Dark Stories Newcastle

Name: Dark Stories Newcastle
Address: Cnr Scott Street & Watt St, Newcastle, NSW, 2300, AU
Telephone: +61488827056

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Dark Stories Newcastle

Dark Stories the crime company. Take a walk on the dark side and return to the scenes of the crime via a True Crime Tour.

Or enjoy a dark-themed live and immersive theatre experience.

09/09/2026

10th Sep 1851: Too Many Escapes: Maitland Gaoler Dismissed, Replaced by a Darlinghurst Turnkey

Just three years after Maitland Gaol had officially opened its gates in 1848, its first gaoler, James Cox, was sacked. So many prisoners had slipped out under his watch that on 10 September 1851 the authorities removed him from the post entirely.

His replacement was John Wallace, formerly principal turnkey at Darlinghurst Gaol in Sydney, who took over as gaoler at Maitland. His wife, Mrs Wallace, was installed alongside him as the gaol's matron, a husband and wife team brought in to tighten a prison that had already earned a reputation for losing its inmates.

Follow the full This Day in True Crime History series at the link:
https://darkstories.com.au/on-this-day-in-true-crime-history/

Image: Warder guards wall after prisoner escape attempt at Maitland Gaol 1940

08/09/2026

A decorated soldier walks off the battlefield of Flanders and into the streets of London. He has no money. He has a loaded pistol. He has a temper sharpened by years of war.

John Smith's story is one of the shortest and most disturbing accounts in Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals; a true crime book published nearly 300 years ago. What makes it unsettling is not just what Smith does, but how naturally he does it. The violence is not new to him. Only the targets change.

He disguises himself in yellow livery, speaks bad French as camouflage, and brings the instincts of a soldier to every robbery. The Old Bailey is waiting.

Have you ever wondered what the very first true crime stories actually sounded like?

https://darkstories.com.au/john-smith-the-soldier-who-pulled-the-trigger

01/09/2026

In Georgian London, your trial comes around with the calendar. The Old Bailey holds sessions roughly every six weeks, and there is no long wait on death row. You are tried, you are sentenced, and you are done.

John Jones does not have to wait long. A boy raised with too much comfort and no structure, he drifts from idle youth to condemned pickpocket with alarming speed. His parents spoil him. Every master rejects him. The blind alehouses take him in.

The crime that kills him? Stealing a detachable pouch from a woman's waist. Capital in its nature: it carries death.

This is eighteenth century true crime from one of the oldest crime books ever published, read aloud one chapter at a time.

Does the speed of Georgian justice shock you, or does it seem more honest than modern systems?

https://darkstories.com.au/john-jones-the-young-pickpocket-of-holborn

25/08/2026

Nathaniel Hawes never gets the chance to become anything other than a cautionary tale. Orphaned young, placed with a master tradesman, and already stealing before his apprenticeship ends; he graduates to highway robbery on Finchley Common with the kind of reckless confidence that only works until it doesn't.

His story is preserved in one of the first true crime books ever written in English: Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals, published nearly 300 years ago. The author presents Hawes as a young man who confuses boldness with strategy, and Georgian justice wastes no time correcting the mistake.

Nearly three centuries later, the story still lands. Why do we find wasted talent more haunting than straightforward villainy?

https://darkstories.com.au/nathaniel-hawes-the-young-highwayman-of-finchley-common

24/08/2026

You’re invited to an unforgettable evening of mystery, drama, and delicious food on Saturday, 29 August 2026 from 6:00 PM.

Murder Mystery Dining comes to historic Tocal Homestead. For a killer night out.

Last chance bookings @ https://f.mtr.cool/okeautwgtp

18/08/2026

James Wright has a decent trade: wigmaking on the Old Bailey. But his spending habits eat through everything he earns. When the money runs out, he takes to the road as a highwayman. And here is what sets him apart from every other outlaw in 18th century London: he weeps during his robberies.

Every time, he promises himself it is over. Every time, he breaks that promise. His conscience is relentless; but so is his need. Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals, written nearly 300 years ago, tells his story in precise, unflinching detail.

This is true crime at its most psychologically raw; centuries before the genre even had a name.

Does a criminal deserve sympathy if he truly cannot stop himself?

https://darkstories.com.au/james-wright-the-weeping-highwayman-of-the-old-bailey

11/08/2026

His wife thought he was dead. He was still fighting to get home.

Richard James loses his father before he can remember. He is sent to sea at twelve, captured by Spaniards, and taken by pirates. Every time he claws his way back to England, another piece of his former life has vanished. His wife declares him dead. His friends turn their backs; or he turns his.

With nothing left, James takes to robbing travellers on the Oxford Road. The Georgian world does not forgive men without friends or fortune, and the road narrows fast.

This story comes from a nearly 300 year old true crime book. The earliest criminal biographies in the English language; and still gripping.

Do you think circumstance makes the criminal, or does it just reveal what was always there?

https://darkstories.com.au/richard-james-the-highwayman-of-the-oxford-road

08/08/2026

Step into a night of intrigue, suspense and fine dining Saturday, 29 August 2026 from 6:00 PM.

Join this immersive 3-course murder mystery dinner in the atmospheric surroundings of the historic Tocal Homestead.

Dine on a three-course meal crafted with seasonal, local produce as secrets unravel, and suspense unfolds around you.

Seats are limited - don’t miss this killer night out.

Booking now @ https://f.mtr.cool/zhhzfpqinm

04/08/2026

Span-farthing: you toss a coin as close to your opponent's as you can, then try to span the gap with your hand. It is a game for children and the desperately poor.

That John D***s, the educated eldest son of sacrificing parents, ends up playing this in a ragged coat tells you everything about where the gaming tables have taken him. But the story does not stop there. From the gutter, he picks pockets. From pickpocketing, he takes to the highway with a pistol.

This story is from Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals; a book nearly 300 years old. The compulsion it describes is older still.

What do you think is more dangerous: the first bet, or the last one?

https://darkstories.com.au/john-dykes-the-gambler-turned-highwayman

28/07/2026

True crime was not invented by podcasts. Nearly 300 years ago, readers devoured accounts like William Casey's by candlelight.

Casey is a young soldier, enlisted into the Guards at fifteen, who finds himself accused of robbery after a night-time confrontation in a London park. But the case is anything but straightforward. His accuser threatens to 'swear so**my upon him'; a capital offence that turns an accusation into a death sentence. Casey insists he acts in self-defence.

This account from Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals captures a moment where the line between victim and aggressor vanishes completely. Two stories. One outcome. And nearly three centuries of uncertainty.

If you were on the jury, which version would you trust?

https://darkstories.com.au/william-casey-the-soldier-accused-of-robbery-in-the-park

Address

Cnr Scott Street & Watt St
Newcastle, NSW
2300

Telephone

+61488827056

Website

https://www.darkstories.com.au/

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