Podcast
The Darkives: Serious history. Told not so seriously
Hosted by Leo Eaton and Jamie Tavenner · EN
The Darkives is a history podcast where Jamie and Leo dive headfirst into the strangest, creepiest, and most disturbing stories the past tried to bury (and somehow manage to laugh along the way).
Each week, we unravel forgotten voyages, infamous historical figures, bizarre disasters, and centuries-old true crime, breaking it all down the way you would with friends - curious, slightly horrified, and occasionally cracking jokes when things get too dark. Nothing is treated like a lecture, and nothing is off the table.
If you like weird history, eerie true stories, and conversations that balance “that’s awful” with “how is this real?”, you’ll feel right at home here.
Serious history. Told not so seriously.
22episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Spontaneous Human Combustion: Real Phenomenon, Unsolved Mystery, or Space Lasers?
6d ago00:30:39Tap to summarizeThis week Jamie and Leo dig into spontaneous human combustion. We go over the the cases, the wick effect theory that might explain it, and question... how does a human body burn to ash while the chair next to them survives?For centuries people have been found burned beyond recognition in rooms that barely show a scorch mark. No accelerant. No external ignition source. No good explanation. Coroners have listed it as an official cause of death. Scientists have spent decades arguing about whether it's real.Starting with a knight in the 17th century, then to Mary Reeser, who was found reduced almost entirely to ashes in her St. Petersburg, Florida apartment in 1951 (with only her left foot remaining- still in its slipper), and finishing with Michael Faherty, whose 2010 death in Galway, Ireland became the first case in the history of that country officially ruled as spontaneous combustion by a coroner. The cases are bizarre, the evidence is strange, and even Jamie isn't sure what to believe.Also...Somewhere in here we go completely off the rails on the existence of aliens. Amaze! Amaze!Serious history. Told not so seriously.Check out our website: darkivespodcast.comEmail us: thedarkivescommunity@gmail.comFollow us on: instagramEnjoy the show? Leave a rating and a comment or share us to a friend.Sources:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22269823/https://www.history.com/articles/is-spontaneous-human-combustion-realhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9718667/https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/health-and-families/features/spontaneous-human-combustion-woman-who-suffered-burns-in-germany-spurs-debate-about-controversial-phenomenon-a6722166.htmlhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/watch-out-for-all-the-holiday-drinkingyou-might-spontaneously-combust-171864385/https://stpetecatalyst.com/vintage-st-pete-the-strange-case-of-mary-reeser/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/sep/23/irish-pensioner-killed-spontaneous-combustionTheme music: Ways of the Wizard-geoffharveyUsed with permission, Thank you Geoff!licensed through: Pixabay
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Tombstone: The Earps, the Cowboys, and the OK Corral
2w ago00:56:23Tap to summarizeThis week Jamie and Leo dig into the full story before the smoke cleared: who the Earps were and how they ended up in Tombstone, who the Clantons and McLaurys were and why they couldn't leave well enough alone, and how a dentist from Georgia named Doc Holliday became the most feared man in the Arizona Territory.On October 26th, 1881, in a narrow vacant lot behind the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, thirty shots rang out in thirty seconds. Three men were dead. The most famous gunfight in American history was over almost before it started.But the gunfight didn't start that day. It started years earlier, in saloons, in cattle rustling and stagecoach robberies. Northern businessmen and Southern cowboys were fighting for control of everything.Fair warning: we also spend an unreasonable amount of time talking about the 1993 film Tombstone. No apologies. Val Kilmer is a national treasure and we will die on that hill.Serious history. Told not so seriously.Check out our website: darkivespodcast.comEmail us: thedarkivescommunity@gmail.comFollow us on: instagramEnjoy the show? Leave a rating and a comment or share us to a friend.Sources:history.com1legendsofamerica.com1legendsofamerica.com2biography.comlegendsofamerica.com3untpress.unt.edudiscovertombstone.comlegendsofamerica.com4ok-corral.comlegendsofamerica.com5visitglenwood.com/history/doclegendsofamerica.com6southernarizonaguide.comThe Illustrated Life and Times of Doc Holliday. Tri-Star-Boze Publications, 1994.Theme music: Ways of the Wizard-geoffharveyUsed with permission, Thank you Geoff!licensed through: Pixabay
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The Britannic: All Aboard for Ticket to Disaster... Again
