History and Mystery from TV historian Tony McMahon
A Chinese man who believed he was Jesus caused the deaths of tens of millions of people. Why wasn t this taught in my history class at school? And yet it happened. An astonishing story of a messianic leader in 19th century China who left a trail of slaughter right across the country. This is the... The post Chinese Jesus leads Bloodiest Civil War in history appeared first on Beardy History .
Homer was an ancient Greek writer who wrote The Odyssey. Did you know that even that statement can t be taken for granted? Some academics believe Homer may never have existed. Or that The Odyssey could have been the product of several hands. As for Homer s birth and death details don t bother looking because that s... The post The Odyssey Movie and manufactured rage over the casting by Christopher…
As a teenager, I went to confession at our local Roman Catholic church and struggled to find much to confess. From the back of my mind, I dredged up some petty misdemeanours and was told by the priest in the confessional box to recite three Our Fathers, Three Glory Be s, and Three Hail Marys. The... The post How was the Virgin Mary turned into a goddess? appeared first on Beardy History .
Temples built up to 3,000 years before the Pyramids of Egypt which were constructed around 2,500BC. When I visited Malta in 2023, I had to try and get my head round the fact that the temple ruins I was looking at dated back 5,000 years. Stone structures still standing with doorways aligned to catch... The post The People Who Built Malta s Temples — and Then Vanished appeared first on Beardy…
When entire settlements disappear without a trace, what do their silences tell us? Roanoke Island is arguably the most famous exampled of a vanished community but there have been other lost colonies. The disappearance of those who have struck out to create a new life for themselves grips our imagination. Few mysteries in human... The post Vanished: Roanoke and the Mystery of Lost Colonies appeared…
I m writing a book on secret societies at the moment for a publisher and as I looked at the ancient Greek mystery cults, and all their strange practices and beliefs, I began to see elements of Christianity. Ideas of sacrifice, resurrection, redemption, and the rituals performed in both belief systems. Because the Old and New... The post Borrowed Gods: How Ancient Paganism Shaped the Bible appeared…
When Errol Christie first sat down with me to tell his life story, I wasn t prepared for the journey that lay ahead. I knew the headline version — British boxing s nearly man, the gifted middleweight who should have been a world champion. What I didn t know was the depth of the world he d navigated to... The post No Place To Hide: Writing Errol Christie s Story By Tony McMahon appeared first on…
From lead-laced face powder to jawline-shattering surgery, the lengths people have gone to look beautiful have often been lethal. We are still prepared to use dangerous cosmetics and dubious medical procedures to look amazing. Our ancestors made the same mistake. Here is the full, unflinching story. Beauty has always come at a price. Sometimes that... The post The Price of Beauty: A History of…
My grandmother granny to me was an Irish woman who had been a school teacher before retirement, but in her last years, liked nothing better than to fill my young head with tales from Irish mythology. Norma McMahon (born McEnhill), 1909-1975, was a fiery product of Ulster (Omagh, county Tyrone to be exact).... The post Blood, Fire, and the Otherworld: The Irish Myths My Grandmother Told Me appeared…
They were the rockstars of the ancient world — enslaved, brutalised, and adored. The life of a Roman gladiator was far stranger, and far more human, than the movies suggest. First, let s start with a little video clip of the Colosseum, scene of so much gladiatorial combat, from my last visit in 2025. Who Were... The post Blood, Sand, and Glory: The True Lives of Roman Gladiators appeared first on…
Adolf Hitler remains one of history s most studied and reviled figures — yet beyond the textbook horror of the Holocaust and World War II lies a more unsettling portrait. The personal psychology, the obsessions, the blind spots, and the bizarre contradictions of the man who dragged the world into catastrophe are, in many ways, more... The post Ten Creepiest Facts About Adolf Hitler That History…
Henry VIII is one of history s most recognisable monarchs — not for his military genius or philosophical writings, but largely because he went through wives at a rate that would give a modern divorce lawyer palpitations. Six marriages, two beheadings, two divorces, one death in childbirth, and one queen who had the good sense to... The post Divorced, Beheaded, Died: Henry VIII and His Six Wives…
Whether you re a lapsed Catholic (me) or a practising Catholic (along with 1.4bn others on the planet), the history of corruption in the Roman Catholic church is gripping stuff. When I was a news producer at the BBC many years ago, the job of Vatican correspondent was coveted. The opportunity to investigate papal secrets, wealth,... The post Corruption in the Roman Catholic church a history…
Was Pope John Paul I murdered in 1978? Does the Vatican have evidence that Jesus was not the son of God? Is the Holy See monitoring the skies for extraterrestrials? With its secrecy and power, the Vatican has long attracted conspiracy theories. So, let s have a look at the Top Ten Vatican Conspiracy Theories. Starting... The post Top Ten Vatican Conspiracy Theories appeared first on Beardy History…
On May 8 2026, the Trump administration released the first batch of formerly classified UFO/UAP files as part of a new transparency initiative called the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). Highlights of what was published: Here is an example of what has been released. President Trump directed federal agencies back in... The post Trump administration releases…