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 old London!

PART I: “THE PENNY DREADFULS”:

• 04:15: ON THIS DREADFUL DAY (FEB. 1): Two young men were playing at fencing with real swords … when one of them slipped. (1855)
• 05:45: VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; or, THE FEAST OF BLOOD, Chapter 38: Dr. Chillingworth, who is Henry’s second for the duel, and Jack Pringle, who is the admiral’s, both arrive at Ratford Abbey at the same time. The arrangements are duly made, although they are a little odd. On the way home, they meet Marchdale, who offers to step in as Henry’s second so that Dr. Chillingworth will not suffer the various sanctions that would fall to him, as a professional man, if he were found to have been directly involved in a duel. Everything is building to a showdown …
• 43:16: BROADSIDE BALLAD: The Lord Mayor’s Day in old London-town! (1850).

PART II: "THE SIXPENNY SPOOKIES":

• 48:15: TERRIFIC REGISTER ARTICLE: A freak lightning-strike that left the dead looking uncommonly alive … and a child born with three eyes.
• 50:15: EARLY VICTORIAN GHOSTLY SHORT STORY, TO-WIT: Shadow of a Shade, by Tom Hood, Part 2 of 2 parts: One has to admire the creation of Vincent Grieve, as a villain. He is sketched with a deft hand, kind of just shy of unbelievable reprehensibleness. There can be little doubt in anyone’s mind but that he murdered George to get to Lettie, and no one will be the least surprised when, in this concluding segment, he starts showing up and trying to renew his unwelcome and repellant effort to court her. But, there’s something not quite right, and it soon becomes clear that there are powerful supernatural forces at work on the case … forces that cast, behind Grieve, a second shadow.
• 1:07:21: A SHORT GHOST STORY from the scrapbook of Charles Lindley, Viscount Halifax: The Telephone at the Oratory. Ghosts usually don’t use the telephone, but apparently this one did!
• 1:16:30: A FEW SQUEAKY-CLEAN DAD JOKES from the early-1800s' most popular joke book: "Joe Miller's Jests; or, The Wit's Vade-mecum."

*The Barony of Dunwitch is located in a deep forest glade west of Arkham (where, as H.P. Lovecraft put it, “the hills rise wild, and there are valleys with deep woods that no axe has ever cut; there are dark narrow glens where the trees slope fantastically, and where thin brooklets trickle without ever having caught the glint of sunlight.”) Actually it is a good 3,000 miles west of Arkham. It is not to be confused with Dunwich, the English seacoast town that fell house by house into the sea centuries ago, or Dunsany, the home until 1957 of legendary fantasy author Edward J.M.D. Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany.

GLOSSARY OF FLASH TERMS USED IN THIS EPISODE:

• OWLERS: Smugglers.
• MALTY COVES: Beer drinkers.
• KNIGHTS OF THE BRUSH AND MOON: Drunken fellows wandering amok in meadows and ditches, trying to stagger home.
• CORINTHIAN: A fancy toff or titled swell. Used here as a reference to Corinthian Tom, the quintessential Regency rake depicted in Pierce Egan's "Life in London" (usually referred to as "Tom and Jerry").
• CHAFFING-CRIB: A room where drinking and bantering are going on.
• GENTRY COVES: Gentlemen.
• LAWFUL BLANKETS: Wives.
• NIPPERKIN: Half a pint.
• OLD TOM: Top-shelf gin.
• BADGE COVES: Poor men who are being subsidized by the parish for charity.
• CROSS-COVES: Swindlers and other criminals.
• SHEEP’S JEMMIES: Roasted sheep’s head.
• SPOONEY: Foolish fellow.
• MORRIS OFF: Run away.
• BEAKS ON THE NOSE: Police detectives or magistrates on an investigation.
• HELL CATS: Racy ladies who haunt gambling-hells.
• BLACKLEGS: Card-sharpers and other professional gamblers who cheat.
• SPICE ISLANDERS: Swindlers.
• SPEELING-CRIB: Gambling den.
• RUM TE TUM WITH THE CHILL OFF: Most emphatically excellent.

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 old London!

