In this first-ever Hearth & Home Horrors, we step away from grand events and turn instead to the darker histories hidden in the places we grow up, walk through, and call home. These are the stories that don’t make national headlines — the ones carried quietly in local memory, passed down in families, spoken of in pubs, whispered across generations.

In this special post-Christmas bonus episode, Rob shares three true tragedies rooted in three very different hometowns:

• Wigan, UK (1908): A coal mine explosion that tore through the Maypole Colliery, killing 75 miners and boys, and leaving a permanent scar on a northern community built on hard labour and harder lives.

• York, UK (1800s): The chilling story of Mary Bateman, the “Yorkshire Witch,” whose manipulation, fraud, and eventual murder of Rebecca Perigo reveal how fear and superstition can be twisted into something far more dangerous than folklore.

• Portland, Maine, USA (1866): A firestorm that swept through the city on Independence Day, destroying nearly 2,000 buildings and leaving 10,000 people homeless — a disaster that forced Portland to rebuild itself from the ashes.

These are small places with enormous shadows — ordinary towns shaped by extraordinary events. Stories from hearth, home, and the edges of memory.

Settle in by the fire. Pour a drink. This is a bonus tale told between holidays, where the world slows down and history feels close enough to touch.

Christmas is a season wrapped in warmth, light, and nostalgia — but history doesn’t pause for the holidays. In this special episode of Dark History, we explore three true tragedies that unfolded in December’s deepest shadows.

From the firestorm that tore Halifax apart in 1917, to the brutal Christmas Day massacre of the Lawson family in North Carolina, to the surrender of Hong Kong in 1941 — a moment that opened the door to one of the darkest chapters of the Second World War. These are not ghost stories or festive myths. They are real events, shaped by human fear, violence, and circumstance, all happening while the rest of the world sang carols and lit candles.

This Christmas Special is a journey across continents and centuries, tracing the places where the season of light collided with the harshest edges of history.

Settle in. Dim the room. Let the fire crackle. And step with me into the shadows.

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In this episode of The Dark History Podcast, you’re stepping into one of the most unbelievable true stories of the Second World War—an operation so absurd, so intricate, and so effective that it reshaped the outcome of D-Day. This is the real history of Juan Pujol García: the failed poultry farmer who built an entire spy network out of thin air, convinced the Nazi High Command he was their greatest agent, and helped save tens of thousands of Allied lives using nothing but nerve, imagination, and a talent for lying.

You’ll follow Pujol from the chaos of the Spanish Civil War to the cafés of Lisbon, where he created a fantasy Britain detailed enough to fool the Abwehr. You’ll meet the fake agents he invented, the MI5 handlers who recognised his genius, and the ghost army he helped conjure for Operation Fortitude—the deception that kept German forces pinned in Calais while the real invasion hit Normandy.

This is the truth behind Agent Garbo: the man awarded honours by both Nazi Germany and the British Crown, the only double agent to become a legend on both sides of the same war. No guns. No gadgets. Just one ordinary man who refused to accept the rise of fascism and used pure audacity to bend history.

If you enjoy the episode, consider leaving a review, sharing it with someone who loves hidden corners of history, or checking out the ad-free version on Patreon.

Settle in—this is one of the most extraordinary wartime stories ever told.

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