Weird and wonderful history

Vampires-3-8039305

Q&A Were 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

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The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, at dusk

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

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An illustration of Colonel Blood

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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Language of flowers postcard

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

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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.

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18th century French caricature satirising the fashion for enormous wigs

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