Strange Deranged Beyond Insane
Everything paranormal and unexplained. History of buildings old hospitals any haunted locations along with personal experiences. Famous murders in Michigan. Ufo and extraterrestrial. Urban legends of Michigan. Folklores witches and tribal tales. Horror movies and unexplained curses and deaths on set.
Strange Deranged Beyond Insane
Mischief and Murder: Dark Shadows of Christmas Past with Co-Host Carissa
What could possibly drive a person to commit unspeakable acts during the season of joy and giving? Join us for a chilling journey through the darker corners of Christmas as we unravel the haunting mysteries behind infamous holiday-time murders. We begin with the chilling tale of the Covina Massacre of 2008, where Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, hidden behind a Santa costume, unleashed a nightmare upon a festive gathering. As we recount the events, we dive into the possible psychological triggers that might transform the joyous holiday season into a time of rage and violence.
Our exploration doesn't stop there. We navigate the unsettling history of the Lawson family murders of 1929, dissecting the possible motives that drove Charlie Lawson to commit such an atrocious act against his kin. From financial woes to whispered rumors of a head injury, we speculate on the factors that could push someone over the edge. With insights from a psychiatrist, we delve into the psychological motivations behind holiday violence while shedding light on the bizarre aftermath, including a murder scene turned into a macabre museum. Together with my co-host Carissa, we share personal anecdotes about the holiday stress, tying it all together with a mix of grim fascination and humor.
But the episode also embraces the whimsical side of Christmas folklore. We wander through the mystical realm of European legends, meeting the mischievous Yule Lads of Iceland and the fearsome Frau Perchta of the Alpine regions. From Hans Trapp to the Kalikantzaroi, these tales bring a stark contrast to the softer, commercialized traditions familiar to many. Our conversation leads into the pagan origins of modern Christmas customs and how they were adapted over time by Christian missionaries. With a blend of whimsy and horror, we reflect on how these stories continue to captivate our imaginations, offering a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of holiday rituals.
Hello everyone, welcome back to Strange, strange Beyond Insane. And it's Melissa. Instead of me being by myself, I have our co-host, carissa, and tonight I have a little segment on my Coven of Curiosities. And since it's Christmas, you know I had to kind of go with a holiday theme. You know I had to kind of go with a holiday theme. So first I wanted to say you know, twinkling lights, presents wrapped, spending time with family, but we have to talk about murder. Yes, give us more. So for some, holidays are not the most wonderful time of year, and here we're going to look at a few famous Christmas time murders and even a little bit of the psychology behind the killers, to find out why such a merry time of the year for some can bring out deadly rage and others. So you ready for the first one? Yes, okay, hit me, it's called the Covina Massacre. Oh, all right. So Covina it's a Los Angeles suburb was a grisly scene on Christmas Eve 2008.
Speaker 1:This guy, bruce Jeffrey Pardo little back story his divorce had just been finalized. The week before Sylvia, his wife, found out about a child that he had that he never told her about, and there was some money issues. And then during the divorce, she kept the ring $17,000 in spousal support, which made Bruce mad. And then he got fired from his job. So he had a little bit of anger issues on a few things. So he went crazy and killed everybody, kind of yeah. So he decided to show up at a holiday party wearing a festive Santa Claus costume, but the problem was he wasn't invited, so he opened fire. Well, first of all, there was a little girl who answered the door. She was eight years old. He killed her, damn. He then went in and found his ex-wife, sylvia, and approximately 25 of her guests. He opened fire on. Holy shit, here's the crazy part. He then unwrapped the gift that he brought to the party, which was a flamethrower wow. So he set the house on fire after the murders, oh my god. And the flames were like up to like 50 feet high, like he did it, and he did it with a fucking blaze. God damn, he really went out with the bang. Yeah, he did. So please speculate that this was triggered. Well, the massacre was he ended up out of the 25, he ended up unaliving or killing nine people, including his ex-wife and her parents. But the weird thing is is he bought a plane ticket that pointed to a getaway plan, but he took his own life before starting the fire that consumed the house. The blaze, ignited by racing fuel and fed by the festive lights in two fireplaces, took 80 firefighters nearly two hours to extinguish, and many of the victims had to be identified by dental records. Oh, so they were gone. Yeah, crispy, ashes Crispy.
