The Penny Dreadful Hour; or, A Feast of Early-Victorian Street Literature and Stories (no AI)

SHOW NOTES — for — EPISODE 25 (Season Six)(October 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! Today’s show is Part Two of a two-part presentation of the Ha’penny Horrids! Once again we have a chapter of Sweeney Todd, an execution broadside with some street poetry, and an episode of Ye Old Murderers’ Roost featuring two truly horrible husbands. ———— For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠ ———— IN TODAY'S "HA’PENNY HORRORS" HALF-EPISODE:00:50: HORRID BROADSIDE: “Execution at Newgate of WILLIAM COGAN for the Barbarous and Cruel Murder of his Own Wife.” (1861) 08:05: SWEENEY TODD, THE BARBER OF FLEET-STREET, Chapter 118: A mob has gathered around Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop. They want to seize her and tear her to pieces. How will they get her safely to the gates of Newgate Prison? Not to worry; Officer Crotchet has a plan ….23:20: YE OLDE MURDERER’S ROOST: A true-crime tale drawn from the colorful history of old England. In this case, two stories of truly horrible husbands who murdered their wives and were hanged for it.29:45: HORROR POETRY: A truly creepy and evocative poem published in 1862 by the great Christina Rosetti: “The Hour and the Ghost,” a battle between a new bride and the ghost of her dead former fiancé, who purposes to carry her away into death on her wedding night.GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:SPICERS: (from intro patter) High-class highway robbers.SLOGGERS: (ibid) Prizefighters.KNIGHTS OF THE MORTAR AND PESTLE: (ibid) Apothecaries and druggists.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.SPREE: (from execution broadside) A high-spirited, usually drunken rampage being indulged in by a young man of rank.SLIP COVER: (from outro patter) Run away as fast as we can.GRABS: (ibid) Law enforcement personnel.TWIG: (ibid) To find or identify someone, or get wise to a scheme.HELL CATS: (ibid) Dangerous ladies who frequent the “hells” (gambling dens).BLACKLEGS: (ibid) Professional gamblers who cheat to win.SPICE ISLANDERS: (ibid) 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: (ibid) A “hell” (gambling den).COVENT GARDEN: (ibid) London neighbourhood that was, in the Regency and early Victorian, famous as a place where bloods, bucks and choice spirits went to sport their blunt. Upscale gambling hells and brothels were conveniently close by the Royal Opera and Drury-lane Theatre.POSTING LEG BAIL (ibid): Running from the authorities. 18th BARON DUNWICH (ibid): A fictional title, adopted as a nod to Edward J.M.D. Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany (author Lord Dunsany) and a reference to “The Dunwich Horror” by H.P. Lovecraft.————————————————————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 host Corinthian Finn, a.k.a. Finn J.D. John 18th Baron Dunwitch, for a weekly one-hour-long spree through the scandal-sheets and story papers of early-Victorian London! This is a special half-episode. The second half of this Ha’penny Horrors episode will be released next week. For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠ ———— IN TODAY'S "HA’PENNY HORRORS" HALF-EPISODE:03:15: HANGED TODAY IN HISTORY (Oct. 18, 1771): A teen-age wife and mother of two, thrown into desperation after a Royal Navy press gang kidnapped her husband, tried to shoplift a bit of fabric in a store. She was hanged for this “crime.”11:15: SWEENEY TODD, THE BARBER OF FLEET-STREET, Chapters 116-117: Our scene opens in Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop, about five minutes before 9:00. The place is crammed with customersl, all very excited about getting one or more pies. The first 100 pies comes up without incident. The second, though, is abit more troublesome. As Mrs. Lovett works away at the windlass, she is annoyed by a tall stout man who keeps trying to get her to let him crank the winch. He gets her super angry, and she cranks at the winch like it’s for a wager, although really it does seem unusually heavy. — When it reaches the top, she finds out why….GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS HALF-EPISODE:DUSTMEN: (from intro patter) Like the modern “sandman,” the dustman is the bringer of dreams.FLUE FAKERS: (ibid) Chimney-sweeps.KNIGHT OF THE BLOCK AND CLEAVER: (ibid) A mildly contemptuous reference to a butcher or butcher’s assistant. 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.18th BARON DUNWICH (ibid): A fictional title, adopted as a nod to Edward J.M.D. Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany (author Lord Dunsany) and a reference to “The Dunwich Horror” by H.P. Lovecraft.HOISTER MOT: (from Hanged Today) A shoplifter-ette.DOCK YARDERS: (from outro patter) Sketchy looking men who loiter or skulk around for no apparent reason.STALLERS: (ibid) Accomplices.PRIME AND FLY: (ibid) Two words that both mean “excellent.”

