Loreplay

Public executions were already brutal… but then came Jack Ketch—the executioner who somehow made death worse. Known across 17th-century England for his shockingly bad aim, Ketch didn’t just take lives—he botched them, turning executions into slow, horrifying spectacles that crowds couldn’t look away from. From nobles begging for mercy to audiences watching in disbelief, this is the story of the man who became infamous not for killing… but for how badly he did it. Because nothing says “career failure” like needing multiple swings of an axe.

Hey hey, my fellow weirdos… welcome to Loreplay. 🖤
This is the podcast where history gets messy, folklore gets questionable, and I willingly spiral so you don’t have to. I’m your host, Dayna Pereira—your resident investigator of all things creepy, cursed, and deeply side-eye worthy.
Each week, we dig into the stories that make you go “wait… what the hell actually happened?”—from haunted places and urban legends to true crime and historical chaos. We separate fact from fiction… and then stare directly into the uncomfortable space in between.

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We talk about dark stuff here—death, violence, and the occasional deeply cursed human behavior. If that’s not your vibe, totally fair… but if it is? Welcome home. 🖤

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Primary Sources
  • Evelyn, John. The Diary of John Evelyn. Entry for July 15, 1685. Evelyn was a direct eyewitness to the Monmouth execution and his account is considered one of the most reliable contemporary records.
  • The Apologie of John Ketch (1683). Pamphlet published under Ketch's name following the execution of Lord Russell. Authorship disputed — some historians attribute it to Ketch himself; others note the provenance is uncertain. Cited with that caveat in-episode.
  • Proceedings of the Old Bailey. January 14, 1676. First recorded court mention of Ketch by name.
  • The Plotters Ballad, Being Jack Ketch's Incomparable Receipt for the Cure of Traytorous Recusants (1678). Satirical broadsheet pamphlet. Held at the British Library.
Secondary Sources
  • Wales, Tim. "John Ketch." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004. The most authoritative modern biographical summary.
  • Engel, Howard. Lord High Executioner: An Unashamed Look at Hangmen, Headsmen, and Their Kind. Key Porter Books, 1996. Covers Ketch in the context of execution history broadly.
  • Wade, Stephen. Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths series. Cites and questions the provenance of the Apologie pamphlet.
  • Stephenson, Neal. The Baroque Cycle (2003–2004). Historical fiction; useful for period color on the execution economy and aristocratic tipping customs, not cited as fact.
  • Jullian, Philippe. Robert de Montesquiou (1965). Not directly relevant to Ketch but cited in the Moberly-Jourdain literature — flagged here only because it came up in research adjacently.
Online / Reference Sources Used in Research
  • "Jack Ketch." Wikipedia. Consulted April 2026. Used for general chronology and cross-referencing broadsheet citations.
  • "Jack Ketch." EBSCO Research Starters / Biography. Consulted April 2026.
  • "1685: James Scott, Duke of Monmouth." Executed Today (executedtoday.com). Consulted April 2026. Particularly useful for scaffold dialogue sourcing and crowd response detail.
  • Sherrat, Tim. "Jack Ketch." AllThatHistory (allthathistory.com). Consulted April 2026.
  • "Fall of Monmouth: Sedgemoor, Capture & Botched Execution." History Defined (historydefined.net). Consulted April 2026.
  • "An Execution Timeline: The Duke of Monmouth's Last Days." English Historical Fiction Authors (englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com). Consulted April 2026. Useful for detailed scaffold dialogue reconstruction.
  • "Execution of the Duke of Monmouth." Warwalks (warwalks.com). Consulted April 2026.
  • "The Execution of Monmouth." Our Civilisation — sourcing Macaulay's History of England. Consulted April 2026.
  • Historic Royal Palaces — Tower of London official records. Referenced for the five-blow count on the Monmouth execution.

Creators and Guests

Host
Dayna Pereira
Show Host of Multiple Chart Hitting Podcasts. French Fry and Wine Enthusiast

What is Loreplay?

Dayna Pereira is the sarcastic solo host of Loreplay, serving up paranormal stories, haunted history, creepy folklore, and weird legends with a playful twist. Equal parts storyteller and skeptic, she blends dark humor, spooky vibes, and a love for the bizarre into binge-worthy episodes for fans of ghost stories, urban legends, and true crime with a paranormal twist.