Speaker 1:I guess I've read this psychiatrist psychiatrist, she had stated that often psychopathology behind holiday rage and murder is a lack of empathy for the lives of other human beings or living things. This is most likely born from a childhood of the murderer if they were severely neglected or abused psychologically, emotionally and or sexually. As an adult, the person will unconsciously transfer these feelings and thoughts of rage that ultimately can lead to aggression and possibly murder. Well, when Paul was working at the funeral home around Christmas time their busiest time, oh, I bet, I mean just alongside of people dying naturally, there's a lot of suicides and homicides.
Speaker 1:Christmas is a very, very stressful time of year and, like I think, people think oh, it's the best time of the year, it's all happy and jolly. No, the fuck, it's not. People drive like psychos. Yeah, you stress about how you're going to afford Christmas gifts, all the holiday functions, having to spend time with your family that you don't normally have to deal with throughout the year. I mean, there's a lot of reasons why somebody's going to go off. It's fucking cold, yeah, exactly. Our skin gets dry, our titties itch, our butts itch Because it's dry, it's true. Though it is, it is. Maybe we should be like diddy. Instead of like stocking up on baby oil, we just need to stock up on lotion. Oh god, we're gonna get the feds here. Man, why do you have 500 gallons? 500 gallons of lotion? I literally am bathing in it. This skin needs to be super soft. Put the lotion on the skin, squirrel. Okay, go ahead, sorry, okay.
Speaker 1:So that's the Covina Massacre, and that happened in 2008. Not too long ago, yeah, not that long ago at all. Some of these are way older. The next one I'm going to talk about happened in 2011. So that was still pretty recent too. It's called the Dallasallas christmas killings. Nice, so another killer, santa. I don't know why they feel the need to fucking dress up the santa claus. We're like pew, pew, stab, stab, stab. We are way too immature for this. You know, these murders are like a very sobering subject and here we are, we're fucked up. We are, and that's why we belong so well, really quick.
Speaker 1:Do you know what one of the overviews of the podcast said today? What that? It's, um, a very oh, my god, I gotta look it up. But basically he's saying that it's kind of like psychotic and it can bring out emotional trauma in people because we talk about such um distinct dark things. And I started laughing. I'm like, oh good, they get me like.
Speaker 1:This isn't a podcast where we're like this is how you fucking make paper butterflies. Yeah, definitely, this is not the podcast for you. If you want to be all cheerful and joyful, this is like. This is our fun. Yes, and we laugh. You kind of have to, though, you have to. I mean these are really depressing, but if you don't laugh about them, I mean a little bit. I mean I love slashers like black christmas is like one of my favorite movies, see, okay, so all right, back on track, back on track. Yes, ma'am, yes, ma'am, go ahead.
Speaker 1:So another Santa killer. His name is Aziz Yazapena. Wow, he donned a festive red and white outfit In anticipation of his rampage on December 25, 2011,. He entered his estranged wife's Dallas, texas home and began shooting the family, and they had just finished unwrapping the gifts, so like the murder scene was like a whole bunch of gifts open and wrapping paper still on the floor Like yeah. So yes, apina had been dealing with financial and marital issues which detectives believe contributed to the mindset before his murder-suicide. Like the Covina case, it's likely the suicide was a last-minute decision when the killer found himself overwhelmed. The crime scene showed attempts that he even tried to frame his brother-in-law by placing one of the guns in his hand so like he originally was not planning on offing himself, he was going to make it look like his brother did it Correct, his brother-in-law, it's saying.
Speaker 1:According to the psychiatrist, people who commit violent acts during the holidays are often consumed by feelings of rejection, usually by a love interest or a former lover, or even just someone they've been flirtatious with. Typically, they target their victims specifically and their violence is a direct expression of their frustration, anger, hate or rage towards the person, of their frustration, anger, hate or rage towards the person. These attackers are often fixated on the fantasy of holidays being synonymous with love, family and fun. They believe their intended victim to be the reason they were suffering and deprived of the quote-unquote ideal holiday. Now the next murders that we're going to talk about is probably by far, to me, the most interesting that I did my research on.