3w ago00:43:35Tap to summarizeThis week Jamie and Leo dig into the full story of the Britannic, her construction, her brief life as a hospital ship, and the disaster that put her on the ocean floor. Along the way, meet the crew members who somehow had to survive a sinking twice. Violet Jessop was there for the Titanic and showed up again for the Britannic, so did Arthur Priest. Archie Jewell survived both ships and then didn't.We also answer the insurance fraud questions from the Titanic episode (because apparently Leo wasn't alone in hearing this).The Titanic was an explosive hit movie. The Britannic still made a splash with its own explosive hit.Serious history. Told not so seriously.Check out our website: darkivespodcast.comEmail us: thedarkivescommunity@gmail.comFollow us on: instagramEnjoy the show? Consider leaving a rating and a comment or share us to a fellow history lover.Sources:https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/arthur-john-priest.htmlhttps://mollybrown.org/servants-at-sea-violet-jessop/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Britannichttps://www.titanicandco.com/britannic/britannicindex.phphttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-titanics-sister-ship-the-britannic-sank-in-1916-for-the-first-time-ever-divers-have-recovered-artifacts-from-its-wreck-180987402/https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/archie-jewell.htmlTheme music: Ways of the Wizard-geoffharveyUsed with permission, Thank you Geoff!licensed through: Pixabay
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The Erfurt Latrine Disaster: The Crappiest Day in History
4w ago00:18:10Tap to summarizeIn this episode Jamie tells Leo a story involving a...umm...well, lets just say a 'messy' situation. King Henry VI, King of Germanic Europe during the Holy Roman Empire, did a slick job covering up a debacle involving a couple of 'turds' in a land dispute. Many men met their untimely end while attempting to settle the dispute due to the 'throne', but not the one the king rests on. Welcome to a dirty little tale in history from The DarkivesCheck out our website: darkivespodcast.comEmail us: thedarkivescommunity@gmail.comFollow us on: instagramEnjoy the show? Consider leaving a rating and a comment or share us to a fellow history lover.Sources:https://allthatsinteresting.com/erfurt-latrine-disasterhttps://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/erfurt-latrine-disaster-what-happened/https://www.historicmysteries.com/history/erfurt-latrine-disaster/37890/https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ludowinger-15https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-VI-Holy-Roman-emperorTheme music: Ways of the WizardComposed by: Geoff HarveyLicensed through: PixabayUsed with permission, Thank you Geoff!
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The Titanic: A Ticket to Disaster
Jun 2601:10:13Tap to summarizeThis week, Jamie and Leo dig into the construction of the Titanic, the staggering gap between how her passengers lived on board, and the night everything went wrong.In 1912, the most luxurious ship ever built sank on its maiden voyage, taking more than 1,500 people down with it. A third-class ticket cost the equivalent of roughly $1,000 today. The best suite cost over $130,000. When the ship went down, both classes went down together.Some more than others...From the band that kept playing as the ship sank to the couple who refused to be separated even as the lifeboats loaded, this is the story behind the most famous disaster in maritime history.Grab a life jacket and run for the lifeboats because this episode of The Darkives, it's going down.Serious history. Told not so seriously.Check out our website: darkivespodcast.comEmail us: thedarkivescommunity@gmail.comFollow us on: instagramEnjoy the show? Consider leaving a rating and a comment or share us to a fellow history lover.Sources:https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/titanic-ticket-prices/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Titanichttps://mollybrown.org/building-the-titanic/https://www.titanicandco.com/https://www.biography.com/history-culture/famous-titanic-passengers-surviviors-victimshttps://nypost.com/2026/06/18/world-news/cause-of-titan-submersible-implosion-that-killed-five-revealed-in-damning-final-report/Diehl, Digby. Front Page: 100 Years of the Los Angeles Times. H.N. Abrams, 1981.Theme music: Ways of the Wizard-geoffharveyUsed with permission, Thank you Geoff!licensed through: PixabayOther music used: licensed through Pixabay-used under the Pixabay Content LicenseSpecial thanks to Sonican for the background music
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Ten Days in the Madhouse: Nellie Bly's Undercover Asylum Investigation
