Jack Sheppard & Jonathan Wild: The Criminal & The Thief-Taker Who Betrayed Each Other In the dark and dangerous streets of 18th-century London, crime was everywhere—but so was corruption. Jack Sheppard, the legendary escape artist, and Jonathan Wild, London’s self-proclaimed ‘Thief-Taker General,’ started as allies, but their partnership took a deadly turn. One was a master thief who became a folk hero; the other, a crime boss masquerading as law enforcement. Their rivalry led to betraya...
Feb 24, 2025•31 min
Before Scotland Yard, before the modern police force, one man ruled London’s underworld—Jonathan Wild, the so-called "Thief-Taker General." But was he a crime fighter or the city’s first true crime lord? In this episode, we uncover how Wild manipulated both criminals and the law, shaping the way crime was controlled in 18th-century London. Discover the shocking history behind Wild’s double life, his role in the early justice system, and how his downfall influenced the creation of the modern poli...
Feb 10, 2025•42 min
Step into a new adventure with Macabre London! I’m thrilled to announce a special series where I’ll be narrating some of my all-time favorite books, starting with H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds . This iconic sci-fi masterpiece has been a personal favorite for years, and now I’m bringing it to you in audiobook form! To celebrate, I’m releasing Part 1 for free on the main podcast feed (there are ads on this one but all future episodes on Patreon are AD FREE!). If you love it as much as I do, yo...
Jan 27, 2025•48 min
It’s the end of 2024, and I’m back with your Weird News Round-Up ! Forget the regular doom and gloom of daily news—this is all about the strangest, most head-scratching stories from the past year. 🌌 From Lexington, Kentucky, beaming out literal invitations to aliens, to mysterious unsolicited packages in the latest “brushing” scam, and a look back at psychic predictions for 2024—what came true, what didn’t! 👽📦✨ Plus, my own predictions for the year to come, and some of the wildest claims from...
Jan 01, 2025•29 min
Welcome to another Weird News Round-Up where we delve into the strangest stories of 2024! This episode is packed with bizarre twists, from bear-themed insurance scams to mysterious space station mishaps. Here's what you can expect: 🐻 Bear Costume Insurance Scam Three people in California thought they could outsmart the system by blaming bear attacks for car damage—but when investigators found the "bear" was a costume, the claws of justice were quick to catch up! 💡 Lighthouse Time Capsule Found...
Dec 23, 2024•17 min
Prepare yourself for a whirlwind of bizarre stories in this episode of Macabre London! From cheese thefts to sheep-stealing antics and a surprise *high* in a pizza joint, it’s a wild ride filled with unbelievable twists and pun-filled fun. 🧀 *The Great Cheese Heist:* Discover how an audacious scam led to the theft of **22 metric tons of cheese** from Neal’s Yard Dairy. Learn how the public and celebrity chefs rallied to save the beloved cheesemongers from financial ruin, while the police worked...
Dec 20, 2024•13 min
Weird News Round-Up 2024: Spy Whale Mysteries, Cryptid Clowns, and Airport UFOs! In this year’s Weird News Round-Up , I uncover some of the strangest stories from 2024 that you won’t believe are real! From a mysterious beluga whale with alleged ties to Russian espionage to UFO sightings over China’s Tianjin Airport, this episode has it all. Plus, we revisit a beloved British cryptid who’s been immortalized in an 8-foot statue on the Isle of Wight. 🎙️ Stories: Hvaldimir’s Mystery : Was this belu...
Dec 18, 2024•16 min
### Podcast Description (SEO Optimized) 🌍 Weird News Round-Up 2024: August Edition!📰 Join me, Nikki as I delve into the bizarre, the baffling, and the downright unbelievable stories that didn’t make the regular headlines this year! In this August round-up, we explore: 🚘 *Driverless Chaos in San Francisco* : A glitch in Waymo's AI fleet turns peaceful streets into a honk-fest for sleep-deprived residents. 👶 *Phantom Twins* : A mysterious divorce case involving allegations of imaginary childre...
Dec 16, 2024•12 min
🎙️ Weird News Round-Up July 2024: Orca Attacks, AI Meltdowns & A Forest Rescue Welcome back to the Macabre London Podcast ! In this episode, we’re diving into the strangest stories from July 2024. Forget the bleak headlines—this roundup is all about bizarre, fascinating, and sometimes darkly humorous tales from around the world. 🕒 What’s Inside : 1️⃣ A Shocking Forest Discovery – A woman chained to a tree in India raises questions about survival, visa evasion, and mental health. 2️⃣ The Or...