Speaker 1:Have you heard of the Lawson family murders? There's even a song written about it. Doc Watson wrote the song the Lost and Family Murder and I listened to it like twice today. Is it good, it's different, I don't know. I mean, the music wasn't exactly my type, but it definitely talks about the history of it.
Speaker 1:So this happened back in 1929 on Christmas Day in North Carolina. I was just talking about North Carolina with you while we were eating dinner. Yeah, I know, right, that's weird. So this tobacco farmer, charlie Lawson, he not only killed his wife, but he killed all but one of his seven children. Oh, did that just happen? No, 1929, oh, 19, because there was one like that last year, remember? Yeah, nope, this one, this one is so weird, okay, so he, mind you, was a tobacco farmer in 1929, so they're not like raking in the money, I mean, they're getting by. But just days before the murders he got the family together for an expensive family photo shoot and, like, bought them all brand new outfits and had this photo shoot done new outfits and had this photo shoot done, um, which some people believe that he like premeditated getting those photos done prior to him killing his family. That's fucking sick, yeah. So there's well, I'll get into that in a minute.
Speaker 1:So, lawson or Charlie, he hid behind the barn on Christmas and ambushed two of his daughters, who was 8 and 12 years old, by shooting them with a rifle and then bludgeoning them and then bludgeoning them. Then he walked towards the house where he killed his wife on the porch and then hunted down his eldest daughter. And when the two youngest sons, who were two and four, they heard his sister scream, they went and took off hiding and they were still found and killed, oh. And they were still found and killed, oh. Then he finally murdered his four-month-old daughter, mary Lou oh my God. And bludgeoned her to death, oh my God. And the only sole survivor of the massacre was his son, arthur, who was 19. He had gone into town for extra ammunition after their morning hunt. So Charlie, the dad, and Arthur, the son, went hunting that morning, oh my God. And then sent his son on a run to go get more ammo, which clearly he didn't need, because he just needed him gone for whatever reason like it makes no sense to me why you would kill six of your seven children, like leave one living.
Speaker 1:I think that's even well. I would rather die of that, like if I was a surviving last sibling, I would feel so guilty, I'd want to die. I would have wanted to die. I wouldn't want to be without my whole entire family. Yeah, that's fucked. That's like living a nightmare every fucking day. You have to wake up and remember that all your family is gone. Yep, because you're your own dad, correct?
Speaker 1:And the thing is is like I I was talking to a guy about this story last night and he was like well, was there problems on the farm, like financially? Is that why he left his oldest son unharmed so he could take over the farm? I have done my research, I can. I mean, this happened in 1929, yeah, so I can't find out a whole lot other than arthur did pass away in his mid 30s or 40s in a car accident, left behind a wife and four children. But I couldn't find out really what the reasoning is why he murdered. His family just snapped. But there is some like speculation. So some say that he had a head injury, but that doesn't make any sense because John Hopkins Hospital like dissected his brain and they found no abnormalities. Huh. But the other rumor is that he impregnated his 17-year-old daughter and the mother found out. Oh well, that would be motive Correct. So, um, it's just pretty much saying oh.
Speaker 1:And then the weirdest part is is everyone was found with their arms crossed and rocks underneath their head. Well, there's usually rocks on tombs. We looked that up. What's the symbolism? I don't know. But why would you put rocks under the deceased's heads? Maybe that's like their tomb, maybe. So I mean, he took the time to do that. Look it up while you're reading, okay. So then the most fucked up part is is the brother decided to make the house into a museum and the cake that was made the morning of christmas by I believe it was the oldest daughter people that were coming to the house to go on tour started stealing raisins off of this cake as souvenirs. That's fucked up. The son made the house into a museum. Yeah, no, not the son, the brother of Charlie. Why would you make that house into a fucking museum? Because of all the murder, I don't know.
