Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 28 minutes ago
Dark Histories is primarily an audio podcast, available on all your podcast apps, wherever you listen: pod.link/1279731673
When one thinks of exorcisms, it’s hard to get past the infamous imagery published to the world in 1973, of a young girl, floating above a bed, flanked by two priests, flinging holy water and yelling about the power of Christ. At the same time as the Exorcist movie was hitting the cinemas, however, there was one, real life exorcist doing very different work. With several decades of banishing evil under his belt, he was taking on far bigger tasks, with vampires, the Loch Ness Monster and even the Bermuda Triangle all within his sights.
SOURCES
Ewing, William (1914) Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843-1900. T&T Clark, Edinburgh, UK.
Omand, Donald (1970) Experiences of a Present Day Exorcist. Harper Collins, London, UK.
Alexander, Marc (1981) The Devil Hunter: The Incredible Account of the Work of a Modern Day Exorcist. Sphere, London, UK.
Alexander, Marc (1980) The Man Who Exorcised the Bermuda Triangle. A.S Barnes, New York, USA.
Young, Francis (2018) A History of Anglican Exorcism: Deliverance & Demonology in Church Ritual. I.B. Taurus & Co., London, UK.
Underwood, Peter (1990) Exorcism! Robert Hale Ltd, London, UK.
The Sunday Mirror (1977) The Devil Hunter. The Sunday Mirror, Sun 20 Nov 1977, p10, London, UK.
BBC Archive (2024) 1973: EXORCISING the LOCH NESS MONSTER | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive. Youtube, youtu.be/BNZ1dNWMh7c?si=FB6dipQ_oWTU3CeJ
Miami Herald (1950) Sea's Puzzles Still Baffle Men In Pushbutton Age. The Miami Herald, Sun 17 Sep 1950, p6, Miami, USA.
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For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: instagram.com/dark_histories
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Dark Histories is primarily an audio podcast, available on all your podcast apps, wherever you listen: pod.link/1279731673
When one thinks of exorcisms, it’s hard to get past the infamous imagery published to the world in 1973, of a young girl, floating above a bed, flanked by two priests, flinging holy water and yelling about the power of Christ. At the same time as the Exorcist movie was hitting the cinemas, however, there was one, real life exorcist doing very different work. With several decades of banishing evil under his belt, he was taking on far bigger tasks, with vampires, the Loch Ness Monster and even the Bermuda Triangle all within his sights.
SOURCES
Ewing, William (1914) Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843-1900. T&T Clark, Edinburgh, UK.
Omand, Donald (1970) Experiences of a Present Day Exorcist. Harper Collins, London, UK.
Alexander, Marc (1981) The Devil Hunter: The Incredible Account of the Work of a Modern Day Exorcist. Sphere, London, UK.
Alexander, Marc (1980) The Man Who Exorcised the Bermuda Triangle. A.S Barnes, New York, USA.
Young, Francis (2018) A History of Anglican Exorcism: Deliverance & Demonology in Church Ritual. I.B. Taurus & Co., London, UK.
Underwood, Peter (1990) Exorcism! Robert Hale Ltd, London, UK.
The Sunday Mirror (1977) The Devil Hunter. The Sunday Mirror, Sun 20 Nov 1977, p10, London, UK.
BBC Archive (2024) 1973: EXORCISING the LOCH NESS MONSTER | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive. Youtube, youtu.be/BNZ1dNWMh7c?si=FB6dipQ_oWTU3CeJ
Miami Herald (1950) Sea's Puzzles Still Baffle Men In Pushbutton Age. The Miami Herald, Sun 17 Sep 1950, p6, Miami, USA.
-------
For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: author.to/darkhistories
Dark Histories merch is available here: bit.ly/3GChjk9
Connect with us on Facebook: facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: instagram.com/dark_histories
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017





![William Cragh: The Not So Hanged Man
William the Scabby was lead out to the scaffold on which he was to be hanged. A rebel against the Anglo-Norman rule, he had been sentenced to death on 13 counts of Homicide. Now it was time for him to meet his maker. Except, that is not how the story ends, for though William was hanged “until dead”, he was not to stay as such and later in the day, his miraculous resurrection was witnessed by a large proportion of the population of Swansea, including the highly experienced executioner himself.
SOURCES:
Hanska, J. (2001). The hanging of William Cragh: anatomy of a miracle. Journal of Medieval History, 27(2), pp.121-138.
Bartlett, R. (2006). The hanged man: A Story of Miracle, Memory and Colonialism in the Middle Ages. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Medievalswansea.ac.uk. (2019). The Story / The Twice-Hanged William Cragh | City Witness. [online] Available at: http://www.medievalswansea.ac.uk/en/the-story/the-twice-hanged-william-cragh/ [Accessed 1 Aug. 2019].
Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican MS Lat. 4015
For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories
Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/6f7e2pt
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). Its out of copyright now, but if youre interested, that was that. William Cragh: The Not So Hanged Man](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FpgQQztkEvo/mqdefault.jpg)




