring a few chapters of SWEENEY TODD, a true-crime story or two from the Penny Dreadful era, and various other grisly tidbits. Next week, the theme changes:Next Sunday will be a “Twopenny Torrids” theme episode — as always on the fourth Sunday of the month;The “Sixpenny Spookies” theme episode comes out two weeks from now, on the first Sunday of the month; and finally—The “Graanum-gold Gothics” theme episode is scheduled for the second Sunday of next month. Then we’ll be right back around to the “Ha’penny Horrids” again, for the third Sunday of next month! ———— For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠ ———— IN TODAY'S "HA’PENNY HORRORS" EPISODE:01:50: HANGED TODAY IN HISTORY: It was 440 years ago today, on September 20, 1586, that Sir Anthony Babington was hanged, drawn and quartered for conspiring to murder Queen Elizabeth so that Mary Queen of Scots could take her throne. This was the conspiracy that led to Mary’s assassination as well.09:25: SWEENEY TODD, THE BARBER OF FLEET-STREET, Chaptes 114-115: “Charley Green” leaves the shop as instructed, but then stops and peeps through the window to watch developments. Todd, after learning from the “farmer” that he is in London alone and no one at the inn he’s staying in knows he’s going to be shaved, gets excited and goes into the other room to get a “keener razor.” The moment the door closes, the “farmer” jumps out of the chair. He waits and watches as it rotates, bringing a matching chair up from under the floor; then he hops back into the chair and waits for Todd to come out…. To say that Todd is surprised to see him there, in the chair, face still lathered up, would be understating things a bit!38:40: HORRID BROADSIDE: “The Esher Tragedy: Six Children Murdered by their Mother.” (1854) Mary Ann Brough, the woman who had been Prince Edward’s wet nurse, snapped and murdered her six children with her husband’s razor.45:10: YE OLDE MURDERER’S ROOST: A true-crime tale drawn from the colorful history of old England. Today, it’s the story of George Price, a flashy manservant who found himself in a great position to move in on a wealthy widow … only problem was, he was already married. But, of course, that was nothing a little late-night wife-murder couldn’t fix …GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:MILLERS: (from intro patter) Prizefighters.LADYBIRDS: (ibid) Socially flighty or promiscuous ladies.KNIGHTS OF THE BLADE: (ibid) Swaggering companions who are boastful of their prowess and may also claim a military rank — Captain, Major, Colonel — that they don’t really have a right to. FLASH OF LIGHTNING: (ibid) Glass of gin.SCRAGGED: (from Hanged Today) Executed by hanging.IN QUOD: (ibid) In gaol or prison.KNOWING CARDS: (from outro patter) Clever fellows who are not easily tricked.DING BOYS: (ibid) Rogue, knave, or sly fellow.VIRTUE REWARDED: (ibid) Nabbed by law enforcement or sentenced by a magistrate.JOCK GAGGERS: (ibid) Men who live on their romantic partners’ prostitution proceeds.COCK-CHAFERS: (ibid) Prostitutes.TRULLS: (ibid) Low-end prostitutes.NUNNERY: (ibid) A brothel. 18th BARON DUNWICH (ibid): A fictional title, adopted as a nod to Edward J.M.D. Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany (Lord Dunsany) and a reference to “The Dunwich Horror” by H.P. Lovecraft.There are more! But we're out of space. For the complete glossary of flash-cant terms, plus art for various show elements, see ⁠pennydread.com/discord⁠.

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! This show cycles through four themes over a month-long cycle, one show per week. As today is the first Sunday of the month, this is the GRAANUM-GOLD GOTHICS theme show. It will be followed by ...The “Ha’penny Horrors” theme episode, coming next Sunday (the third Sunday of the month);The “Twopenny Torrids” theme episode, coming two Sundays hence (the fourth Sunday); and finally—The “Sixpenny Spookies” theme episode, coming out the first Sunday of next month. Then we’ll be right back around to the “Graanum Gothics” again, for the second Sunday of next month! ———— For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠ ———— IN TODAY'S "GRAANUM GOTHICS" EPISODE:01:55: ON THIS DREADFUL DAY (Sept. 13, 1854): A young reprobate makes a start on a career of crime by stealing £5 from his mom, buying pistols, and trying to shoot a policeman. Kids nowadays, amirite?06:30: VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; or, THE FEAST OF BLOOD, Chapter 65-67: Varney can see that Marchdale really wants to murder Charles, so he sees him off the premises and then goes below to talk with the young man. What’s he scheming at now? Will Charles get to taste freedom again?39:40: CATCHPENNY BROADSIDE: Dolly Varden hats! They were everywhere in the 1870s … this lighthearted bit of bad street poetry asks, where will they appear next?45:50: THE LIVES OF THE HIGHWAYMEN: You know how “the butler did it” in so many old Vaudeville stories? In the case of butler John Hawkins, he really did … and, after he was fired for it, he became one of England’s most notorious highwaymen.53:55: CLARIMONDE, PART 3 of 3: Clarimonde comes to Romauld again, dressed for the road, and takes him away on a wild black steed. And after that night commences a time in which by day Romauld is a simple country priest, by night he is a wild and debauched young cavalier running amok in Venice: Il Signior Romualdo. Soon he can’t distinguish his dream life from his real life....1:17:35: 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:BENE FAKERS (from outro patter): Coiners and counterfeiters.DABS IN QUOD (ibid): Prisoners in gaol.KNIGHTS OF THE BRUSH AND MOON (ibid): Drunken fellows running amok in fields and ditches late at night, trying to stagger home. CORINTHIAN FINN (ibid): This nickname is a reference to Corinthian Tom, the rakish hero of Pierce Egan’s Life in London; or, or The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn Esq. and his Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom (1821) and the original Tom of “Tom and Jerry” fame. A “Corinthian” was a sporting man of rank and fashion.CHAFFING-CRIB (ibid): A room where drinking and bantering are going on.GRUNTER (ibid): A shilling. Reference is to a “hog,” another term for a shilling.LAWFUL BLANKETS (ibid): Wives.HICK JOPS (ibid): Country bumpkins.LIGHT BLUE (ibid): Gin.GRIGS: (from outro patter): Merry companions.INGLERS (ibid): Dodgy horse dealers.DRAGGLE-TAILS (ibid): Prostitutes who are about to age out of the profession. HEDGE CREEPERS (ibid): Low-level thieves. SWELL COVE OUT OF LUCK (ibid): A formerly wealthy rake who has fallen on hard times. 18th BARON DUNWICH (ibid): A fictional title, adopted as a nod to Edward J.M.D. Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany (Lord Dunsany) and a reference to “The Dunwich Horror” by H.P. Lovecraft.There are more! But we're out of space. For the complete glossary of flash-cant terms, plus art for various show elements, see ⁠pennydread.com/discord⁠.Thank you for your support! Please, if you have a moment, rate us on your podcatcher network. If you’d like to do more, we do have a Patreon page; it’s here: https://patreon.com/pennydread