Speaker 1:Murdermobilia. Killers might place rocks under a victim's head as a form of post-mortem manipulation or to stage a scene, potentially to obscure the victim's identity, make the discovery more gruesome, inflict further psychological distress on the victim's family, or simply as a symbolic act related to the killer's twisted mindset. However, this practice is not universally common among killers and should be interpreted on a case-by-case basis, with careful consideration of the specific crime scene details. Okay, interesting, what a sick book. Yeah, so those are like the three big Christmas massacres that I was able to find.
Speaker 1:The last one, like I said, is probably the more famous out of all of them. Like I said, there was a song even made. We'll have to. I'll have to listen to that later. Um, yeah, you should. It's um, doc Watson, huh, and it's called the Lawson Family Murder. Well, I pulled. Do you want me to put this up on the higher screen so you can read off this? Yeah, or do you want it down on this screen? Uh, no, that one's okay. Is that one good? Yeah, after you're done? No, that one's okay. Is that one good? Yeah, after you're done. So do you want to talk about Christmas lore or do you want me to just tell you I found some really cool things on Christmas songs, like totally off the subject, but I just wanted to share. Do whatever you want. Yeah, okay, let's hear it.
Speaker 1:Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is supposedly written about a dying wife. Uh-huh is supposedly written about a dying wife. Uh-huh. So allegedly it was claimed that May had written the story for his daughter to cheer her up because her mother was dying of cancer, though that's not quite true, though. Although May's wife was sick with cancer and did eventually pass away. The writer of the song said it was written purely for money. That was it. Wow, I didn't know that the song I'll Be Home for Christmas was written by a World War II soldier fighting overseas. Aw, not sure if they would ever make a home for christmas again. That's sad, yeah, um, let's see. Oh, and then jingle bells. I don't know if you saw on tiktok, but they were trying to say it was like a racist song. I think I did see that. Yeah, I did my, and that is false. So fuck you, tiktok, for having me believe this story, because I was so excited to share it on the podcast. Misleading information, and yeah, I can't even tell you because it was misleading, but apparently it was a very racist song. Huh.
Speaker 1:So now we're going to talk about. We have santa here, but let's talk about some of the other christmas lores that we have? Is this crumpus in there? Of course crumpus is in there. I'm crumpus. How can you not include crumpus? I love crumpus. Okay, so a lot of these are European. Oh yeah, I just seen something on TikTok too. In Europe they do it big for Christmas, like they have Krampus-like creatures. Yes, and it's ridding the bad energy and bringing in the new energy. Okay, yeah, we should go to Europe one year for Christmas. That'd be cool as hell. I guess I'll do Krampus first. We should go to Europe one year for Christmas. That'd be cool as hell. I guess I'll do Krampus first.
Speaker 1:So Krampus, whose name derives from the German word krampen, meaning claw, is a half goat, half demon, half man monster hailing from the eastern alpine region of Europe. Krampus is rumored to punish children who have been naughty on the evening of December 5th, also known as Krumpusnack. I probably mispronounced that, but he whips them, he eats them, he drags them to hell, these poor kids. But his counterpart, st Nicholas, will then gift children who have been good on the following day, known as the Feast of St Nicholas. So the night before December 6th, kids would put a boot outside. Good kids got treats and bad kids got whispers, dark shadows moving in their room, the hearing of his chains and being beat with birch branches or taken to hell. Moving in their room, the hearing of his chains and being beat with birch branches or taken to hell. Yeah, krumpus doesn't play around. I love that guy, yeah, and celebrations involving the two began, began, began.
Speaker 1:Wow, can't talk. You don't even smoke your cannabis yet. I know, you know what. Maybe that's what I need to do. All right, I'm going to ask you a serious question, because you know that I have to try a new joint every time.
Speaker 1:I have a podcast, okay, and they're both by High Minded. One is called Deep Breath and the other one's called Waffle Cone. I need a lot of Deep Breath because of my anxiety lately. So you want to try Deep Breath today? Is that infused? No, these are both flour, just 100% flour. Yeah, I'll try the Deep Breath one.
Speaker 1:Okay, you know we're just over here like red noses, like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, with our colds. You know typicaligan people. Yep, oh, that smells like old school weed it is. This is why I really like this brand. I know I like having it just flower and not infused. It still does the job. Yeah, it's probably because you're not used to it. I've been smoking a lot of just plain flour lately. The infused makes me cough so much. The infused makes me a little weird. All right, I feel much better. That's yummy. Now you can talk right Now. Let's try again, okay, okay, so we have this. It's called bells nickel.