Dec 12, 2024•15 min
*Weird News June 2024 | Mysterious Monolith Returns, Robots With Human Skin, and the Voynich Manuscript Decoded!* June 2024 has delivered some of the strangest and most fascinating stories of the year, and we’re diving into them all! Prepare for a wild ride as we uncover baffling discoveries, unsettling breakthroughs, and ancient mysteries finally solved. In this episode, we explore: 🛸 *The Return of the Mysterious Monoliths:* Another enigmatic monolith has appeared, leaving scientists and cons...
Dec 09, 2024•13 min
May 2024 was full of bizarre weird news headlines you won't believe! From a terrifying bee invasion to a dark web body modification scandal and a mind-boggling cat mystery, this month’s round-up is one you don’t want to miss! 🐝💉🐱 In this episode, we cover: *The Bee Infestation That Sounded Like Monsters:* A 3-year-old girl in North Carolina heard monsters in her closet, but it turned out to be 70,000 bees nesting in her walls! The full story of how her family discovered the “monster hive” is ...
Dec 06, 2024•17 min
Welcome back, fiends! Dive into the strangest stories of 2024 in this *Weird News Round-Up: April Edition.* From cosmic chaos during the historic solar eclipse to runaway cavalry horses galloping through London, these tales are nothing short of bizarre. 🌌🐴 *What’s in this episode?* - *Eclipse Madness:* A once-in-a-lifetime solar event dazzles astronomers, confuses animals, and even disrupts the internet! - *Galloping Mayhem:* London commuters were caught off guard as two army horses went rogue...
Dec 04, 2024•20 min
Welcome back to another episode of Weird News 2024 - we recap some of the strangest stories to have come out of March 2024. March 2024 brought us some of the most bizarre and unexpected news stories of the year, and we’re here to break them down for you! This isn’t your regular news round-up; this is where the strange and surreal shine. 🕺 *In This Episode:* 1️⃣ *The Return of the Paris Waiters Race:* Witness waitstaff dash through Paris with trays full of croissants and coffee in a revived trad...
Dec 02, 2024•15 min
Welcome back to another episode of Weird and Wonderful 2024 - we recap some of the strangest stories to have come out of February 2024. 🦈 Charlotte the Stingray : How did a stingray in North Carolina become a viral sensation for an impossible pregnancy? From theories of immaculate conception to unexpected tragedy, Charlotte’s story captivated the internet. 🦫 Punxsutawney Phil’s Prediction : The world-famous groundhog didn’t just forecast an early spring—he also became a dad! Discover the quirk...
Nov 27, 2024•19 min
Get ready for the most bizarre, unexpected, and downright fascinating stories from January 2024! In this first episode of Weird News 2024, I’m diving into a hidden Victorian dress mystery, the viral kindness of Elmo, and the cutest (and tidiest) little mouse you’ll ever meet. Join me, Nikki Druce - your Spooky Specialist, as I uncover the unbelievable and fascinating tales from January 2024. If you’re a fan of strange stories, historical puzzles, and quirky events, you’re in the right place! Eac...
Nov 25, 2024•18 min
The Shocking Rayleigh Bath Chair Murder: WWII’s Most Bizarre Crime Story | Macabre London Podcast Step back into the dark streets of wartime England with Macabre London, where we uncover the chilling tale of The Rayleigh Bath Chair Murder. In 1943, a seemingly routine walk turned deadly when Archibald Brown, a 47-year-old man reliant on his bath chair, was killed by a hidden explosive device. Who would go to such lengths to murder a disabled man during one of the UK’s most turbulent times? Was i...
Nov 14, 2024•26 min
In this episode of Macabre London , Nikki Druce dives into the backstreets of London’s horror film history, focusing on the 1981 classic An American Werewolf in London . Known for its groundbreaking special effects and darkly comedic twists, John Landis’s cult hit left an indelible mark on both London’s movie scene and horror cinema. Join Nikki as she explores the origins of the film, its mix of American and British influences, and the ways it pushed horror forward with practical effects and uni...
Oct 31, 2024•24 min
An electrified statue, a royal nuclear bunker hidden in plain sight and a lion washing ceremony? It must be time to once more delve into a few tall tales from the city that are often presented as fact. Today on Macabre London, we uncover a few more supposed myths about the city and see if we can bust them. ------------------------- TODAY'S SPONSOR: If you want to give magic mind a try, head to magicmind.com/macabrelt and use my code MACABRELT20 for up to 48% off your subscription. --------------...
Oct 14, 2024•26 min
Hi Ghouls, I'm so pleased to let you know the Killers, Cults, and Queen's , is back for its long awaited Season 2! I've managed to get an exclusive first listen ready for you all of the first 15 mins of episode one but be sure to listen in full to the first two episodes as soon as you can, they're ready and waiting for you right now on Global Player or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for Killers, Cults and Queens and we'll pop up. It's been a joy to be back in the studio with Cheryl ...
