Episode Overview

Podcast: And That's Why We Drink
Hosts: Christine Schiefer & Em (Emma) Schulz
Episode: E458 "Rat Slaps and Sklorching Demons"
Date: November 16, 2025

This episode kicks off with Christine and Em’s signature blend of conversational banter, true crime, and the paranormal. After a cozy catch-up on weather and travel, plus humorous sticker- and tchotchke-based bonding, they dive into two main stories: the haunted "Nameless Thing of Berkeley Square" in London, and the mysterious disappearance & identity saga of Bobby Dunbar. Along the way, the hosts share personal stories, challenge each other's sticker organization skills, reminisce about chaotic childhood card games, and call out the judgmental media of the early 1900s.

Key Discussions & Insights

1. Catch-Up & Sticker Obsession

Timestamps:

• [03:07] - Podcast begins

• [12:40] - Sticker Book Discussion

• Christine and Em open the show discussing winter weather and travel plans, notably Christine’s upcoming trip to Hawaii and the incongruity of snowy pre-Thanksgiving weather. Christine shares parenting stories about her daughter Leona’s excitement for snow.

• Em describes a recent personal victory: organizing years' worth of travel stickers and pins, and the psychological relief of decluttering. The conversation becomes an ode to sticker collecting, pin organization (thanks to Disney pin binders), and the joy of physical memorabilia from podcast tours.

• Notable Quote: “If you need something to do on your plane, I’m telling you, buy a sticker book today – there was nothing more serene.” – Em ([15:21])

• After a deep dive into categorizing stickers (tour, nostalgia, spooky, fandom, miscellaneous), Christine and Em share tips and frustrations about storing odd-sized bumper stickers, as well as gift-giving mishaps.

2. Childhood Card Game Trauma & Laughter

Timestamps:

• [24:39] - Deck of Cryptid Cards

• [25:02] - Card Game Memories

• Em’s new deck of cryptid-themed playing cards inspires a trip down memory lane as they discuss favorite (and least favorite) card games. Egyptian Rat Screw comes up, sparking a tangent on how sibling rivalries turn games violent.

• Notable Quote: “You’re supposed to slap the pile, not slap each other.” – Christine ([25:51])

• Em recalls being the bullied younger sibling and being “five starred in the face” during supposed games. The hosts exchange laughter about card games gone wrong, including ‘spoons’ and Kemps.

3. Story #1: The Nameless Thing of Berkeley Square (London)

Timestamps:

• [34:21] - Story Begins
• [55:09] - Possible Origins Discussed

Summary:

• Address: 50 Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London.
• It’s a four-story townhouse built in 1740 with a reputation as “the most haunted house in London.”
• Early reports: In the 1820s, PM George Canning complained of nightmares and odd sounds; local legend quickly grew.
• Recurring sightings include:
  • The ghost of Adeline (a girl who fell from a window to escape abuse) seen clinging to a windowsill ([36:34]).
  • A boy locked in the attic who supposedly went insane.
  • Another girl killed by a servant, seen skipping in the halls or even on nearby streets.
• Physical phenomena: Loud, strange noises, phantom sights, poltergeist activity.

Famous Incidents:

• 1840: Death of Robert Warboys

  • A skeptical 20-year-old, dared into spending a night in the haunted room, is found dead, pistol in hand, face “contorted in horror.” He’d fired his gun at “something” unseen ([46:44]).
  • The event cemented the legend of the “nameless thing,” which supposedly scares victims to death.
  • Notable quote: “Sir Robert was wedged in the corner of the room, the still smoking pistol caught in the white-knuckled grip of his fear-contorted corpse.” – Christine, reading a historical source ([47:13])

• 1843: The Drunken Sailors

  • Two sailors, after a night of drinking, sneak in to sleep in the empty house. One, feeling uneasy, awakens to wet, dragging footsteps and a shadow. The “thing” attacks, ending in one sailor dead with a broken neck and horrified expression ([53:05]).
  • Some versions claim he was thrown out the window onto a fence post.

• Nature of the Entity:

  • Its form is never consistent—described as a shadow, a mist, an amorphous blob, or a nightmarish octopus- or squid-like creature with tentacles.

  • The card that inspired Em’s story depicts tentacles invading a Victorian scene, leading to a long discussion on possible cryptid origins.

  • Notable quote: “The walls of the house are found saturated with electric horror.” – quoted by Em from a source ([69:02])

• Modern Era:

  • Now the site of “Mags Brothers Antique Bookshop”; the top floor (former haunted room) is off-limits, even to staff, due to a police edict from the 1950s.
  • Employees still report dragging noises, smells, windows slamming shut, and period-dressed figures in the windows.
  • Notable quote: “The Nameless Thing: a vile, phantasmagorical killer from beyond the grave.” – contemporary newspaper ([72:04])

Tone & Highlights:
Em delivers the tale with delighted shudders and dark humor, riffing on old-timey adjectives (“unadulterated poppycock!” at [43:16]) and poking fun at Victorian ghost lore.

