Loremen Podcast - Xmas Pig 2024 with The Quantum Mechanics!

Episode Date: December 31, 2024

For the last Xmas Pig of 2024, The Quantum Mechanics join James for a final piggy tryptic of tales. With stories from the UK's "Cannock Chase" to America's "Road Bridge" it seems The Pigman gets around a bit. Whether he be a butcher gone wrong or the victim of a science experiment also gone wrong, The Pigman is always a source of terror... This episode was edited by Joseph Burrows - Audio Editor. LoreBoys nether say die! Support the Loremen here (and get stuff): patreon.com/loremenpod ko-fi.com/loremen Check the sweet, sweet merch here... https://www.teepublic.com/stores/loremen-podcast?ref_id=24631 @loremenpod youtube.com/loremenpodcast www.instagram.com/loremenpod www.facebook.com/loremenpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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And today we've got the quantum mechanics. Hello, James. Hello. Welcome to Squeal Around You. Oh, that's nice. Nice. I have bought a blanket. That's good for a pig. Yes.

Of course the pig, the blanket in pigs in blankets is bacon. Another pig. Yeah. Yes. Yes. That's why I've given it to my dog. That's okay. So he's eating the blanket.

He's eating the blanket. Yes. Yes. Although in America, I believe things in blankets is what we would call a sausage roll. It is. Yes. Yes. is what we would call a sausage roll. It is, yes, yes. Yes, I think, cause you can have a vegetarian

pig in a blanket by putting cheese in pastry, which is an abomination. Is it like a cheese string? So it's got the sausage shape? Yes, it has got a sausage shape, yes, yes. I saw someone, like posted some that they bought from the supermarket. They were like little

Sausage roll shapes, but they had halloumi in them. I mean, it's quite nice but I'm like a Christmas thing. You know the sound of it. I didn't like the sound of it I think if you were to go for the sort of English style Christmas pig It would be like a sticker for loomie wrapped in like a craft cheese slice. Oh, that would be nice I love like dirty cheese sticker for Lumi wrapped in like a Kraft cheese slice. Oh, that would be nice. I love like dirty cheese. Wednesday there would be terrible. So that's far too crumbly.

But I suppose you would like to know what piggy gift I have bought you. Yes, please. So this particular story, well, there were three, but they're all related in some way. Three little pigs. The three little pigs. pigs yes and the first story starts in a place where we have all stood this year on the Circle ring in Cannock Chase yeah do you remember standing on that whilst the castle up the top yes the only place

where we've got a proper car parking spot. Oh, that circle ring, sorry. Yeah. Yeah. The Iron Age fort, the Iron Age fort, at the southern end. So it was really high up. It's a really, it's got an elevation that looks over the whole of the city. Yes. And it was freezing cold. And we saw those deers running by and we thought, is that something paranormal?

And then we were disappointed. We assumed they were dears. Well, we did see what we only saw that glowing eyes. Went off to look for them and did confirm some venison action. But we were up there to see the pig man, the pig man. And we did talk about the pig man, but we didn't go into the sighting that is recorded by our favorite recorder of such instances in Can it chase Lee Brinkley yeah yes and we also didn't compare it to some of the stories that are seen in America so the story that of the pig man the the sighting that was reported to him goes back to October,

1993. And I will, I will praise see, but the, the reporter says that I've seen something rather odd in can it chase. And I think it may be of interest to you. Whilst walking around the castle ring, me and the wife, you, you could, it's different times me and the wife, we had is different times me and the wife we had some strange noises coming from the surrounding trees thinking it was likely to be a local couple enjoying illicit liaison and who wouldn't around there goes on all the time in Canock Chase doesn't he? Yeah we did see yeah evidence of that yes we quickly moved away from the sound and headed back to the direction of our car a mistake if you're trying to avoid the illicit encounters I made to have, but that's okay. Upon reaching

the steps down to the car park. And I remember those steps. You remember those like the little sort of old fashioned metal railings down there is quite steep. Yeah. I turned around and lay my eyes on the strangest creature I've ever seen. This thing was seven feet tall. From the neck down it looks like a man. We've all been clubbing at Siren Cessna. It was even wearing clothes. Even?

But its head was far too big for a human. It has an elongated face with a snap-like nose. When I pointed it out to my wife, why would you do that? You see the massively terrified. I saw a seven foot thing over there. Don't look now. She became terrified. So we started walking more quickly towards like a more quickly.