Oct 14, 2024•21 min
When two men appeared at a hospital after dark with a bag over their shoulder, they rang the doorbell of the dissecting room and a porter answered. When the porter told them he wasn’t interested in buying a body, the men asked if they could store the corpse there overnight to lessen the chances of them being found wandering around the streets with a dead body. When the porter agreed and the men left the bag on the table and scuttled off back into the night, a foot flopped out of it. Thinking it ...
Sep 30, 2024•35 min
On the 8th of February 1983, police were called to a top floor flat in a suburban area of London. The man that had made the call was a plumber and the reason he’d got in contact was as he’d discovered something unusual. When residents started complaining of the drains being backed up and a strange smell emanating from the property, the plumber came to clear the suspected blockage, however what he found under the manhole cover would reveal a dark and terrifying story, one which had been kept secr...
Sep 16, 2024•32 min
On the 8th of February 1983, police were called to a top floor flat in a suburban area of London. The man that had made the call was a plumber and the reason he’d got in contact was as he’d discovered something unusual. When residents started complaining of the drains being backed up and a strange smell emanating from the property, the plumber came to clear the suspected blockage, however what he found under the manhole cover would reveal a dark and terrifying story, one which had been kept secr...
Sep 02, 2024•35 min
London has always been a progressive and forward thinking city. As any vibrant and changeable capital in the world will attest to, the city is only ever as interesting as its residents, and the different life experiences people bring to where they live, shaping and moulding the place into something great. Moving with the times, London has always been at the forefront of new trends and in 1888, one man made the residents of the city far more colourful, quite literally, by opening the first ever t...
Aug 22, 2024•25 min
If I mention murder in London during the year of 1888, one name will probably spring to mind, Jack the Ripper, but that wasn’t the only serial killer active in London at the time. A short distance away, someone was using the lifeblood of the city, the river Thames, as a place to dispose of their victims. Washing up on the shore, bodies were found along its inlets, discarded, dismembered and defiled, left to the mercy of the tidal waters in the hopes they would be washed away and forgotten. Howev...
Aug 05, 2024•38 min
In a post Victorian London, a man was immersing himself in a world that both fascinated and terrified him. Driven by an insatiable thirst for knowledge, he embarked on experiments aimed at transforming his reality into something more profound and meaningful, seeking to make his mark on the world. This quest for the otherworldly led him to travel the globe, yet he remained tethered to London, unable to resist its magnetic pull. The city's allure only deepened his love for Magick and fueled his am...
Jul 24, 2024•36 min
In a post Victorian London, a man was throwing himself into a world which intrigued and terrified him in equal measures. With an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, he soon leant into experiments which would see him trying to twist the world he knew into something more profound, meaningful and worthy of his time on the planet. This pursuit of the otherworldly would see him travel the globe but he always found himself tethered to London, unable to escape its magnetic pull and his pursuit of becomi...
Jul 08, 2024•26 min
In a palatial South London home, a pained scream rang out into the night. As the residents of the home rushed to the aid of the man who had called out, the only thing they could do was watch whilst he writhed in pain. After the maid was sent to grab mustard and hot water to assist his gripe, it was plain to see that he’d been poisoned as his hands helplessly tried to calm his burned throat and everyone in the room knew that whatever happened next would be incredibly painful for him. After 3 agon...
Jun 24, 2024•39 min
In the Victorian era in London, the city sat under a black shroud. The capital was in mourning for a lost monarch and its residents were ushered under the wing of sadness to join in with the bereft queen. As this sadness swept the nation, the resulting impact had a strange effect. Pair this with the recent industrial revolution which could make items faster and also had a habit of sending workers to an early grave, a whole industry was created which serviced those who had been touched by deaths’...
Jun 11, 2024•33 min
At 6:52 on the 19th of January 1917, an event would occur which would change an area of London for decades after, irreparably damaging it. A munitions factory in the heart of the bustling industrial area of Silvertown had hastily replaced the production line of a former caustic soda factory and was now in the hands of people who didn’t know what they were doing with such a dangerous material. With world war one dragging on and driving the country into an ammunition shortage, England created seve...
May 27, 2024•32 min
Step into the hedonistic 1930's as today we delve into a scandalous tale which rocked Britain. Brace yourself for a journey which weaves a narrative of love, betrayal, adultery and murder. From the opulent realms of high society to the shadowy corners of the courtroom, this gripping story will have you on the edge of your seat. Join us as we untangle the web of intrigue surrounding one of history's most sensational trials, shedding light on the complexities of a woman ensnared in the throes of p...
May 13, 2024•44 min
