Belsnickel, the Christmas Wild Man

Episode 60: For our holiday episode, Timothy and Alison talk Belsnickel, the wild man of Pennsylvania Christmastime. Much fiercer and stranger than a simple proto-Santa Claus figure, Belsnickel was called a "bad faerie" and "half-man, half-beast" - which came from the forest at night to haunt children. Timothy and Alison read multiple historical accounts of the frightening Belsnickel smacking walls, peeking in windows, speaking in unknown languages, and generally behaving like a bigfoot creature. Timothy also presents an old song and a poem about Belsnickel uncovered in the research for this episode. If you would like to help us continue to make Strange Familiars, get bonus content, t-shirts, stickers, and more rewards, you can become a patron: http://www.patreon.com/StrangeFamiliars Check out the Strange Familiars ebay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/strangefamiliars Strange Familiars t-shirts and other designs are available here: https://www.teepublic.com/user/darkhollerarts Episode 60 notes and links: The cover art is by Timothy. These are some of Timothy's Belsnickel miniature paintings (all of these are sold - but more are on the way. If you are interested in purchasing an original Belsnickel painting contact us.) Intro by Clint Granberry of OK Talk: https://oktalk.podbean.com Moritz Maier and Jerry Drake helped with the translation of the Belsnickel song and Cody Dickerson pointed us to the Belsnickel poem. Timothy’s books: https://www.amazon.com/Timothy-Renner/e/B072X44SD5 Sarada: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtBySarada Michael Anderson: https://drekka.bandcamp.com Alison: https://www.etsy.com/shop/odpeacock Contact us via email at: [email protected] http://www.facebook.com/strangefamiliars Join the Strange Familiars Gathering group on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/strangefamiliars/ instagram: @strangefamiliars http://www.strangefamiliars.com Intro and background music by Stone Breath. You can find more at http://stonebreath.bandcamp.com All of the music in this episode and the closing song is by Timothy - from the Belsnickel album: https://stonebreath.bandcamp.com/album/belsnickel Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/strange-familiars/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices