And That's Why We Drink – Episode 467

“Croissant Crop Circles and Thumb Drive Rick Rolls”

Hosts: Christine Schiefer & Em Schulz
Release Date: January 25, 2026

Overview

This episode serves up the perfect blend of dark humor, intrigue, and the unexplainable, as Christine and Em weather coughs, cold weather, and neighbors with suspect thumb drives. The hosts share personal updates (and croissant secrets), dive into the bizarrely constructed—and possibly haunted—Houska Castle (aka the "Gateway to Hell") in Czechia, and unravel the international mystery of the Oslo Plaza Woman, a Jane Doe at the heart of a truly perplexing unsolved case in Norway.

Host Banter & Personal Updates

Timestamps: 00:54 - 13:06

• Em isn’t feeling well: Em complains of lingering sickness, dubs it “the cold that won’t end,” and admits to running on less-than-full energy.
• Christine’s update: Blood tests and minor health concerns, but “feeling good today.”
• Running on Biggby Coffee (or Big B): Christine shares her love of the local coffee chain, and a funny reveal about the logo.
• Neighborly adventures: Em relays being gifted a physical thumb drive of rockabilly music by a dad-aged neighbor after expressing mild curiosity. Both agree it’s a true crime host’s nightmare to plug in unknown hardware.
  • “Don’t give strangers hard drives, you know?” – Christine [07:52]
  • The scenario sparks discussion about “neighbor obligations” and sitcom-worthy situations.
• Christine admits to eating disliked foods: Croissants and sun-dried tomatoes, especially during pregnancy, leading to confessional family moments.
  • “I ate croissants during that pregnancy… It’s time for me to come clean.” – Christine [22:21]
• Bed/couch eating disasters: They joke about leaving crop-circle-like imprints of croissant crumbs.
  • “Like a crop circle. A croissant circle and a croissant crop circle. Now that’s a new one.” – Em [23:45]

Paranormal Story: Houska Castle – The Gateway to Hell

Presented by Em, Timestamps: 26:36 – 78:35

Key Points & Insights

Setting the Stage

• Location: Houska Castle, 30 miles from Prague, Czech Republic, deep in woods atop a limestone cliff.
  • “Imagine, like, the world’s greatest Renaissance LARPing Hobbit quest.” – Em [28:39]
• Architectural Oddities:
  • Looks like a square enclosing a hollow courtyard.
  • Defensive fortifications all face inward, not outward.
    • “As if the castle had not been built to keep an enemy outside, but rather to keep something inside from getting out.” – Em [38:15]
  • No kitchen, no water source, nowhere near trade routes: the castle made zero logistical sense as an outpost.
• Ancient Bottomless Pit
  • Local lore from as early as the 1500s tells of a bottomless hole through the limestone—“the Hole to Hell”—from which winged creatures and demons allegedly emerge.
  • Locals tried unsuccessfully to fill the pit with rocks.
  • Alleged account: Prisoners offered pardons if they allowed themselves to be lowered down; those who returned were terrorized, aged 30 years in minutes, and died soon after.
    • “His hair had gone white and he had aged 30 years.” – Em [44:42]

Construction & Legends

• Covering Up Evil
  • The “hole to hell” was covered with metal slabs, a chapel (dedicated to Archangel Michael) built atop it.
  • Frescoes in the chapel do not show typical biblical scenes, instead depicting Satan, dragons, pagan motifs, and a left-handed female centaur.
• Wild Sunlight Engineering
  • “On St. George’s Day, the sunlight moves through a window so it perfectly traces St. George's sword spearing the dragon.” – Em [52:07]
• Rumored Alchemical Occupant
  • In the 1700s, a supposed sorcerer named Oronto experimented with the elixir of life, using kidnapped villagers for tests before meeting a dramatic end (shot with spell-reversing bullets, no less).

Nazi Occupation & Modern Lore

• During WWII: Nazis allegedly conducted occult experiments at the castle; mysterious occult books were found walled up after their departure.
  • Christine: “It’s always power-hungry people… Find a hobby, go back to painting!”
• Postwar to Present:
  • Haunted reputation, open to public tours since 1999.
  • Ghosts: poltergeists, a lady in white, a faceless monk, a bullfrog-headed man, a “devil dog”, and more.
  • Dead birds frequently found in the courtyard (allegedly due to evil energy), visitors report time slips & nightmares, walls always inexplicably wet.
    • “The chapel walls are said to have always been inexplicably wet.” – Em [71:43]
  • Shared personal ghost-experience stories, especially Christine seeing apparitions.