Speaker 1:Have you ever heard of him? Um, he, or his origin is in the palatinate region, which is like southwestern germany, which I was surprised. A lot of these lore, mystical creatures, a lot of them come from germany. Yeah, I don't doubt it. And like pagan or other pre-christian traditions, legends of these mythical beings who emerged during the long nights around the solstice to dole out more extreme punishments to those who aren't on their best behavior.
Speaker 1:Tomorrow's a full new moon in the solstice, I think, isn't it? Oh, is it? Yeah, and then I posted that you and Patty liked it because you guys are Gemini's. Yeah, technically, I'm Gemini rising, rising, so I'm right there with you. I know there's Gemini Rising, rising, so I'm right there with you. I know there's Gemini Showers, oh, fuck, tomorrow's Friday the 13th, I know. Oh, I just realized that. And guess when? We're going ghost hunting Tonight, tonight, yeah, we have to go tonight.
Speaker 1:Fuck, sleep, we can sleep when we die Abso-fucking-lutely, even though I love to sleep sometimes in the winter. Well, I'll drive, and then you can take a little nappy-shwappy on the way home, like you normally do, or I'll drive, because you drove the last couple times. Yeah, I don't mind. Whatever you want, this is your night princess. Oh, princess, now she's Princess Layla, because she has space buns. That's because I didn't feel like washing my hair today. Your space buns look cute on you, though I could never pull space buns off. Thank you, do you think you could pull a shave side like this? No, but you can. You're like a fucking rock star. We do have our own little styles, don't we? Yeah, we do, okay, so Bell's Nickel is a German monster.
Speaker 1:I told you, that's what I meant. That's why I brought this over for you, girl. Oh, you're the best. She's simply the best, better than all the rest. Belt it out, girl. You don't want me to, no more, all right.
Speaker 1:So Bels bells nickel is a german monster who visits children to whip them into shape as a foil to jolly saint. Nicholas. Bell's nickel name came from the word bells, an older german word for fur, and nickel as a nod to Saint Nicholas. So he wears a mask and he is dressed in defers, but they're like tattered clothes. So he's like Teemu, teemu, santa Claus, no, he homeless. Looking yeah, teemu, Okay. Or Wish, yeah, okay, yeah. He's looking a little wishy, okay. Or wish, yeah, okay, yeah, he's looking a little wishy, and he's said to visit alone and quiz children before deciding to either reward them with a gift or punish them with a wooden rod. Oh my God, good kids got desserts to mix nuts, but if kids take it too fast, they'll be beaten with a stick. And then bad kids, yeah, they're just beaten, oh my God.
Speaker 1:And the weird thing is, you know, for us living in the United States and us obviously knowing the state of Pennsylvania, I have never heard of Bell's Nickel, but it actually originated around the Middle Ages and is now well known across Pennsylvania Thanks to the German immigrants who moved to the area, also known as the Pennsylvania Dutch oh. So that makes a lot of sense why Pennsylvania is so fucking weird and why there is oh. They follow a lot of their German tradition. Well, a lot of Pennsylvania is so fucking weird. And why there's oh. They follow a lot of their German tradition. Well, a lot of Pennsylvania is haunted. And even like the Amish in Pennsylvania. They're very superstitious. Yeah, we have this one.
Speaker 1:Have you ever heard of the Yule Lads? Yule, that must have been what I've seen on TikTok too. Some girl did a whole episode on all this. Yeah, they're creepy. Yeah, they're fucking creepy. That's what I was telling you. That looks like they're like monsters. Yeah, they're almost like trolls Like trolls. Yeah, that's what that video? Yep, I'm so glad you're doing this, because I've seen that a couple days ago and I'm like, wow, this is really interesting, it really is. And then you brought this. So you guys remind you, she comes over blindsides me. She doesn't tell me what it's on, because it's so much more fun that way. It is, it's exciting. That's why I want them to know. I didn't know that you were going to do this. Yeah, all right.
