Forget dry history books. The most gripping tales of the past involve the people who refused to leave.....

They cut off her head for killing her father but he had already killed her childhood. From Beatrice Cenci’s haunting in Rome to Anne Boleyn’s headless carriage rides through London, this episode dives into the darkest corners of Europe’s past, where tragedy refuses to rest in peace.

👉 ⁠⁠For all show notes & recommendations⁠⁠

Tours mentioned in the podcast:

👉⁠ Trastevere Local Food Tour ⁠👉 ⁠⁠Versailles Palace & Gardens Tour⁠ (from Paris)⁠👉 ⁠⁠Tower of London Legends and Lore Tour⁠⁠👉 ⁠⁠Rome in a Day Tour⁠⁠

What this episode covers

• Why so many “ghost stories” began as real historical events

• The beheaded queen who still roams Versailles

• Rome’s most infamous noblewoman, Beatrice Cenci

• The Pope who was literally put on trial after death

• From Nero’s cursed walnut tree to the Salem witch trials

• Why haunting myths still fascinate us today

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro – History that won’t stay buried

• 03:00 Nero & the Cadaver Synod (Pope Formosus)

• 09:00 Ghost stereotypes & modern myths

• 18:00 Marie Antoinette’s specter at Versailles

• 26:00 Don Olympia & the haunted bridge of Rome

• 33:00 Anne Boleyn’s headless ride through London

• 42:00 Nero’s walnut tree and the Piazza del Popolo curse

• 49:00 Bloody Mary – the Queen who earned her nickname

• 55:00 Beatrice Cenci – Rome’s tragic ghost

• 01:05:00 The Salem Witch Trials and America’s own hauntings

French People ARR. Rude is produced and recorded by The Tour Guy; Europe's premiere tour company and marketplace. Visit www.thetourguy.com for more information.