When Oscar Wilde receives two letters—one from P.T. Barnum pleading for help, the other from Arthur Conan Doyle accepting an invitation to hunt a killer—he knows the world is ending twice. Wilde sets off for Budapest to rescue Harry Houdini, imprisoned after a séance gone violently wrong. But this is no ordinary scandal. Beneath the velvet charm and gaslit glamour lies a conspiracy cloaked in green scarves, mind-altering incense, and vanishing prisoners.

In this episode, Wilde and British intelligence officer William Melville unravel a mystery that begins with masked men and ends in whispers of Rasputin, secret corridors, and experiments that defy explanation. As Budapest watches in silence, Wilde prepares to walk into Vármegye Tower—not as a magician, but as bait.

A city of shadows. A magician in chains. The escape begins now.

The Midnight Dispatch is a historical fiction anthology podcast blending real people, places and events with the strange and supernatural. Season 1 reimagines the Jack the Ripper murders through the eyes of famous figures who may be more than they seem.

Written and produced by Joe Ferguson.

Send your theories, questions and comments to: themidnightdispatch@gmail.com