SHOW NOTES — for — EPISODE 18 (Season Six)(September 6, 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! This show cycles through four themes over a month-long cycle, one show per week. As today is the first Sunday of the month, this is the SIXPENNY SPOOKIES theme show, featuring a Victorian ghostly shortstory, a chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and other ghostly tales. It will be followed by ...The “Graanam Gothics” theme episode, the second Sunday of the month;The “Ha’penny Horrors” theme episode, the third Sunday; and finally—The “Twopenny Torrids” theme episode, the fourth Sunday. Then we’ll be right back around to the “Sixpenny Spookies” again, for the first Sunday of next month! ———— For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠ ———— IN TODAY'S "SIXPENNY SPOOKIES" EPISODE:01:45: HAUNTED ENGLAND: Lady Elizabeth Hoby, the legend says, whipped her son so severely that he died of his injuries. Her tormented spirit is said to roam Bisham Abbey and its grounds to this day, lamenting her great sin.08:00: VICTORIAN GHOSTLY SHORT STORY, to-wit: CLARIMONDE, by Theophile Gautier (1836), Part 2 of 3 parts: At the parish, memories of Clarimonde haunt Romuald. He settles into his duties there, trying to forget her. Then, a year later, a stranger on a black horse comes to ask Romuald to come with him to provide last rites to a dying noble lady. Off he goes, on the back of the stranger’s horse. Helas, they arrive too late; the heavily-veiled lady has died. Our protagonist prays fervently for her soul for about 10 minutes and gets up to go, but he can’t resist a peek, because he suspects this might be Clarimonde … is it?40:55: GHOSTLY POETRY, to-wit: THE BRIDE OF CORINTH, by J.W. von GOETHE (1810): A young Athenian youth travels to Corinth to claim his betrothed, only to learn she has died. But that night, she comes to him nevertheless, and they pledge their love from beyond the grave …53:30: DRACULA, by BRAM STOKER (1897), Chapter 5: We open with an entry in Mina Murray’s journal — Mina, of course, is Jonathan Harker’s fiancée — and she’s meeting up with Lucy Westeros in the little coastal town of Whitby, where they will be staying for some time. Mina is getting worried about Jonathan, whom she has not heard from since the last strangely-worded letter tersely informing her that he had left Castle Dracula and arrived in Bistritz. — Meanwhile, Dr. Seward is taking a special interest in the case of Renfield, the lunatic patient. Renfield had been showing really strange, creepy, and sadistic behaviors with flies and spiders that he has caught in his room. Dr. Seward thinks he would be a homicidal maniac if loose in the world….1:24:10: LORD HALIFAX’S GHOST BOOK: The Ghost of Bolton Abbey (yes, another haunted abbey!) — a haunting attested to by no less a personage than H.R.H. King Edward himself!GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:SWADDLERS: (from intro patter) Medicine-show blokes or street preachers.OVERSEERS: Persons being punished in the pillory.KNIGHTS OF THE BRUSH AND MOON: (ibid) Drunken fellows running amok in fields and ditches late at night, trying to stagger home. YARD OF TAPE (ibid): Large serving of liquor, usually gin (white tape) or brandy (red tape).BLUE RUIN (ibid): Gin.SLUICE YOUR GOB: Take a big drink.NAPPERS: (from outro patter) Sheep rustler.WHIDDLERS (ibid): Talkative fellows.MASTER OF THE ROLLS (ibid): A baker.SHERRY OFF: (ibid) Run away. There are more! But we're out of space. For the complete glossary of flash-cant terms, plus art for various show elements, see pennydread.com/discord.Thank you for your support! Please, if you have a moment, rate us on your podcatcher network. If you’d like to do more, we do have a Patreon page; it’s here: https://patreon.com/pennydread

Join guest host COUNT CHOCULA, filling in for Corinthian Finn for a one-hour-long spree through the scandal-sheets and story papers of early-Victorian London! This show cycles through four themes over a month-long cycle, one show per week. As today is the fifth Sunday of the month, this is a bonus show: OOPS! ALL VAMPIRES! It’s a solid wall of blood-curdling fun. Our regular sequence will start afresh for September with next week’s “Sixpenny Spookies” episode, which will be followed by ...The “Graanam Gothics” theme episode, the second Sunday of the month;The “Ha’penny Horrors” theme episode, the third Sunday; and finally—The “Twopenny Torrids” theme episode, the fourth Sunday. Then we’ll be