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Today on Ghost Bites, Mike and JT check into "America's Most Haunted Hotel," the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Mike details the hotel's notorious mid-life crisis when it was taken over by the charismatic but fraudulent "Dr." Norman Baker, who ran it as an experimental cancer hospital in the late 1930s. Mike covers the discovery of hundreds of bottles containing Baker's "cure-all" potions and, grotesquely, human tissue. Crucially, Mike includes the festive, yet chilling, ghost story of the Grand Christmas Tree that was inexplicably moved across the dining room during the holiday season. JT critiques Baker's fashion sense (a white linen suit and purple shirt), breaks down the sheer terror of a hospital using the basement kitchen as a morgue, and analyzes the spirits left behind, from the falling stonemason Michael to the ever-helpful cancer patient Theodora.
Sources
● Historic Hotels of America.
● Crescent Hotel & Spa. (2021,
● US Ghost Adventures. (2022,
● Travel Eureka Springs. (n.d.). America's Most Haunted Hotel - Nightly Ghost
● Crescent Hotel & Spa. (2023,
● Crescent Hotel & Spa. (n.d.). Haunted Hotel. Retrieved from https://crescent-hotel.com/things-to-do/ghosts/
● Smithsonian Magazine. (2018,
● Crescent Hotel & Spa. (n.d.). America's Most Haunted Hotel - Crescent
● YouTube. (2022, October 31). The truly haunted history of the Crescent
● Crescent Hotel & Spa. (n.d.). Americas Most Haunted Hotel Archives.
● Crescent Hotel & Spa. (2024,
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Today on Ghost Bites, Mike and JT check into Bramshill House in Hampshire, England, reputedly one of the country's most haunted stately homes with over 14 specters. Mike details the house's magnificent Jacobean history, its famous owners (including a Lord Zouche and an
Sources
● Burials & Beyond. (2019,
● Cope Collection. (2018, October
● House and Heritage. (2018, June
● US Ghost Adventures. (n.d.). The Bramshill House Bride. Retrieved
● Wikipedia. (n.d.). Bramshill House. Retrieved October 14,
● Wikipedia. (n.d.). Legend of the Mistletoe Bough. Retrieved
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Welcome to Brew Crime News!
This episode will end our 2025 Podcast year! Listen to todays news, once monthly. New episodes back in February. Happy New Year!
Sources
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Bluesky
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Today on Ghost Bites, Mike and JT venture to
Sources
● J. M. (2021, December 1). The Yule Cat of Iceland: A Different Kind of
● Nordic Visitor. (n.d.). Christmas in Iceland with the Yule Lads.
● Smithsonian Magazine. (2016,
● US Ghost Adventures. (n.d.). The Legend of the Yule Cat. Retrieved
● Wikipedia. (n.d.). Yule cat. Retrieved October 9, 2025,
● ZME Science. (2024, December 17). The Yule Cat: Forget Santa, Embrace the Dark
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Today on Ghost Bites, Mike and JT venture into the folklore of southwestern Germany and the American tradition of the Pennsylvania Dutch to meet Belsnickel. Mike details Belsnickel's unique role as a pre-Christmas judge who travels alone, dressed in ragged furs, wielding both
Sources
● Uncharted Lancaster. (2024,
● VisitPAAmericana. (2019, December
● Wikipedia. (n.d.). Belsnickel. Retrieved October 9, 2025,
● WITF. (2023, December 20). Who is Belsnickel in Pennsylvania Dutch
● Woot & Hammy. (n.d.). Krampus, Santa's Other Little Helper, and
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Brew Crime is back as we cover our new series Hate Crimes. Mike tells you about the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
Sources
● American Civil Liberties Union of
● Associated Press. (2020). Ahmaud
● Associated Press. (2020). In his
● BlackPast. (n.d.). Ahmaud Arbery
● Courthouse News Service. (2021).
● Equal Justice Initiative (EJI).
● Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB).
● PBS NewsHour. (2022). All 3
● PBS NewsHour. (2022). Analyzing
● PBS NewsHour. (2022). Man who
● PBS NewsHour. (2023). Jury sworn
● PBS NewsHour. (n.d.). FBI expert
● Rothstein, P. F., & Coleman,
● Stanford Law School. (2022).
● Stanford Law School. (2022).
● U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
● U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
● U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
● Weldon, R. (2022). Citizen’s
● Wikipedia. (n.d.). Murder of
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Today on Ghost Bites, Mike and JT venture into the chilling, pre-Christian folklore of the Alpine regions to confront Perchta (or Frau Berchta), the dual-natured winter goddess. Mike details her terrifying role as the "Belly-Slitter," who roams the countryside during the Twelve Days of Christmas to enforce social and domestic order. Perchta's punishment for the lazy is grotesque: she cuts open their stomachs, removes their guts, and replaces them with straw and pebbles. JT critiques the sheer insanity of using organ-removal as a domestic punishment, questions the logistics of the
Source
● Morris, S. (2014, December 22). Perchta and the 12 Days of Christmas (Part
● Myth Perchta. (n.d.). Perchta.Tirol. Retrieved October 9,
● Smithsonian Magazine. (2024,
● VICE. (2018, December 20). Meet Christmas Goddess Perchta, a
● Wikipedia. (n.d.). Perchta. Retrieved October 9, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perchta
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Today on Ghost Bites, Mike and JT take a deep dive into Scandinavian folklore to examine the Tomte (or Nisse), the diminutive, yet fiercely powerful, homestead spirit. Mike details the Tomte's essential job—protecting the farm and livestock—and his simple, non-negotiable
Sources
● Hafstein, V. (2018). The Tomte/Nisse. In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Scandinavian Literature and Mythology.
● Nordiska museet. (n.d.). Tomten i folktron. Retrieved October 9,
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Brew Crime is back as we cover our new series Hate Crimes. JT tells you about Dehumanization of Immigrant Children at the US Border.
Sources
phr.org
factcheck.org
immigrantjustice.org
americanimmigrationcouncil.org
ebsco.com
hrw.org
fpg.unc.edu
aclu.org
cfr.org
womensrefugeecommission.org
justice.gov
csusb.edu
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You can support us on Patreon! 🎧
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Go to https://linktr.ee/ghostbites to follow the podcast on its feed and hear other seasons.
Description
Today on Ghost Bites, Mike and JT take a festive, yet deeply unsettling, trip to Iceland to explore the folklore of the 13 Yule Lads (Jólasveinar). Mike details the Lads' evolution from child-eating trolls to modern gift-givers, and introduces their cannibalistic mother, Grýla, and the giant, garment-obsessed Yule Cat. JT dissects the sheer absurdity of their crimes—from Spoon Licking to Skyr Gobbling—and critiques the administrative chaos of having thirteen Santas. It's a hilarious look at a holiday tradition that proves sometimes, the best way to get children to behave is still a credible threat of a rotten potato.
Sources
● Arctic Portal. (n.d.). The thirteen Icelandic Yule Lads.
● Arctic Portal. (n.d.). Icelandic Yule Lads. Retrieved from https://arcticportal.org/x-mas
● Gale, T. (n.d.). The Yule Lads History. Retrieved from https://icelandicyulelads.com/yule-lads-timeline/
● Icelandair. (n.d.). Christmas in Iceland: The Yule Lads.
● Icelandic Christmas folklore.
● Nordic Visitor. (n.d.). Christmas in Iceland with the Yule Lads.
● WorldStrides. (n.d.). Iceland's 13 Yule Lads. Retrieved from https://worldstrides.com/en-us/teachers/how-it-works/blog/icelands-13-yule-lads
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