Speaker 1:So the Yule Lads, their parents and their cat the origin is in Iceland. So the Yule Lads are 13 mischievous boys or as I like to call them, trolls, boys, or as I like to call them trolls each with a distinct name and description, who causes mayhem in the 13 days leading up to Christmas. They dwell in a mountainous cave with their parents and a cat. Their dad is lazy and stays in the cave, but their mom, grilla, is a giant who seeks out naughty children to add to her stew. Ew, okay, their cat's name. I'm going to totally mispronounce it, but it's such a fun name to try saying Jola Katarinen. Jola Katarinen, okay, got it. But it's also known as the Yule cat. So we'll just say that the yule cat is a giant black cat who lurks the countryside to devour anyone who isn't wearing new clothes. Um, and when I was saying that, like um, each of the boys have like their own mischief mayhem. Some of them have different personalities, like one licks spoons, one steals milk from sheep right here, one steals sausages, another slams any door they can find.
Speaker 1:The Yule Lad's first written mention was in a 17th century poem and in 1746, the Icelandic government banned parents from telling scary stories about them to their kids. Today they have a merrier Condemnation and are said to have come down from the mountains To celebrate and entertain. But they were so scary at one time that it was banned to talk about them. Wow, because people had PTSD. See, these are the. See, I didn't write down their names Because you can see how hard they are to pronounce.
Speaker 1:I did not want but each of the 13 Yule's, or they call them like the 13 Santa's, starts on December 12th. That's what I'm reading. And each okay, yep, each Yule does something different on a different day. Yeah, that's cool. I never heard about these. So they still decorate. They probably, like in pennsylvania, they probably have these as like little figurines. Iceland this one's in iceland. Where pennsylvania what did you? Pennsylvania was? Bell bells, nickel bells, nickel, that's right. Okay, this one's iceland.
Speaker 1:Okay, you've heard of krampus, but have you heard of frau perchta? No, okay, or they sometimes just call her birchta. Oh, it's a woman. Yes, she is an origin from alpine austria and germany. Like I said, a lot of these are Germans, so Frau Perchta is also considered like a goddess of nature. She's a goddess of the Alpine paganism in the early Middle Ages.
Speaker 1:She's associated with Bertentag, or the Feast of the Epiphany, which takes place on the 12th night after Christmas, on January 6th. She's a shapeshifter, so some people see her well. Her name means bright one, but depending on your behavior, she's going to come at you in two different ways. She's either going to come at you looking like a bright, youthful woman or a scary, older witch with a long beaked nose. One large foot. The other foot is either a goose or a swan foot or a swan foot. Tattered clothes and a knife underneath her skirt.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, frau Perchte is known to torment people who didn't properly celebrate the 12 days of Christmas. Wow, if you spun yarn on a holiday or didn't feast properly, frau Perchte is said to come to your house While you sleep, slit your belly, rip out your guts and replace them with straw, pebbles and garbage, ew. And to properly feast. You know what they had to feast? On Fish and gruel. What's gruel?
Speaker 1:Gruel is like from the Middle Ages. It's like a soup. Because they're so warm, it's like a form of soup. What's in it, though? Look it up. I don't honestly know what's all in gruel. All I know is it's how do you spell it? G-r-u-e-l Gruel food. Okay, e l gruel food.
Speaker 1:Okay, gruel is a thin cooked cereal made by boiling a grain, like I was gonna say. It's like oatmeal. Yeah, oats, cornmeal, wheat, rye or rice in water or milk. It's thinner version of porridge, and it's often drunk rather than eaten. Yeah, it's supposed's supposed to be eaten. Yeah, that doesn't sound too too bad. Well, you, let me know how that fishing gruel is before December or January 6th. Oh, you know what it is. It's like grits. It's like grits. Yeah, that's gross. Ew, oh, thank you, and I hate fish. So she's coming at me as an old fucking hag. So I'm an old hag. If I ate that, no, if you eat it, she'll come to you as a beautiful woman. Oh, then I'm going to and you're gonna go as an old hag. So our next one oh, she's getting witchy, witchy Nissa, which is spelled N-I-S-S-E. So it's either Nissy, but I've been reading it as Nissa.
Speaker 1:Origin Norway this one is Christmas, but it's not. It is in Norway, I think, I said. But it's kind of what we would think of as a gnome. It's a tiny bearded man wearing a red cone-shaped hat. In the year 1200, a Swedish man found a six-inch wooden statue depicting one of the fishermen's house in Norway with the words Nysa Riktig Storis, which translates to Nysa Correct Size.
Speaker 1:They like to stay around the farm and help with chores. In return, they request a bowl of porridge with butter on top. If they don't get that, they will wreck havoc. Um, so they're kind of like a guardian to farmers and livestock and they live in a barn and if they don't feel, they'll play tricks on you by hiding your tools and causing minor accidents.
Speaker 1:And when this one, nisei or Nisa, got no butter on his Christmas porridge, it's saying it's a tale about a girl putting butter on the bottom of a necessities porridge instead of the top. So when he saw the porridge, he got upset and killed the farm's best cow and then came back to eat the porridge. But upon discovering the butter was at the bottom, he felt sorry, stole the neighbor's best cow to replace the one he killed. So if you're a farmer, you need to set out porridge with butter on top. Troll the neighbor's best cow to replace the one he killed. Who gives a fuck about people? So if you're a farmer, you need to set out porridge with butter on top Every day, every Christmas.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's easy. Why didn't they just do it? Well, they should. But learn to put the butter on top and not on the fucking bottom, and you won't get your cow killed, or yourself, right, yeah, or yourself. Oh for fucking butter Butter, baby, you would be one of those gnomes. Oh, hell, yeah, I would be. Or it would be like they put something where the food touches together. Oh, I'm going to wreak fucking havoc. You can't let that food touch, wreak havoc. She's wrecking and wreaking havoc. You can't let that food touch. Reek havoc. She's rocking and reeking havoc. So this one was kind of cool.
Speaker 1:His name is Hans Trapp and this is actually based on a real guy. The real guy's name is Hans von Trappna. He is also known as the cannibal scarecrow, or scarecrow, part of an old German empire. Hans Trapp, also known as the Christmas scarecrow, was derived from the real story of a knight, hans von Trotha. Von Trotha lived in the 1400s and got into arguments with the Catholic Church over property, which eventually led him being excommunicated. So what does he do? He destroys a dam that floods the entire village. Damn, didn't that just happen up by Aunt Connie's place? Oh, I'm good. And they said he made a pact with the devil, and that's another reason why the Catholic Church excommunicated him.
Speaker 1:So the legend is that the sorry she's playing with the. I was going to have it go down, but then I had to put it back on. Sorry guys, she's playing around with my microphone. No, I didn't, I had to bring the desk up. Oh, that was the desk, not the microphone. Yeah, the desk moves. Okay, well, it looks like. Yeah, the desk moves. Okay. Well, it looks like that moved. And I'm not that high yet it's got a motor on it. That's awesome. Oh, that's great.
Speaker 1:So the legend of Hans Trapp was that he was a greedy man who was exiled for working with the devil to get more wealthy. While exiled, he disguised himself as a scarecrow and snatched up children to eat. He then got struck by a lightning bolt and died, but is said to reappear in a scarecrow attire at Christmas time, preying on naughty children for food. Oh, wow. And then I have one more tonight that I want to talk about, and I think that is there was more than what I thought there was, but I thought these ones were probably the most interesting.
Speaker 1:I guess it's just crazy when you think about, like, how many different countries believe in similar things but they have different characters portrayed. I don't know, it's just. Well, it's kind of like how everyone looks at the Bible. Yeah, you know what I mean. It's all similar tales, just different names and different. Europe seems to be a little darker. Well, you have to understand. They went through the Middle Ages, the plagues, the. We had plagues here. Yeah, we did. But I'm just saying like they were so much more superstitious and wanted to believe in teaching their children, like of these bad things that could happen if you don't pay Darker, yeah, whereas here in the United States we don't do that shit.
Speaker 1:We're soft parenting here. I guess, yeah, we are. Are we got fucking Santa? Yeah, we gotta be harder, though I will say I have a crumpet spell. My husband. All he has to say is where's that bell at? And both kids are like no, it's like dude, we're gonna ring that bell and crumpus is coming get your asses, oh my god.