right back around to the “Sixpenny Spookies” again, for the first Sunday of October! ———— For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠ ———— IN TODAY'S "SIXPENNY SPOOKIES" EPISODE:02:45: DRACULA, by BRAM STOKER (1897), Chapter 5: We turn to an exchange of letters between Miss Mina Murray (soon to be Harker, if he survives) and her childhood friend, Miss Lucy Westenra. We learn that, on May 24 — a few days before Jonathan Harker’s desperate attempt to get the Szgani to post a letter for him — one of which is from a physician in charge of a London lunatic asylum. Could this be the asylum next door to Carfax, soon to be Count Dracula’s new home? This doesn’t bode well, does it?21:30: GHOSTLY POETRY, to-wit: THE VAMPYRE, by John Stagg (1810): Herman’s best friend Sigismund died a few weeks ago; but now he visits every night and feasts upon his heart’s best blood. As he feels death approaching, he asks his wife Gertrude to stay up and watch for the vampire ….31:00: VICTORIAN GHOSTLY SHORT STORY, to-wit: CLARIMONDE (original title: La Morte Amoreuse), by Theophile Gautier (1836), Part 1 of 3 parts: Young Romauld had always wanted to enter the church and never even thought about women. But at his investment ceremony, he makes eye contact with a gorgeous dame in the gallery and obsession begins to take over his life. Her name, he learns, is Clarimonde, and she is a notorious courtesan. But … is that all she is? Or is she something worse?58:15: VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; or, THE FEAST OF BLOOD, Chapter 64: Brave Mr. Tom Eccles hurries pistol in hand toward the old ruins where the vampire disappeared, prey to considerable doubts and fears. The plan is to hide a handkerchief there so his friends can see next day that he did it, and can thereby win his wager. As he nears the spot, Mr. Marchdale accosts him, claiming to be on a mission to find the vampire and shoot him. They hide in the ruins. Soon Varney appears and Marchdale urges Eccles to shoot him. He does, but instantly regrets it, crying, “Now I’m a murderer!” But Marchdale warns they must finish him off at once or the moonlight will revive him. Eccles wants to wait and watch to see if that happens. So … will it?GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:BLOODS AND CHOICE SPIRITS: (from intro patter) Young, high-spirited rakes on the town.KNIGHTS OF THE CLEAVER: (ibid) Butchers. CLARET: Slang for blood, although usually used to refer to a nosebleed. Starting a nosebleed by punching someone in the sniffer was “drawing a cork and starting the claret.”SLUICE YOUR TOMBSTONES: Take a drink.BLACKLEGS: (from outro patter) Crooked gamblers.RUM BLADES: Good but rakish companions.KNIGHTS OF THE POST: Prisoners being punished at the pillory.SHERRY OFF: (ibid) Run away. FLATS: (ibid) Suckers. GET FLY TO THE FAKEMENT: (ibid) Get wise to the swindle. BOLT THE MOON: (ibid) Leave in the middle of the night. BRUSH OFF: (ibid) Leave. Note this phrase means something slightly different today. FOOTNOTE: Special co-host Count Von Count wants you to know that "This special OOPS! ALL VAMPIRES! Episode of the Penny Dreadful Hour podcast is brought to you by the numbers 86 and 47! Ah ah ah!”)

NOTE: This episode published early by popular demand! :-)SHOW NOTES — for — EPISODE 16 (Season Six)(August 23, 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! ———— For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠ ———— IN TODAY'S "TWOPENNY TORRIDS" EPISODE:01:55: STREET POETRY: From a broadside ballad: “The Smuggler’s Bride,” a stirring domestic ballad about a Bonnie-and-Clyde type duo on the high seas; and “Dash My Vig,” a young Londoner’s lament after his girl jilted him for a grocer’s apprentice (circa 1850).06:50: BLACK BESS; or, THE KNIGHT OF THE ROAD (starring HIGHWAYMAN DICK TURPIN), Chapter 85-90: Tom King is ironed very heavily and placed in the darkest, dampest dungeon in Newgate because the governor is wroth at him. He falls asleep on the hard stone bunk. When he wakes up, one of the sheriffs, Mr. Blandy, is there, inspecting the prison and expressing surprise that