Notable Quotes

• “It feels like an actual fairy tale castle.” – Christine [28:49]
• “It’s not a good sign.” – Christine [42:08]
• “If you are an Allison in the relationship, just like me, check the couch, please.” – Em [24:10]
• “And this one’s still here… Yeah, I don’t know.” (On the bullfrog-headed ghost) – Em [67:23]
• “…people also still see winged creatures, a headless horse, [and] hear a chorus of screams and scratching underneath the chapel floor…” – Em [70:37]
• “I need to go purely for this St. George’s art. I gotta check out.” – Em [77:57]

True Crime Story: The Oslo Plaza Woman (Norway’s Most Perplexing Unsolved Case)

Presented by Christine, Timestamps: 81:31 – 140:53

Case Overview

• June 3, 1995, Room 2805, Oslo Plaza Hotel, Oslo, Norway
  • Staff approaches guest due to unpaid bill/no ID or payment method provided at check-in.
    • “She did not provide any form of payment and she did not provide any form of ID.” – Christine [83:32]
  • After staff knocks, a single gunshot is heard.
  • Room found deadbolted from inside; guest found deceased with a single gunshot wound to the forehead, a 9mm Browning pistol in hand, serial number professionally erased with acid.
  • Scene is described as undisturbed, very little blood spatter, no traditional signs of struggle, almost no blood or gunpowder on the victim’s hand or gun.
    • “This could have been a suicide, except for the fact that there were no blood spots on her hand.” – Oslo chief pathologist [110:31]
  • All possessions in the room (wallet, bag, suitcase) completely devoid of identification; all labels are cut from clothing—even the leather jacket.
  • No toothbrush, no hairbrush, no toiletries. Only upper-body clothing present, and multiple items (including shoes) noticed by staff were missing at death.
  • Guest had checked in under the name “Jennifer Fairgate” (Belgian address and phone number, both fake/invented).

Investigation & Theories

• Despite a year-long hold on the body, she was never identified and was ultimately buried as a Jane Doe.

• Odd/Conspicuous Details:

  • Room set up for two people (she called ahead with a “Louis/Lewis Fairgate”), but no proof anyone else stayed there.
  • 25 rounds of ammunition found in her briefcase.
  • Test shot into the pillow behind her indicated the gun was fired at least once before the fatal shot.
  • She was found dressed up in business/formal attire, fresh from a shower, with high heels/knee-high socks.
  • No security footage was reviewed or preserved.

• Possible Theories:

  • Suicide: Supported by locked door, apparent lack of struggle, and traditional assumptions—but contradicted by physical evidence (unusual gun grip, pristine hand, etc.).

  • Spy/Intelligence Operation (host favorite theory): All personal effects erased, weapon of the type favored by law enforcement/agents, professional erasure of serial, high-profile hotel with history of political secrecy, possible intelligence “clean-up.”

    • “From my point of view, this is a very well carried out intelligence operation. I have a feeling that she was executed.” – Norwegian intelligence official [122:55]

  • Assisted Suicide/Homicide/Kidnap: Some believe someone entered during the 15 minutes staff were away after the shot, taking her suitcase and other ID, possibly setting up a staged suicide.

  • Notable Quotes:

    • “There’s no closed door for intelligence.” – Norwegian Intelligence official [123:36]
    • “I think it was, like, a targeted thing…my head is—frankly—spy.” – Christine [99:53]
    • “But even spies need pants.” – Em [101:02]

• Genetic & Investigative Updates:

  • In 2016, body exhumed for DNA; determined likely European ancestry, possibly East German. No matches found as of recording.
  • Sketches and photographs circulated, but no one—including the (very talkative) mayor of the named Belgian hometown—recognized her. Larsen, a persistent Norwegian journalist, chases every lead, finding more strange inconsistencies (including a possibly misleading witness across the hall).

Special Moments

• Christine's careful, slightly squeamish walk through the grim evidence photos—shared with Em in real-time—makes for darkly comic podcast gold.

  • “Here’s a picture of the food she had ordered… It just gives me the creeps.” – Christine [87:27]

• Both hosts display their signature blend of skeptical curiosity and empathy, pausing to reflect on the humanity lost amid the spycraft theories.

Notable Quotes & Running Gags

• On Croissant Crop Circles:
  • “Like a crop circle. A croissant circle and a croissant crop circle. Now that’s a new one.” – Em [23:45]
• On suspicious thumb drives:
  • “Don’t give strangers hard drives, you know?” – Christine [07:52]
• On the many mysteries of Houska Castle:
  • “If you are an Allison in the relationship, just like me, check the couch, please.” – Em [24:10]
• On why they drink:
  • “Why do I drink this week? Is it because you’re not able to function very well?” – Christine [04:30]

Important Segment Timestamps

• Thumb Drive/Music Neighbor Story: 06:36 – 13:06
• Croissant/Bed Eater Crop Circle Story: 22:02 – 24:25
• Houska Castle Begins: 26:36
• The Bottomless Pit/Prisoner Legend: 41:13 – 45:05
• Chapel & Demon-Repelling Art: 47:03 – 54:00
• Nazi Occult Experiments: 58:54 – 62:25
• Haunted Reports/Ghosts/Time Slip: 65:19 – 74:06
• St. George’s Day Sunlight/Sword Lore: 52:07 – 53:04
• Oslo Plaza Woman Case Begins: 81:31
• Crime Scene Oddities & Theories: 89:54 – 133:33
• Spy Theory Endorsement: 122:55 – 124:05
• DNA/Familial Search Update: 131:58

Final Thoughts

The episode settles into “And That’s Why We Drink”’s hallmark liminal space—between laughter and lingering unease. The hosts’ banter is warm, their mysteries chilling, their questions left purposefully unanswered. This is an episode for “the cleaners and the road-trippers (and the fall asleepers),” and for anyone drawn to the limits of logic, safety, and the stories we tell when the world gets scary.

Why do they drink? Maybe because, as Em summarizes:
“I just need the release of the information… I’m going to be thinking about this all day.” [138:53]