Speaker 1:So the last one is the calicanarios calicanceros, that's how I looked it up, how to pronounce it. I'm gonna spell it just so you can see how hard it is. It's k-a-l-L-I-K-A-N-T-Z-A-R-O-I. Wow, but okay, greece is from Greece and Southeastern Europe. They were a group of blind black goblins who lived underground during most of the year, sawing at the world tree, and the world tree brings out apocalypses, various folklores that connect the heavens to the earth. They emerged during the 12 days of Christmas above ground to wreak havoc and turn children born during that time into fellow calicancerous.
Speaker 1:So if you want to protect your child, you bind them in straw and garlic, and if you want to protect your house, try keeping a fire burning and place a colander. You know what a colander is for, like cooking, yeah, you place it a strainer, you put it outside your door and the reason is they'll get distracted trying to count the number of holes, because they can only count up to two, because three is a holy number. Oh, wow, so real quick, because I know we're getting at the end of our minutes. You can also burn old shoes and chimneys to keep them out, but at night they'll lure people into the woods, using voices of their lost loved ones, then jumping on backs and doing their bidding, carrying them through the woods at night, hitting, scratching or lashing with their tails. If no one goes into the forest, they come to your house and they try to go down chimneys, open doors and windows, eat your food, destroy your furniture or urinate in your cabinets. If you encounter one of these, you will be driven mad by the goblin's laugh and red eyes and then, january 6th, they return underground. All right, you guys.
Speaker 1:So let's just talk about like the American pagan. Like, if you decorate your christmas tree or you decorate with festive lights, you're pagan. Yes, now tell them about what we see. I seen it on tiktok. I don't know if you read on it the upside down. Yeah, that's how it originally was was to hang it upside down. Um, did you just find out about that? Though, too, I've known for a while, but I honestly can't recall the reasoning. See, I thought it was for cats. Okay, no, I mean like modern day, so that the cats don't Right, because they sell them upside down now? Oh, do they? But that's what that girl was saying. That that's not why it was for cats, that's not how it started, right?
Speaker 1:And then the Yule Log. Yeah, the Yule Log that just burns as a symbol of the festival, the winter festival, bonfires and candles. It was a pagan culture to have light in the darkness, mistletoes and mistletoes. That was pre-Christian Yup. And then, and now you got, you know everyone. Oh, kiss under the mistletoe, the mistletoe. I never really did understand that. I was like why I hated it. I want a kiss underneath of a thorn, a rose thorn, bush, what? Or like the throats or, I'm sorry, thorns of jesus. Oh yeah, all like biblical. Oh god, all right.
Speaker 1:So the church in rome began celebrating christmas on december 25th in the fourth century, possibly to weaken pagan traditions. However, christian missionaries were fascinated by the customs and beliefs of the pagans and adapted some of them into Christian celebrations. So they were pretty much diminishing the pagan beliefs of the gods, yeah, yeah, transferring some of the ideologies and ideas that they still liked, and they fitted it into the Christian story, right, all right, you guys, thank you. Thank you so much for listening tonight. Yes, having me on, and I cannot wait for next month's episode. I'm already starting to work on which will be next. Next month, oh shit. Next year, next year, 2025, baby. So she'll be talking to you guys next year and you guys remember, you can always email us at ghost sisters 21 24 at gmail Again, that's ghost sisters 2124 at gmailcom.
Speaker 1:Please give us a shout out, tell us how we're doing, what you think, what we could do better. We can take constructive criticism. Were you going to say competition? We could have a competition on here and you guys might win a prize. Maybe we should think about doing something like that. Well, let's talk about it on the next episode. Maybe we have like the best ghost story, that the best ghost story, the best, somebody punking somebody with a ghost story, oh yeah, and then a ghost story that's went wrong, like went south. Yes, what do you guys think we should do? But thank you again for listening. Have a great night. And, since I won't talk to you guys, happy holidays and happy new year. Thank you, carissa. Thanks for coming on. All right, you guys. Again thank you for listening. Tune in for some more. Thanks for watching.