Tom has been placed in such a grim cell before having even seen a magistrate. But on the way back, he offers to bribe his guards 100 pounds each to let him escape, and they seem interested. Will Tom’s plan work? Can he escape from Newgate?47:45: INTRODUCING MISS BROWN: One of the “ladies of the evening” listed and described in Harris’s List of Covent-garden Ladies, a directory for bucks and bloods out on the town in the early 1800s. Miss Brown is a very pretty girl who was wooed, won, and discarded by a rakish young country gentleman, and ended up settling for a place in Covent-garden.51:15: A RATHER NAUGHTY COCK-AND-HEN-CLUB SONG: "A Rum-un To Look At, But a Good-un To Go” (basically the same idea as “Whole Lotta Rosie” by AC/DC, but written 200 years earlier).55:00: 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:GNOSTICS: (from intro) xxxFLASH COVES: (ibid) xxx.KNIGHTS OF THE ROAD: (ibid) Highway robbers.CORINTHIAN: (ibid) Sporting man of rank and fashion, most famously represented by Corinthian Tom from Pierce Egan’s “Life in London,” the story of the adventures of a wealthy Regency rake named Tom and his country cousin Jerry as they rampage through the streets of London on a continual spree.CYPRIANS: (From the introduction to Hostess Miss XXX) Ladies of easy virtue, a classical reference to the island of Cyprus, supposedly peopled with sexually frisky ladies. SPORTING THEIR BLUNT: (ibid) Throwing money around. BUMPER: (ibid) Liquor glass.STARK NAKED: (ibid) Gin.SLUICE YOUR TOMBSTONES: (ibid) Take a big drink.MOLL: (from cock-and-hen-club song, “A Rum-un To Look At …”) A dangerous and/or sexually friendly woman.LEARY: (ibid) Knowing, canny.PECK: (ibid) Food.HOOK AT: (ibid) Look askance at.HAPORTH: (ibid) Half-pennyworth.ON THE PAVE: (ibid) Walking the streets soliciting as a “nymph du pave.”TO LUSH: (ibid) To drink to intoxication.MOTS: (ibid) Prostitutes or promiscuous women.CROSS-BUTTOCK: (ibid) Wrestle.TOGG’D FLASH: (ibid) Dressed up in fine sexy style.PITCH UP: (ibid) Associate with fancy people.HOKEE: (ibid) Loot or money.TO PRIG: (ibid) To steal.BEAK: (ibid) Magistrate or judge.There are more! But we're out of space here. For complete show notes, see pennydread.com/discord and scroll to the bottom of the "Season Six" feed!

SHOW NOTES — for — EPISODE 15 (Season Six)(August 16, 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! This show cycles through four themes over a month-long cycle, one show per week. As today is the first Sunday of the month, this is the HA’PENNY HORRIDS theme show, featuring a few chapters of SWEENEY TODD, a true-crime story or two from the Penny Dreadful era, and various other grisly tidbits. Next week, the theme changes:Next Sunday will be a “Twopenny Torrids” theme episode — as always on the fourth Sunday of the month;The “Sixpenny Spookies” theme episode comes out on the first Sunday of next month; and finally—The “Graanum-gold Gothics” theme episode is scheduled for the second Sunday of next month. Then we’ll be right back around to the “Ha’penny Horrids” again, for the third Sunday! ———— For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠ ———— IN TODAY'S "HA’PENNY HORRORS" EPISODE:01:50: HANGED TODAY IN HISTORY (August 16): It was 206 years ago today that Rebecca Worlock was hanged for having solved her abusive-husband problem by putting arsenic in his beer. (You can read Mrs. Worlock's confession here.)07:42: SWEENEY TODD, THE BARBER OF FLEET-STREET, Chapters 112-113: We now learn how Mrs. Lovett fared after Sweeney Todd knocked her out of the boat. The current sucked her under, and then spat her back to the surface behind a barge, so Todd did not see her. — After recovering, she returns to her shop in a hackney coach. There she finds Mrs. Stag happily guzzling from a bottle of gin and prattling about what a nice man Sweeney Todd is. You can imagine how that goes over with Mrs. Lovett! — Meanwhile, over at Todd’s place, another customer comes in to be shaved …and, of course, polished off … 40:15: HORRID BROADSIDE: “The Execution of FRED GEO. MANNING and MARIA, His WIFE.” (1849) Narrative of execution