Yeah, don't embarrass us. Hurry up. That's when we started to hear this really high-pitched squealing noise that sounded like a pig being killed. That really spooked us. That would really spook you. The legend of the pig man in Canter Chase comes from the strange and illegal scientific experimentation during World War II. Allegedly, a woman was kidnapped and impregnated

with a fetus as an artificial human pig DNA to make a creature upon which they could perform tests. Now there's a problem with this already isn't that? Yes. Because being impregnated with DNA whilst you're alive without creating another being does not create a human pig hybrid. No I don't think so. The thing I think about this story is the pitch meeting that they had to get the

funding, do you know what I mean? Were they up against it's pig man, dolphin girl. Yeah. Yeah. All the crustacean twins. Was there a group of people who went, well, the pig men, that seems the most likely, I mean, I like dolphin girl, but it's not going to work. How does that happen?

How do you get the funding? And what's the advantage? Well, it is true that pig DNA is sort of more similar to humans. There was a thought that you could use pig organs in human transplants at one point. point. Yeah. But which is why dolphin gold and get the funding. Well, they were hoping to get a hybrid. You say what reason in order to be able to find truffles and point at them. With human hands. I mean, it just says inverted commas for tests? But they thought that it had failed,

but a pregnancy did occur. Right, obviously. Yeah. It was severely delayed, but a child was born from the horrific experiment. And allegedly it had the head of a pig, a human body, and the creature escaped. Whereas lived in Cannock Chase ever since,

trying to avoid the precarious eyes of others. But also, buying clothes. Yes. So I'm for tall clothes. Sadly, as Lee points out, there is no physical evidence of the pig man. I can't chase surprising. There's also no photographic evidence. Is it sounds like he'd be shy.

I'm just a far-fetched urban legend, or is it something a bit more unsettling? If they'd have gone with dolphin girl, she wouldn't have escaped so easily because no legs. The Caddocks Chase is not the only place to house pig man legends. It is not my letters. Think or letters at least think of Angola, New York. There was a long stretch of road that has been terrifying visitors and locals for over 50 years. Historically, the bridge was the scene

of one of the worst railway disasters in history. Again, over 50 people died here in 1867 when a rail car came unhooked, fell down the embankment and burst into flames. Maybe it was this tragic history that inspired the legend of the pig man. The pig man of the creatively named Road Bridge, that is its name, Road Bridge, Road Bridge.

was a hog farmer and the bookshare. According to the story, he would place the heads of hogs he had bookshared on the spikes and line the road with them to let people know to stay off his property. Wait, though. Yes. Was he on the train? No, no, no, no, but the train fell off where the bridge is and he is running his bookshop there.

Oh, I see. Yes. As he hadn't heard of the no trespassing signs, he was using pigs heads to keep people away. We don't know why he's keeping people away. Maybe he doesn't need the trade. Maybe he's already sold all of his pigs somewhere else. But that is the legend. Doesn't sound like a good business practice. No.

Well, one day a group of teenage boys decided they would sneak onto the butcher's land and have a look around. The pig man is said to have killed all of them and placed their heads on spikes along the road. If you ask a local today, they will tell you the pig man still lives in the woods waiting for unwary travelers. Now there's a lot of holes in this story. Can I go back a little bit?

So not too far. 51 years ago, let's say you'd be driving down that road and firstly, you'd come across a load of pigs heads on sticks and then it had transformed into a load of teenagers. The guy in question, he's on that land. He's farming that land. Yeah. He's a hog farmer and a butcher. And somehow he has transformed. He's so into his pigs, he's turned into an actual pig man.

Oh, yes. As well. That key detail out. Oh, well, no, but you see, that's why he's killed all of these these boys He's become so obsessed with being a pig, right? He's killed the boys and put their heads on the spot I know doesn't make any sense do that. Yeah, I don't know. Maybe my knowledge of pigs is no No, I think this is the legend. This is the legend He is just a man obsessed with pigs who has become to resemble a pig and that's why they call him not only is he the pig man because he puts heads on spikes but because he has come to resemble a pig

because he has become to look like what he loves which is beheaded pigs like yeah like people dogs look like their owners that's right like their dogs yeah there's a farm shop near me called the wild pig and their logo is a pig's head and I'm beginning to worry now. Are they trying to keep you out? Yeah. If that changes into a teens head. Yeah.

So he now resembles presumably a very skinny man with a pig's head. If he is a very skinny man. But you see the thing is, if you're a group of teenage boys Is the first thing you do I'm gonna go look around that scary butchers man's property Probably not but the thing that really I think more of is How does he keep up his butchery business if he looks like a pig and has become homicidal and chases people away or slash? Murders them I have to disagree with you on the teenage boys thing because it's it's the staple of every horror movie that isn't it? The teenage boys hear rumor of the pig man Yeah, it's a rite of passage for them. I suppose they think you know down each other

Yeah to go and see if they can get some cheap bacon. Yeah Well, yes, I suppose we were all trying to score cheap bacon when we were 15 Hmm, and this is this is in the 50s or 60s, right? Yeah pre-netflix. Yeah pre-netflix Yeah, do what you do it was us tonight I keep thinking back James to a point you made when we talked about this briefly in Canock Chase Hmm, it would make more sense From man's head on a pig's body because that would be more useful. Wouldn't I get if you go in for pig organs, you're attempting to farm pig organs. I can think of it like an actual organ.