4. Story #2: The Disappearance and Mystery of Bobby Dunbar

Timestamps:

• [76:26] - Story Begins
• [112:12] - Historical Analysis

Overview:

• In 1912, four-year-old Bobby Dunbar vanishes while his middle-class family vacations at a Louisiana lake. Initial searches (including dynamiting the lake and dissecting local alligators) fail to find him.

  • Notable moment: “They found remains, but only of a deer … then they put a straw hat in the water for hours to see if it would float.” ([81:05])

• Eight months later, a traveling piano tuner named William Walters is arrested in Mississippi for traveling with a boy who locals suspect is Bobby.

  • Walters claims the boy is “Bruce Anderson,” the illegitimate son of Julia Anderson, whom he'd taken by permission.
  • Julia, a working-class woman, comes to identify her son but, in a press stunt, isn’t sure—possibly overwhelmed and after a year of separation. She later confirms upon private time that he is her son.
  • Meanwhile, the wealthy Dunbars, after some ambiguous initial meetings, claim the boy is theirs—with press and community support.

• The media turns the mothers into archetypes: good churchgoing Lesie Dunbar vs. “plain,” “coarse country woman” Julia Anderson. Julia is publicly shamed for being unmarried, having multiple children, and lacking social standing ([93:21]).

  • Notable quote from an early 1900s news article: “Animals don’t forget, but this big, coarse country woman, several times a mother, she forgot.” – Em, reading in disbelief ([98:25])

• The identified “Bobby Dunbar” is raised by the Dunbars, has a family, and lives until 1966. Julia Anderson’s family maintains for generations that it was their Bruce taken from them.

Resolution (Modern Twist):

• In 2004, the Dunbar and Anderson descendants agree to DNA testing. Results show the boy raised as “Bobby Dunbar” is biologically unrelated to the Dunbar family.
• No test is done to match him to Julia Anderson’s line, but it’s widely presumed he was Bruce Anderson.
  • Notable quote: “The results proved definitively that the boy raised as Bobby Dunbar was not an iota biologically related to the Dunbar family.” – Christine ([107:40])
• Both families are left with generational grief and pride, and the case becomes a cautionary tale of class, media bias, and the power of collective belief.

Host Tone:
Christine and Em passionately critique the historic media’s cruelty, dwell on the poignancy of mistaken identity, and discuss how emotional need, environment, and class shaped the outcome.

• Notable quote, Christine: “That’s the most fucking dad answer … when there’s a mystery and you just get a vague little [response].” ([110:32])

Notable Quotes & Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote / Description | |-----------|------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15:21 | Em | “If you need something to do on your plane, I’m telling you, buy a sticker book today.” | | 25:51 | Christine | "You’re supposed to slap the pile, not slap each other!" | | 43:16 | Em | “Unadulterated poppycock!” (mocking period language) | | 47:13 | Christine | “The still smoking pistol caught in the white-knuckled grip of his fear-contorted corpse…” | | 55:14 | Christine | “The Nameless Thing of Berkeley Square … tentacles coming through a frame.” | | 69:02 | Em | “The walls of the house are found saturated with electric horror.” | | 72:04 | Em | “A vile, phantasmagorical killer from beyond the grave.” | | 98:25 | News (read by Em) | “Animals don’t forget. But this big, coarse country woman, several times a mother, she forgot.” | | 107:40 | Christine | “The boy raised as Bobby Dunbar was not an iota biologically related to the Dunbar family.” | | 110:32 | Christine | “That’s the most fucking dad answer … when there’s a massive mystery …” |

Important Segment Timestamps

• [03:07] – Podcast quick start; witty banter and show opener
• [12:40] – “Sticker Book” discussion (nostalgic and emotional highlight)
• [24:39] – Card game memories and cryptid cards segue
• [34:21] – Story 1: “The Nameless Thing of Berkeley Square” begins
• [46:44] – Robert Warboys’ death and birth of “the nameless thing”
• [55:09] – Is it a giant octopus? How folklore morphs
• [66:49] – House is now a haunted bookshop/top floor off-limits
• [76:26] – Story 2: “Bobby Dunbar” missing child saga starts
• [98:25] – Read-out of the cruel historical newspaper quote about Julia Anderson
• [107:40] – DNA test revelation: Dunbar and Anderson families
• [112:12] – Hosts discuss the story’s enduring mystery and lessons

Overall Tone & Closing Thoughts

The hosts’ rapport is warm, teasing, and honest, seamlessly weaving personal anecdotes with historical research and social critique. The episode is both entertaining and thoughtful: listeners laugh at childhood chaos, commiserate over sticker hoarding, get chills from Victorian hauntings, and grapple with the enduring pain of a century-old missing child case. Both stories are rich in detail, emotion, and historical context—true to the hosts’ commitment to chilling ghost stories and terrifying true crime alike.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

• The episode is an engaging cocktail of storytelling, humor, vintage weirdness, social commentary, and real-life pathos.
• You’ll get haunted house chills, a cautionary media tale, and sticker-storage wisdom.
• Skip the ads (not summarized here); savor the chemistry, cackling, and compassion that keep Christine and Em’s fans tuning in week after week.

Why do we drink?
Because sometimes the world is too haunted—and sometimes, just too damn strange.