In France during the 17th Century, a string of unexpected deaths lead to a murder inquiry that uncovered the dark practices of a serial poisoner, who had plied her trade in the streets of Paris, using the popular alchemy and astrology social circles for cover. The eventual arrests shocked the nation, when it was discovered that far from common rabble, the poisoners had hailed from a more well bred class of citizen. Unfortunately, for the Royal Court, the case was only the start of what would turn out to be an unravelling scandal, fueled by a moral panic and the wild imaginations of those accused, that saw witchcraft, occultism, poison and assassination infest the entirety of French society, from the bottom, all the way to the very top.

SOURCES

Somerset, Anne (2004) The Affair Of The Poisons: Murder, Infanticide, And Satanism At The Court Of Louis XIV. St Martin’s Press, NY, USA.

Duramy, Benedetta Faedi (2012) Women & Poisons in 20th Century France. Golden Gate University School of Law, CA, USA.

Zacharias, Gerhard (1964) Der dunkle Gott: Satanskult und Schwarze Messe. Wiesbaden, Germany.

Duc de Louis de Rouvroy Saint-Simon (2016) Memoirs of Louis XIV and His Court and of the Regency — Complete. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.


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The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye

Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017

Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.