PART I: "THE HA’PENNY HORRIDS”:

• 01:20: HANGED TODAY IN HISTORY: The story of a colonial governor hanged in 1803 for murder after he had seven employees whipped so severely that three of them died. If you’re into schadenfreude, this is your week.
• 06:50: SWEENEY TODD, THE BARBER OF FLEET-STREET, Chapter 83-84: The two ladies, Mrs. Ragg and her friend (Martha Jones), bustle back to the Temple and set themselves up in the office of Martha’s employer, an attorney named Mr. Juggas, and starts plying Mrs. Ragg with Mr. Juggas’ old ale. Todd follows them up the stairs, listens at each door till he finds the right one, and overhears some very interesting news ….
• 35:00: BROADSIDE BALLAD: A sad account of a pair of convicts sacrificed to the old English “bloody code” on the scaffold, one for burglary and one for arson. Reading this one, I had to wonder if the spectacle the arsonist made in struggling for his life helped turn public opinion against this barbarity.

PART II: "THE TWOPENNY TORRIDS”:

• 43:50: THE LIVES OF THE HIGHWAYMEN: Meet William “Swift Nick” Nevison, one of the northlands’ most notorious high spicers. The tale is that he was friends with King Charles II himself.
• 50:30: BLACK BESS; or, THE KNIGHT OF THE ROAD (starring HIGHWAYMAN DICK TURPIN), Chapter 49-50: Dick picks the lock on the front gate and the two bandits make their way through the park and up to the front door of the house. There they find it’s very secure; heavy shutters cover all the windows, the door is fast as a rock. But, of course, no place is burglar-proof to a sufficiently resourceful burglar, right?
• 1:19:00: SOME STREET POETRY from an 1830s “broadside”: "The Bonny Blue Handkerchief” and “The Jolly Rover.”
• 1:23:00: A SUBTLY NAUGHTY COCK-AND-HEN-CLUB SONG: "Cowslip and the Gardener’s Leek.” (about a little misunderstanding of what was meant by “prithee sow your seed in my bed, kind sir.”)
• 1:27:00: A FEW MILDLY DIRTY JOKES from what passed in 1830 for a dirty joke book: "The Joke-Cracker."

*The Barony of Dunwitch is located in a wood west of Arkham (where, as H.P. Lovecraft put it, “the hills rise wild, and there are valleys with deep woods that no axe has ever cut; there are dark narrow glens where the trees slope fantastically, and where thin brooklets trickle without ever having caught the glint of sunlight.”) Actually it is a good 3,000 miles west of Arkham. It is not to be confused with Dunsany, the home until 1957 of legendary fantasy author Edward J.M.D. Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany.

GLOSSARY OF FLASH TERMS USED IN THIS EPISODE:

• COUNT CARDS: Fine fellows.

• FAMILY COVES: Members of the “family” of thieves and other cross-men (criminals).

• KNIGHTS OF THE BRUSH AND MOON: Drunken fellows wandering amok in meadows and ditches, trying to stagger home.

• CORINTHIAN: A fancy toff or titled swell. Used here as a reference to Corinthian Tom, the quintessential Regency rake depicted in Pierce Egan's "Life in London" (usually referred to as "Tom and Jerry").

• CHAFFING-CRIB: A room where drinking and bantering are going on.

• HIGH SPICERS: Well-mounted highwaymen.

• SHERRY OFF: To run away at top speed. Adopted from the nautical term "to sheer off."

• FLATS: Suckers.

• FLY TO: Wised-up about, aware of.

• FAKEMENT: Plot or scheme.

• BUMS: Bailiffs.

• CRAPPING COVES: Pronounced "crêpe-ing," it means hangmen, who cause the widows of the criminals they execute to wear crêpe in mourning.

• THE OLD STONE JUG: Newgate Prison, or prisons in general.

• PADDINGTON FAIR: Execution day at Tyburn Tree gallows, which was in Paddington parish; during the years when the “Bloody Code” was in effect, and one could get “scragged” for stealing less than 10 modern dollars’ worth of goods, it was also a blackly humourous pun, as “pad” was Flash slang for “thief” or “robber.”