Jun 1900:23:22Tap to summarizeThis week, Jamie and Leo dig into one of the boldest undercover investigations in journalism history, the woman behind it, and what she found on the other side of those asylum doors.In 1887, a 23-year-old journalist walked into a boarding house, convinced doctors she had lost her mind, and got herself committed to one of New York's most notorious mental asylums. She wasn't sick. She was working.Nellie Bly spent ten days inside Blackwell's Island, witnessing and documenting abuse and neglect that most of the public had no idea was happening. When she got out, she wrote about all of it...The story didn't just make her famous, it forced the city to change how it treated the people locked inside. This file of The Darkives is easy to get into but much harder to Leave.Serious history. Told not so seriously.Check out our website: darkivespodcast.comEmail us: thedarkivescommunity@gmail.comFollow us on: instagramEnjoy the show? Consider leaving a rating and a comment or share us to a fellow history lover.Sources:https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/nellie-bly-0https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2022/11/nellie-bly-blackwells-island/https://www.nps.gov/places/blackwell-s-island-new-york-city.htmhttps://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/madhouse/madhouse.htmlTheme music: Ways of the Wizard-geoffharveyUsed with permission, Thank you Geoff!licensed through: PixabayOther music used: licensed through Pixabay-used under the Pixabay Content License
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Mystery, Poison Gas, and Panic: The Mad Gasser of Mattoon:
Jun 1200:29:21Tap to summarizeIn 1944, a small Illinois town found itself at the center of one of the strangest mysteries in American history.This week we investigate the story of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon. A mysterious figure allegedly prowling through the night, leaving victims reporting strange odors, paralysis, nausea, and fear.As reports spread across town, panic quickly followed. Residents locked their doors, armed themselves, and searched for an attacker that nobody could seem to catch.Was there really a phantom gasser stalking the streets of Mattoon? Or was the town experiencing one of America's earliest and most famous cases of mass hysteria?We get into the reports, the investigation, the suspects, and the theories that surround the case.Sometimes the most unsettling mysteries aren't about what happened...They're about what people believe happened.Lock your doors, keep an eye on the windows, and don't breathe too deeply. We're hunting for the Mad Gasser of Mattoon in this file from The Darkives.Serious history. Told not so seriously.Check out our website: darkivespodcast.comEmail us: thedarkivescommunity@gmail.comFollow us on: instagramEnjoy the show? Consider leaving a rating and a comment or share us to a fellow history lover.Sources:https://www.library.illinois.edu/hpnl/blog/the-mad-gasser-of-mattoon/https://nypost.com/2024/05/27/us-news/mad-gasser-of-mattoon-inside-us-first-case-of-mass-hysteria/https://thechiseler.org/home/the-mad-gasser-of-mattoonhttps://www.fdrlibrary.org/vrba-wetzler-reportTheme music: Ways of the Wizard-geoffharveyUsed with permission, Thank you Geoff!licensed through: PixabayOther music used: licensed through Pixabay-used under the Pixabay Content License
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Two of History's Most Disturbing Executions: Topsy and the Pig
Jun 500:27:23Tap to summarizeThis week, Jamie and Leo cover two stories that prove that history has never been particularly kind to animals in the most unbelievable ways possible.First Topsy the elephant. Shipped across the world, worked to exhaustion as a circus animal, and ultimately sentenced to death after killing a man. What followed was one of the most disturbing executions in recorded history. She was fed cyanide, electrocuted, and hanged. All of that on the same day, in front of a live audience...Then a pig in 14th century France is arrested, dressed in human clothing, put on formal trial for the killing of an infant, found guilty, and hanged for her crimes. In 1386. Because that was apparently a thing that happened.Two animals. Two executions. Centuries apart. Both completely true. Welcome back to the Darkives.Serious history. Told not so seriously.Check out our website: darkivespodcast.comEmail us: thedarkivescommunity@gmail.comFollow us on: instagramEnjoy the show? Consider leaving a rating and a comment or share us to a fellow history lover.Sources:https://www.topsytheelephant.com/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/topsy-elephant-was-victim-her-captors-not-really-thomas-edison-180961611/https://edison.rutgers.edu/life-of-edison/essaying-edison/essay/myth-buster-topsy-the-elephanthttps://allthatsinteresting.com/topsy-the-elephanthttps://www.bklynlibrary.org/blog/2014/12/12/theyll-say-aww-topsy-myhttps://www.ancient-origins.net/weird-facts/medieval-animal-trials-0016706https://medievaltorturemuseum.com/blog/strange-medieval-courts-animals-trial-middle-ages/Theme music: Ways of the Wizard-geoffharveyUsed with permission, Thank you Geoff!licensed through: PixabayOther music used: licensed through Pixabay-used under the Pixabay Content Licensespecial thanks to atlasaudio for the background music.
