About this episode

This episode explores the bizarre story of Tarrare, a man from Napoleonic France known for his extreme eating habits and alleged cannibalism.

Listener warning: this episode contains a description of cruelty to animals One of the strangest tales to emerge from Napoleonic France was that of Tarrare - the man who ate everything. The stories go that he ate corks, cats, snakes and was even guilty of cannibalism. Is this myth or reality? Anthony is joined by Dr Cat Byers, historian of the Paris Morgue to tell this tale. Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick. You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit 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.   You can take part in our listener survey here. All music from Epidemic Sounds. After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Anthony

Guest: Dr Cat Byers

Topics covered

• cannibalism
• Napoleonic France
• animal cruelty
• historical myths
• true crime

Keywords

• Tarrare
• cannibalism
• Napoleonic France
• animal cruelty
• historical myths

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: History Hit

Books & works: After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Places: Napoleonic France

More episodes of After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

• Dark Side of Prehistoric Britain · April 26, 2026 · 43 min
• Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand · April 22, 2026 · 49 min
• Titanic's Biggest Myths Debunked · April 19, 2026 · 58 min
• The Murder that Shook Mary Queen of Scots · April 15, 2026 · 48 min
• The Victorian Sex Scandal of Fanny & Stella · April 12, 2026 · 59 min
• Henry VIII's Descent into Darkness · April 8, 2026 · 50 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal podcast page.