Illustration of strange creatures

Weird and wonderful history

Q&AWere vampires buried with a stake through their heart?

General History

The history rich list: the 10 wealthiest people ever

A drawing depicting a German monoplane dropping bombs on Paris during the First World War

First World War

Creating fake Paris: how one man built a mock city to fool WW1 German bombers

The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, at dusk

9 places where British astronomy flourished. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of Colonel Blood

What happened to Colonel Thomas Blood?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Haitians celebrate Kanaval, which takes place in the run-up to Lent. Later, over Easter, Haitian secret societies will use brooms to ‘sweep up’ zonbi spirits. (Photo by Jessica Obert/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Zombies of the Caribbean: your guide to zonbi spirits. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A 20th-century image depicts a ‘witch’ being burned alive in Munich. In reality, most suspects had already been killed before being set alight (Photo by Fototeca Gilardi/Getty Images)

8 popular misconceptions about the history of witchcraft in Europe. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Picture of a court jester

10 April Fools pranks through history that went wrong. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A young woman sat in front of a mirror applies lipstick, 1967

The price of beauty: the dangerous cosmetics used until the 20th century

A drawing of a Georgian woman in a wide dress and a towering wig

How to survive in the Georgian court. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Louis Wain, c1900, with one of his pet cats. Photo by Ernest H. Mills/Getty Images)

Louis Wain: the cat-loving artist who forever changed the way that we see our feline friends. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Language of flowers postcard

Q&AWhat was floriography?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A lobbycard for the 1923 film Is Conan Doyle Right? (Photo by LMPC via Getty Images)

The supernatural interests of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

18th century French caricature satirising the fashion for enormous wigs

Q&ADid Rococo wigs really have mice?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The capture of the pirate Blackbeard, 1718. Painting by JLG Ferris. One of history’s most notorious pirates, Edward ‘Blackbeard’ Teach almost certainly had a West Country twang because he was born in Bristol in around 1680. (Photo by Bettmann via Getty Images)

Q&ADid most English pirates really talk with a West Country accent?

History’s greatest mysteriesWhat caused the medieval ‘dancing plague’?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

History's greatest mysteriesWhy did Mao’s chosen successor flee China?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The New Year’s resolutions Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I and Franklin D Roosevelt should have made…. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

History's greatest mysteriesAgatha Christie disappears. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A model of the so-called ‘Piltdown Man’ and a replica of its skull,

Q&AWho was the Piltdown Man?

General History

7 real moments in history you might think are made up

Vintners in an ale house, 1642. From a broadsheet titled ‘Health to All’, artist unknown. (Photo by Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Did Oliver Cromwell ban Christmas? The Puritan assault on Christmas during the 1640s and 1650s

John Duval Gluck, Jr, 'the Santa Claus man', pictured left, visiting the General Post Office to promote the Santa Claus Association’s benefit show

The con man who saved Christmas. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tom Smith's Surprise Cosaques, Christmas Crackers 1878. (Image by Getty)

The history of Christmas crackers

Depiction of a musician and dancing fool in Paris, 14th century

What was life like for a court jester?

Black and white drawing showing King George V using a broom to sweep away several crowns adorned with the words 'Made in Germany'.

Fake history: 3 historical untruths that shaped the world

Q&AWhat is gaol fever and how was it caused and spread?

Londoners flee the city during the earthquake panic of April 1750. (Getty Images)

The earthquakes that rocked Georgian London (plus three more seismic events that shaped history). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

3 curious medieval ghost stories. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Irving Finkel“Ghosts were taken for granted as part of everyday Mesopotamian life”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.