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Six Handkerchiefs and a Sketchbook: The James Jameson Affair
May 2900:23:56Tap to summarizeThis week Jamie and Leo dig into the life, the expedition, and the event that made sure James Jameson would be remembered for something much more sinister than being a naturalist. He was the grandson of the Jameson whiskey founder. He was the uncle of the man who invented the radio. He traveled the world, hunted big game, and was the first person to scientifically describe a species of bird. By every measure, James Jameson had a life of extraordinary privilege and genuine curiosity.Then he went to Africa.In 1887, Jameson joined the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition as a naturalist. What happened in the forests of the Congo in 1888 would define everything he left behind. Who was James Jameson? What was the James Jameson Affair? And how do modern scientist feel about Jameson's actions? We'll explore all the sketchiness in this file from The Darkives.Serious history. Told not so seriously.Shop/Support/Check out our website: darkivespodcast.comEmail us: thedarkivescommunity@gmail.comFollow us on: instagramEnjoy the show? Consider leaving a rating and a comment or share us to a fellow history lover.Sources:https://www.britannica.com/event/Scramble-for-Africa.https://aaregistry.org/story/tippu-tip-entrepreneur-and-slave-trader-born/https://www.newspapers.com/image/20368390/?match=1&terms=jamesonhttps://allthatsinteresting.com/james-jamesonhttps://moltensulfur.com/post/henry-stanleys-convenient-deaths/https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/travel/a-grisly-drop-of-history-1.755086Theme music: Ways of the Wizard-geoffharveyUsed with permission, Thank you Geoff!licensed through: PixabayOther music used: licensed through Pixabay-used under the Pixabay Content License
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Henry Every: The Pirate Who Pulled Off History’s Biggest Sea Heist
May 2200:27:45Tap to summarizeA stolen fortune. A global manhunt. And a pirate who may have gotten away with it all.This week, Jamie and Leo sail into the chaotic world of Henry Every, the man often called the pirate who pulled off the greatest sea heist in history.Before becoming one of the most wanted men on Earth, Every lived a murkier life serving in the navy, working aboard slave ships, and eventually turning to piracy in the late 1600s. But everything changed after a daring attack on a wealthy Mughal treasure fleet in the Indian Ocean. The raid made Every infamous almost overnight.The stolen riches were enormous. The political fallout was massive. And suddenly, governments across the world wanted him captured. What followed became one of history’s first global manhunts.Did he escape with his fortune? Did he die broke and forgotten? Or was one of the most successful pirates in history eventually caught without anyone realizing it?On this episode of The Darkives we tell the tale of a pirate who may have actually won.Serious history. Told not so seriously.Check out our website: darkivespodcast.comEmail us: thedarkivescommunity@gmail.comFollow us on: instagramEnjoy the show? Consider leaving a rating and a comment or share us to a fellow history lover.Sources:https://www.history.com/articles/henry-everys-bloody-pirate-raid-320-years-agohttps://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Henry-Avery-Every-King-Of-Pirates/Theme music: Ways of the Wizard-geoffharveyUsed with permission, Thank you Geoff!licensed through: PixabayOther music used: licensed through Pixabay-used under the Pixabay Content LicenseThank you to Ebunny for all the pirate music
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