A History of Private Life - Things That Go Bump in the Night

Historian Amanda Vickery presents a series which reveals the hidden history of home over 400 years. She draws on first-hand accounts from letters and diaries, many of which have never been heard before. Including songs which have been specially recorded for the series. Outside the home, dark forces gathered: witches and ghosts, who came through the windows and doors at night and threatened people in bed. Testimonials from witchcraft trials reveal people's darkest fears and fantasies about what happened outside at night, and how their homes protected them. Readers: Deborah Findlay, John Sessions, Madeleine Brolly and Simon Tcherniak. Singers: Gwyneth Herbert and Thomas Guthrie, with David Owen Norris at the keyboard. A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.