This full episode is not for the squeamish as Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney delve into the dark medical history of surgeries in Victorian England, where people would pay to watch the bloody operating table. Historian Sara Yorath from the Old Operating Theatre museum in London speaks about the legend of Robert Liston with his 300% mortality rate, body snatching, and the limitations of Victorian anaesthesia. Imagine. You're laid out on the surgeon's table. Wide awake. He stands over you, knife in hand, and behind him, in the stands, is a noisy crowd all joking, smoking and scoffing at oysters, waiting for the show to start. Welcome to Victorian surgery! Could you survive? After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. #HistoryHitPodcast #AfterDark #VictorianSurgery