and some very doggerelly poetry about the case that became infamous as “The Bermondsey Horror,” in which a husband-and-wife murder team ganged up on a wealthy moneylender to murder and rob him.48:10: MURDERERS’ ROOST: Bigamist Louis Houssart was in a tight spot. He already had a wife, whom he had deserted; but his new wife had heard the rumours and demanded an explanation. What could he do … but visit his first wife, razor in pocket, and coldly murder his way out of this fix? (1724) GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:HIGH GLOAKS: (from intro patter) Mounted highwaymen — “high” in the saddle of their horses.HOISTER MOTS: (ibid) Shoplifterettes.KNIGHTS OF THE BLADE: (ibid) Swaggering companions who are boastful of their prowess and may also claim a military rank — Captain, Major, Colonel — that they don’t really have a right to. NIPPERKIN: (ibid) Half a pint.EYE-WATER: (ibid) Gin.COLLEGIATES: (from outro patter) Inmates of a goal or prison.COLLECTORS: (ibid) Robbers.CAPTAIN LUSHINGTONS: (ibid) Habitual drunks.SLIP COVER: (ibid) Run away as fast as possible.GRABS: Law enforcement personnel.TWIG: To figure out or identify, or to “get wise” to something or someone.VIRTUE REWARDED: Arrested and/or prosecuted.HELL CATS: Dangerous ladies who frequent the “hells” (gambling dens).BLACKLEGS: Professional gamblers who cheat to win.SPICE ISLANDERS: Swindlers. A double pun: Mace is a spice; a mace-man is a swindler; so a Spice Islander is, as it were, a resident of Swindle Island.SPEELING-CRIB: A “hell” (gambling den).FOOTNOTE: The Barony of Dunwich is located in a deep forest glade 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.

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! This show cycles through four themes over a four-week cycle, one show per week. This is the GRAANUM GOTHICS theme show, featuring Varney the Vampyre and other Gothic drama. It will be followed by ...The “Ha’penny Horrors” theme episode, coming next Sunday (the third Sunday of the month);The “Twopenny Torrids” theme episode, coming two Sundays hence (the fourth Sunday); and finally—The “Sixpenny Spookies” theme episode, coming out the first Sunday of next month. (but there are five Sundays this month! So a surprise bonus episode will be coming your way on Sunday, Aug. 30!) ———— For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠ ———— IN TODAY'S "GRAANUM GOTHICS" EPISODE:02:05: ON THIS DREADFUL DAY (August 9, 1854): A fearful thunderstorm came over Ipswitch, and a great bolt of lightning struck the schoolhouse at Capel St. Mary.07:45: VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; or, THE FEAST OF BLOOD, Chapter 62-63: The story returns to the ruined abbey in which the prisoner is incarcerated. It’s midnight. A tall man in a full cloak is waiting for someone to meet him there. That second man arrives, cloaked as is the first, and they hold council. The second man tells the first that he has overheard a pothouse conversation in which a townie makes plans to come to the ruined abbey to watch for the vampire. While doing so, the newcomer addresses the man who had waited for him as Sir Francis Varney. — They have a furtive colliquoy about what to do now that things have come to such a pass. The newcomer wants to murder the prisoner — who we learn is in very fact Charles Holland ….49:20: CATCHPENNY BROADSIDE: “The Rent Day; or, Black Monday Morning.” A fun little sorta-epistolary bit of street storytelling following a slummy landlord on his rounds trying to collect the rents, in the form of dialogues.54:45: THE LIVES OF THE HIGHWAYMEN: Where do you suppose the ranks of highwaymen were kept full during the Georgian period? How were they recruited, how did they learn the ways of real gentlemen so that they could ape them on the road? Today we talk about the manservant-to-highwayman pipeline, circa 1750. When you think of a manservant, you might think of Jeeves; but, that wasn’t typical back then ….1:04:05: THE BODY SNATCHER by Robert Louis Stevenson, PART 2 OF 2: In which Wolfe Macfarlane commits a murder and covers it up by having his victim