SHOW NOTES for EPISODE 23 (Season Six)(Oct. 11, 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 "GRAANUM GOTHICS" EPISODE:01:50: ON THIS DREADFUL DAY (Oct. 11, 1852): A servant girl suffered a psychotic break, and murdered her mistress’s infant child.05:20: VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; or, THE FEAST OF BLOOD, Chapter 68-69: Marchdale sneaks back to the ruined abbey with a dagger in his hand, planning to cut Charles Holland’s throat as he lies there chained to the floor. But … Charles Holland is no longer chained to the floor. He’s waiting till 2 a.m. before taking his leave, according to his promise to Varney. What will happen when Marchdale finds him there … and free of his chains?39:45: CATCHPENNY BROADSIDE: “The Drunkard’s Catechism,” a half-joking treatise on the evils of Demon Rum.49:50: THE LIVES OF THE HIGHWAYMEN: They called him “The Gentleman Highwayman,” and when he was caught, half the women in London seemed to be in love with him. His name was James MacLaine, and he was the highway robber who robbed and accidentally almost shot Horace Walpole, the author who invented the Gothic novel.1:03:25: CHRISTABEL, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Part 2 of 2: Christabel brings her new friend, the demonic Geraldine, to meet her father, Sir Leoline, who is utterly charmed by her. Just then Christabel sees an evil gleam in Geraldine’s eye, and cries out a warning to her father; but it’s too late ….1:18:20: 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:JACK PUDDINGS (from outro patter): Clownish fellow.HOP MERCHANTS (ibid): Dancing teachers.MASTER OF THE MINT (ibid): A gardener (who grows and tends all sorts of plants, including mint). 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.SHE-LION (ibid): A shilling. CHARLIES (ibid): Watchmen.TOWN TABBY (ibid): An old gentry lady.BLUE RUIN (ibid): Gin.HEEL TAPS (ibid): The liquor left in the bottom of the glass after one has taken a drink. “No heel taps” basically means “Everybody chug.”CATCH A FLAT (from broadside “The Drunkard’s Catechism”): A flat was a sucker, basically.BARREL FEVER (ibid): A hangover.SWAG (from The Lives of the Highwaymen): Stolen goods, not including money and other fungible assets.ANGLING COVE (ibid): Buyer of stolen goods; that is, a fence.SUFFERER (ibid): Has two meanings: either a tailor, or a sovereign (a gold £1 coin).JOE MILLER: A famously stone-faced Elizabethan actor who, like Leslie Nielsen, managed to be uproariously funny by acting super sober and serious. Naming a jokebook after Joe Miller was itself an inside joke.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. Lovecraft places Dunwitch “far, far west of Arkham (Massachusetts).” And in fact Corinthian Finn’s sky-parlour is situated about 3,200 miles nearly due west of Newburyport, so it fits!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 SIXPENNY SPOOKIES theme show, featuring a Victorian ghostly shortstory, a chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and other ghostly tales!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 legend of Cumnor Place, supposed to be haunted by the spirit of Lady Amy Dudley, murdered so that her husband could woo Queen Elizabeth I.11:55: VICTORIAN GHOSTLY SHORT STORY, to-wit: THE PHANTOM COACH, by Amelia B. Edwards (1864): A barrister gets lost on a winter day while out grouse hunting on a north-England moor. He wanders past dusk, gets caught in a dreadful snowstorm, and then luckily meets a local man who reluctantly offers him shelter for the night. The man tells him of the wreck of the night mail coach, nine years before … the same coach that our hero is determined to flag down and ride home on. When the snow stops, the barrister goes to catch the coach … but there's something strange about this coach ...40:00: GHOSTLY POETRY, to-wit: Part One of CHRISTABEL, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1797): A baronet’s daughter, Christabel, goes into the woods to pray for her beloved, and there finds a strange, beautiful woman named Geraldine (rhymes with “pine”). She brings the stranger home, but strange signs soon appear that portend that Geraldine is some kind of evil spirit ….56:05: DRACULA, by BRAM STOKER (1897), Chapter 7: The chapter starts with a newspaper cutting in which the correspondent describes a terrible and sudden storm which swept upon Whitby. Amid the storm, a schooner appeared, running before the wind with full sails set. It surged into the harbour and slammed into the beach behind, and as soon as it struck, a great black creature — apparently a dog — leaped to shore and raced away, never to be seen again. The newspaper writer raced to the scene with a crowd of locals, and found the ship completely empty of crew save for one man who had been dead two days — the captain, who had tied himself to the wheel with a crucifix. In his pocket, carefully rolled up and inserted into a corked bottle, was a remarkable document, the last thing he wrote before he died …1:25:20: LORD HALIFAX’S GHOST BOOK: A spooky apparition of a man with the face of a corpse, who appeared at his home at the moment of his untimely death abroad.GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:COLLEGIATES: (ibid) Inmates in a prison or gaol.CONVEYANCERS: (ibid) Receivers of stolen goods.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.NOGGEN OF LIGHTNING: (ibid) Quartern (1/4 of an Imperial pint) of gin.BITE YOUR NAME IN IT: (ibid) Take a big drink.FLOORERS: (from outro patter) Criminals who knock people down in the streets to be “rescued” by their confederates, who pick their pockets as they do.OVERSEERS: (ibid) Prisoners in a pillory.BRIXTON DANCING-ACADEMY STUDENTS: (ibid) Prisoners sentenced to help work the tread-mill at Brixton Prison.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.

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.