About this episode
The episode discusses a series of mysterious incidents on Christmas Eve in 1926 linked to a government plan, as detailed in Deborah Blum's book.
On Christmas Eve in 1926, a man came running into Bellevue Hospital in New York screaming that Santa Claus had been chasing him for blocks with a baseball bat. Not long after that, he died. And then another person arrived in the emergency room. And then another. This started happening in emergency rooms around the country. And it was happening because of a plan created by the U.S. government. Deborah Blum’s book is The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. Say hello on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Sign up for our occasional newsletter. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts. Sign up for Criminal Plus to get behind-the-scenes bonus episodes of Criminal, ad-free listening of all of our shows, invitations to virtual events, special merch deals, and more. We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop. Episode transcripts are posted on our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Topics covered
- forensic medicine
- true crime
- historical events
- government plans
- emergency rooms
Keywords
- Santa Claus
- Bellevue Hospital
- baseball bat
- emergency room
- U.S. government
- murder
- forensic medicine
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Vox Media Podcast Network
Books & works: The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
Places: New York
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