dissected; but the deed comes back to haunt him … literally.1:20:02: 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:BUCKS, BLOODS AND CHOICE SPIRITS: (from intro patter) Young men running amok.KNIGHTS OF THE BRUSH AND MOON (ibid): Drunken fellows wandering amok in meadows and ditches, trying to stagger home. CORINTHIAN (ibid): 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 (ibid): A room where drinking and bantering are going on. SHE-LION (ibid): A shilling. JET AUTEMS (ibid): Parsons and preachers. GUNPOWDERS (ibid): Spicy old ladies. GENTRY COVES (ibid): Titled aristocrats.YARD (as in “yard of white tape”) (ibid): A glass or tumbler full of liquor. White tape was gin. FULLER’S EARTH (ibid): Gin. PIKE OFF (from outro patter): Run away. RED WAISTCOAT (ibid): The traditional uniform of the Bow-Street Runners, London’s first real professional police force. Thank you for your support! Please, if you have a moment, rate us on your podcatcher network. If you’d like to do more, we do have a Patreon page; it’s here: https://patreon.com/pennydread

SHOW NOTES — for — EPISODE 13 (Season Six)(August 2, 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! This show cycles through four themes over a month-long cycle, one show per week. As today is the first Sunday of the month, this is the SIXPENNY SPOOKIES theme show, featuring a Victorian ghostly shortstory, a chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and other ghostly tales. It will be followed by ...—The “Graanam Gothics” theme episode, the second Sunday of the month;—The “Ha’penny Horrors” theme episode, the third Sunday; and finally——The “Twopenny Torrids” theme episode, the fourth Sunday. For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠ ———— IN TODAY'S "SIXPENNY SPOOKIES" EPISODE:01:45: HAUNTED ENGLAND: The five deep gouges on the church door, they say, are the claws of the devil, frustrated by a victim’s having taken refuge there. Also, a legend of a ghostly woman on the road to Wilden!07:45: VICTORIAN GHOSTLY SHORT STORY, to-wit: THE BODY SNATCHER, by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON (1884), Part 1 of 2 parts: Our narrator, a regular in the local tavern, learns one of the other regulars has a backstory … when a medical student, it was his job to purchase corpses for dissection from men like Burke and Hale. Then one night, he recognized the corpse they had to sell — he had partied with her a night or two before …29:30: GHOSTLY POETRY, to-wit: DER VAMPYR, by H.A. OSSENFELDER (1748; the first known appearance of a vampire in a literary work; translator unknown, circa 1800) and LENORE by G.A. BÜRGER (1774, translated by Dante Gabriel Rosetti in 1844): Grieving for her lost soldier-fiance, Lenore is delighted when he comes and takes her away on a 100-mile ride, at the end of which he turns out to be … not who she thinks he is.44:15: DRACULA, by BRAM STOKER (1897), Chapter 4: Jonathan Harker wakes up in his own bed, wondering if the vampire maidens were a dream. He tries to think so, but not very successfully. Then the count orders him to write three post-dated letters — including one claiming to be written from Bistritz saying he is on his way home. Harker fears this means the count means to murder him and throw off the investigation by means of the posthumously posted letter. — He tries to climb out on the castle walls, to get into the count’s room, and succeeds. A door in the room leads down stairs into an old ruined chapel, where the Slovaks have deposited the wooden boxes. In one of the boxes the count is lying, apparently dead … but clearly not. — Back in his room, the next day, Harker overhears the count promising the three vampire maidens that they must wait one more day before they can have their way with Harker. Will he escape from this castle of horrors?1:17:45: LORD HALIFAX’S GHOST BOOK: Four hard-living Australian warplane pilots played a game of poker for high stakes, and won big from the youngest of their lot. He promised, “I will pay you all tomorrow.” And, after what appeared to have been an act of suicide by plane crash, his ghost did indeed