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 old London!

PART I: “THE PENNY DREADFULS”:

• 02:50: VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; or, THE FEAST OF BLOOD, Chapter 37: As soon as he can get away, Henry goes next door and challenges Varney to a duel, following a very unsatisfactory conversation about the disposition of Charles Holland, which Varney claims ignorance of, but Henry frankly accuses him of lying. No sooner is Henry home than Admiral Bell sallies forth on a similar errand….
• 36:15: SPORTY STREET BROADSIDE: “Landlord fill a flowing bowl,” a zesty drinking song, presented alongside “The Fire King,” a poem in praise of stage magician and fire-eater J.X. Chabert.
• 42:45: TERRIFIC REGISTER ARTICLE: A wicked archbishop who called his parishioners vermin was, according to this legend, chased down and devoured by a horde of rats.

PART II: “THE SIXPENNY SPOOKIES”:

• 45:45: EARLY VICTORIAN GHOSTLY SHORT STORY, TO-WIT: SHADOW OF A SHADE, by Tom Hood, Part 1 OF 2: We are introduced to Lettie, the narrator’s sister, and her fiancé, George Mason, a merchant-marine officer who is about to set out on an expedition to find Sir John Franklin’s missing North Pole expedition. A younger brother has painted a portrait of George, which Lettie really likes, and has it hung in the living room to remind her of her loved one. George’s fellow officer, Vincent Grieve, comes to dinner before the expedition began, and all but follows Lettie around with his tongue hanging out — seeming to be trying to cut in on her. On his last visit, he tells Lettie he was in love with her, and should she ever break it off with George, he hopes she’ll have him instead. Outraged, Lettie orders him out of the house.
• The ship sails. Then, some weeks later, a chill arctic wind seemed to blow through the room, despite it being summer; and when our narrator looks at the painting of George, it looks like the head has become a skull! Upon approaching, the illusion passed; but our narrator very much fears it was an omen …
• 1:03:00: A SHORT GHOST STORY from the scrapbook of Charles Lindley, Viscount Halifax: The tale of a ghostly butler who still walks the halls of an ancient hall in Yorkshire.
• 1:11:15: A FEW SQUEAKY-CLEAN DAD JOKES from the early-1800s' most popular joke book: "Joe Miller's Jests; or, The Wit's Vade-mecum."

*The Barony of Dunwitch is located in a deep forest glade west of Arkham (where, as H.P. Lovecraft put it, “the hills rise wild, and there are valleys with deep woods that no axe has ever cut; there are dark narrow glens where the trees slope fantastically, and where thin brooklets trickle without ever having caught the glint of sunlight.”) Actually it is a good 3,000 miles west of Arkham. It is not to be confused with Dunwich, the English seacoast town that fell house by house into the sea centuries ago, or Dunsany, the home until 1957 of legendary fantasy author Edward J.M.D. Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany.

GLOSSARY OF FLASH TERMS USED IN THIS EPISODE:

• BLACKLEGS: Crooked gamblers.
• CAPTAIN TOBERS: Top-tier highwaymen.
• KNIGHTS OF THE BRUSH AND MOON: Drunken fellows wandering amok in meadows and ditches, trying to stagger home.
• CHAFFING-CRIB: A room where drinking and bantering are going on.
• TARTARS: Feisty old ladies.
• AUTEM DIPPERS: Preachers from Protestant denominations that emphasize baptism by immersion.
• NOGGEN OF LIGHTNING: Quartern of gin.
• SUGAR-CANE JUICE: Rum.
• MORRIS OFF: Flee or run away.
• BEAKS ON THE NOSE: Magistrates or police detectives on an active investigation.
• DIDDLE COVES: Bartenders at a dram shop or gin palace.
• DAFFY DOXIES: Spicy ladies who drink gin (daffy is gin).
• CAPTAIN LUSHINGTONS: Drunken fellows.

There are more! But we’re out of space here. A full glossary of all the flash-cant terms used in this episode is at ⁠https://pennydread.com/discord⁠ in the "#season-5-episodes" thread.