After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Episode: The Perfume Poisoner Who Killed 500 Men
Hosts: Anthony Delaney & Maddy Pelling
Date: November 3, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Anthony and Maddy wade into the shadows of 17th-century Rome to explore the infamous story of Julia Tofana, the alleged poisoner behind the deadly “Aqua Tofana.” Legend claims this concoction was responsible for the deaths of 500 men and operated as an invisible lifeline for women trapped in violent or oppressive marriages. Through historical investigation, the hosts dissect fact from folklore, consider the broader context of women’s roles and powerlessness in early modern Italy, and critically examine the lasting legacy and myth-making around Tofana.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: 17th-century Italy

• Society & Politics
  • Italy was a mosaic of city-states and foreign-controlled territories (not yet unified).
  • Papal States in central Italy dominated by the Catholic Church; Spain ruled the south; Holy Roman Empire controlled parts of the north.
  • [06:35] Anthony: "You're not talking very much about things that women are necessarily being part of that ruling papacy, et cetera, et cetera. So what is the status of women during this period?"
• Women’s Position
  • Society deeply patriarchal: women were the property of fathers or husbands, with almost no avenues for divorce or recourse against abuse.
  • Education for women was extremely limited, mostly for aristocrats and generally performative.
  • Domestic violence was a private matter largely ignored by authorities.
  • [07:53] Maddy: "If you're not married, arranged marriage is completely normal. So society is dominated by these big Catholic families and women are traded between them as chattel, essentially. There's no divorce."

2. The Rise of Julia Tofana: Legend & Speculation

• Elusive Biography
  • Identity is shrouded in speculation; much of what’s recorded was written by later church authorities with clear agendas.
  • Julia possibly came from Palermo, Sicily, and may have been lower class.
• A Family Business in Poison
  • It’s speculated her mother, Tofania d’Adamo, was a known poisoner, executed in 1633 for her crimes.
  • The connection between mother and daughter is possible but not proven: "…again, the connection is very, very loose. So bear with." [13:08]
  • Julia moved to Rome after marriages and possibly after criminal suspicions.
• Name & Legacy
  • The surname “Tofana” may have been assigned retroactively to link her with Tofania d’Adamo.

3. Aqua Tofana: The "Silent Killer"

• Nature of the Poison
  • Marketed as perfume or even holy water; actually a lethal mix of arsenic and lead, clear, odorless, and easily ingested.
  • [16:59] Maddy: "The liquid is clear, odorless and looks like water. So it is going under the radar...you want someone to consume."
• How It Worked
  • Sold to clients (mainly women) who could slip it into food or drink.
  • Effects could mimic natural illness or death, making detection extremely difficult.
• Business as Cover
  • Julia operated as a healer/perfumer, a legitimate female-held role, but hid poison sales beneath this façade.
  • Surrounded by an underground network—perfume shop in front, lethal trade in back.

4. Gender, Power & Justice

• Poison as Agency
  • For women with no legal escape from abuse, poisoning became a desperate exercise of agency.
  • [10:04] Anthony: "...poison as an outlet for that power that they're otherwise denied."
• Male Authority & Historical Bias
  • Most documentation comes from Church or male writers, eager to craft a cautionary tale.
  • [32:23] Anthony: "I cannot emphasize enough how untrustworthy church sources, in the main, not always are, particularly when they're narratively driven."

5. The Numbers: 500 Victims?

• Legend vs. Reality
  • Later sources—often from the Church—inflate numbers for dramatic effect ("some historians estimate...500 men").
  • “500 is a lovely round number.” [26:05]
  • The reputation of Aqua Tofana outlasts Julia, becoming cultural shorthand for “widowmaker” well into the 19th century.

6. The End & Aftermath

• How Was Julia Caught?
  • Story goes: a wavering client confesses intent to her husband, who informs authorities.
  • Julia flees to a church but is dragged out by papal forces and (allegedly) confesses under torture.
• The Sparna Prosecution
  • Concrete trial in the next generation: the "Sparna prosecution."
  • Multiple women arrested, a few executed; demonstrates an underlying network but further blurs the line between reality and fable.

7. Motive & Morality: Victims or Villains?

• On the Women Who Used Poison

  • Example from trial: Anna Maria Conti, forcibly married to a violent older husband.
    • [30:23] Maddy (quoting trial): “Although I was pregnant with Simon’s child, he threatened me with a knife... once he laid hands on my throat so violently to strangle me that he left bruises...”
  • Poison becomes survival, not ambition.

• Myth Versus Social Reality

  • [33:04] Maddy: "I think the question is not, is she a serial killer or a heroine, but did she exist at all? And what can this history tell us about women's lives in the past?"
  • Church narratives focus blame on an individual “corruptor” instead of acknowledging systemic oppression.

8. Cultural Echoes

• Aqua Tofana in Popular Culture
  • Referenced for generations—so notorious that Mozart, dying in 1791, claimed he had been poisoned by it.
    • [33:40] Maddy: "…when Mozart, the composer, was on his deathbed, he was telling people...that he was dying because he’d been poisoned by Aqua Tofana."
• Modern Mythmaking
  • Tofana lives on in popular imagination, including social media “dark history” content.
  • Caution against glamorization or “girlbossification” of legendary poisoners without understanding actual circumstances of desperation and abuse.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Women’s Plight and Poison as Agency
  Anthony: "Or wield power or. Yes, you know, that's not. And then this is where this conversation comes in and we've spoken about this before on After Dark, about the idea... of poison as an outlet for that power that they're otherwise denied." [10:04]

• On Historical Sources
  Anthony: "I cannot emphasize enough how untrustworthy church sources, in the main, not always are, particularly when they're narratively driven." [32:23]

• On the Nature of the Legend
  Maddy: "I think the question is not, is she a serial killer or a heroine, but did she exist at all? And what can this history tell us about women's lives in the past?" [33:04]

• On the Myth's Endurance
  Maddy: "…the infamy of Aqua Tofana was such that... when Mozart, the composer, was on his deathbed, he was telling people...that he was dying because he’d been poisoned by Aqua Tofana." [33:40]

• Anthony Calls Out the Round Number:
  “500 is a lovely round number.” [26:05]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Historical Context & Women’s Status: 05:00–10:00
• Julia’s Mysterious Origins & Family: 13:00–15:30
• Aqua Tofana – Composition & Usage: 16:30–18:30
• Cultural Depictions & Symbolism: 21:50–24:20
• Famous Victim Numbers & Doubt: 25:00–26:10
• Tofana’s Downfall & Prosecution: 26:35–29:00
• Personal Motivations for Poisoning: 29:44–31:19
• Legacy, Sources, Gender & Myth: 31:50–34:15

Tone & Style

The podcast is both irreverent and thoughtful, blending vivid storytelling with historical investigation and dark humor. The hosts riff off each other, sometimes wandering into modern cultural references or personal asides, but always circling back to critical analysis of legend, gender, and agency in a patriarchal world.

Conclusion

The legend of Julia Tofana and her lethal “Aqua Tofana” unearths much about the historical realities of women’s desperation and resourcefulness in early modern Italy. While her exact biography remains unprovable and likely aggrandized, the myth’s endurance reflects society’s uneasy reckoning with both male violence and female resistance. The hosts urge listeners to read past simple dichotomies—serial killer or heroine—and use these stories as a lens to examine broader historical injustices and mythmaking.

If this summary intrigued you, check out After Dark’s earlier episodes diving deeper into tales of historical poisoners and dark deeds. For further commentary or discussion, find Anthony and Maddy on their YouTube channel or podcast community.