pay them all … in blood.GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:HIGH FLYERS: (From intro patter) Sporty, dangerous ladies.RUM KIDNEYS: (ibid) Good close friends and companions.CLANKER: (ibid) Pewter drinking-pot.BROWN GATOR DROPPINGS: (ibid) Heavy brown ale.WET YOUR OTHER EYE: (ibid) Take another drink.JACK PUDDINGS: (from outro patter) Jokers, funny fellows.COUNT-CARDS: (ibid) Excellent friends.OUT-AND-OUTERS: (ibid) Fellows who are the best at things.There are more! But we're out of room here. See pennydread.com/discord for the full glossary of flash terms!Thank you for your support! Please, if you have a moment, rate us on your podcatcher network. If you’d like to do more, we do have a Patreon page; it’s here: https://patreon.com/pennydread

SHOW NOTES for EPISODE 12 (Season Six)(July 26, 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! This show cycles through four themes over a monthly cycle, one show per week. This is the TWOPENNY TORRIDS-theme show, featuring a handful of chapters from BLACK BESS; or, THE KNIGHT OF THE ROAD, starring highwayman Dick Turpin, along with the more salacious bits of early-Victoriana such as racy songs and dirty jokes. It will be followed by ...The “Sixpenny Spookies” theme episode, coming next Sunday (the first Sunday of next month);The “Graanum Gothics” theme episode, coming two Sundays hence, on the second Sunday of next month; and finally—The “Ha'penny Horrors” theme episode, coming on the third Sunday of next month. Then we’ll be right back around to the “Twopenny Torrids” again, for the fourth Sunday of next month! ———— For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠ ———— IN TODAY'S "TWOPENNY TORRIDS" EPISODE:01:40: STREET POETRY: From a broadside ballad: “Something, a Parody on Nothing” (a funny ditty about contemporary Victorian life) and “William and Dinah,” a tragic ballad of forbidden love (1835).06:30: BLACK BESS; or, THE KNIGHT OF THE ROAD (starring HIGHWAYMAN DICK TURPIN), Chapter 80-84: Fleeing from the dragoons down a beautiful peaceful country lane, Dick Turpin sees a beautiful young woman looking hopefully toward him. Then she springs forward joyously, kisses him and greets him as Percy. She’s mistaken him for someone else! He goes along with it, hoping to get a chance to slip away later; but then he learns something about the missing man Percy that complicates things. And then, just as he’s settling in, the dragoons arrive, looking for Highwayman Dick Turpin. Will the family figure out who he is?48:10: INTRODUCING MISS BIRD: One of the “ladies of the evening” listed and described in Harris’s List of Covent-garden Ladies, a directory for bucks and bloods out on the town in the early 1800s. The writer of Harris’s List does not seem to have liked Miss Bird very much.51:20: TWO RATHER NAUGHTY COCK-AND-HEN-CLUB SONGS: "I’d Be a Little Flea” (in which our singer fantasizes about the lovely ladyparts that loathsome parasites get to roam about on at will; this one is pretty icky) and “The Slashing Big Drover-boy,” a cockney chaunt about a happy, sexually hyperactive young sheep merchant from Smithfield Market.55:14: 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:AUTEM GOGGLERS: (from intro) xxxTATT MEN: (ibid) xxx.KNIGHTS OF THE ROAD: (ibid) Highway robbers.LOSE YOUR NOSE BY THE FROST: (from broadside ballad) Late-stage syphilis sometimes caused its victims’ noses to slough off, and to avoid admitting they had “the pox” victims sometimes would blame their disfigurement on frostbite.JACKY: (ibid) Gin.SLUICE YOUR IVORIES: (ibid) Take a big drink.LEARY: (from cock-and-hen-club song, “I’d Be a Little Flea”) Knowing, clever, canny.BLOWENS: (ibid) Whores.MOT: (ibid) Another word for “blowen.”GATTER: (ibid) Beer.SCHICKSTER: (ibid) A woman, with the implication that she is a little bit slutty.CRIB: (ibid) In 1834 “crib” did not yet mean a prostitute’s lair, and simply meant any house or residence.KINCHIN: (ibid) Child.THREE HOG: (ibid) Three shillings.THERE'S MORE! But we're out of space here. For the rest of the flash-cant definitions, plus images, see pennydread.com/discord!