Yeah. Yeah. But pig but made out of pigs. Yeah. There's evidently there's funding out there. Yeah. Was that playing the was that pig organ? That was me playing the pig organ.

Were you playing the close encounters music? When he makes the mountain out of mashed potato he sticks a load of bangers in it Oh my god, how delicious would that be? Didn't you ever look at him doing that mashed potato thinking you're really wasting delicious looking mashed potato I think I thought that's a lot of mashed potato. I mean, if I was cooking that is how much I would make. But he ruins it by sticking his hands in it. You know, weirdly, I watched close encounters with my son last week.

The first time I've seen it for a while. Did he like it? He liked it, but he was really upset at the end. Why? Because he said he's just left his children. I don't remember seeing as a kid not picking up on that. He was quite upset about it. Would you leave me if the aliens came along and I had to go.

The time passes for them, but not for the people back on Earth. No, I think when I heard that it was Spielberg, it was like he was upset about his father leaving and the divorce that he almost got this story, which would explain why his father would leave some fantastical thing. I believe I don't know. I believe. Well, yeah, a lot of Spielberg stuff is about absent fathers and it does make sense. Yeah.

Is that true? It's about absent fathers. Yeah, it's always, you stuff is about absent fathers and it does make sense. Yeah. Is that true? It's about absent fathers? Yeah, it's always, you know, like in Jurassic Park. They left us. He left us. Yeah. Oh, what about you? AT was like that, wasn't it? It was AT. They were there. There's no dad in AT. There's no dad in AT. Yeah.

There's a... Yeah. Maybe AT's a dad and he's trying to get back to his kids. Well, his parents are coming back for him, aren't they? Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Lost child. Maybe he's a dad and he's trying to get back to his kids. Well his parents are coming back for him, aren't they? Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've slightly gone off the pig subject, but... So let's go to Denton in Texas this time. Denton.

In the fifties, because this is the home... Sorry, why did I say home so weird? Home. Let's go to Denton in the fifties, because this is the home of young Greasers who would park with their dates in the 50s because this is the home of young greasers who would park with their dates in the scheduled farming country of West Denton, home to several bridges. Of course. And we said we're bridges.

Well, I know, I know. But bridges do pay to be think there's the there's the Goatman Bridge, isn't there, which is the subject of many a YouTube video, people daring each other to go across the Goatman Bridge. What is that to do with the three Billy Goats Gruff? Well, I feel like that might be where the story comes from. But there is supposed to be a Goatman who will come and attack you on the bridge. Actually, a really good, a really good story about Billy Goats Gruff.

I completely forgot about this. My friend, when they were learning how to have children, so they'd had to, it sounds like they know how to do it. Well, yeah, but they still learning how to bring them up. We, we were walking with them across the wilds of Wales and the youngest one was about, no, it must've been five as they were going to school. And we were talking about trolls under breaches and Billy goatsats Gruff and everything. And we said, you know, be careful of the trolls because it took your sister and the parents played along and went, oh yeah, yeah, you got to be careful. We thought it was just a big joke.

Wow. The parents the next week got called into school saying, oh, we didn't did. Did you have a child who passed away? No. didn't did did you have a child who passed away? No way. Yeah, the child taking it very seriously that the trolls had got the child. So then there was a lot of resetting of how to tell parents how to tell stories as parents. Yeah, well I kind of get it. Yeah that feels like an instinctual you would guess not to threaten your kids with being

murdered by trolls. Well, it was me who was mainly messing around going, the trolls got your sister and her dad was with me and we'd had some beers and we just thought it was fun. We honestly didn't think anyone would take it seriously. I just thought it was anyway. Anyway, I don't remember when our dog, when my son was quite young, our dog had a, obviously a bit of his anatomy removed his male dogs often have, right? He's like, yeah.

And, uh, I was in the car. My son was very young, said, um, so that dog had his baubles taken off. And I said, yeah, he's had his baubles taken off. And he went really quiet and he went, is that going to happen to me? Yeah, fair enough. was taken off and he went really quiet and he went, is that going to happen to me? You would think that, but I didn't think as a parent that I'd probably have to explain that it wasn't going to happen. So especially as we, the car, I think he thought it was happening. If he starts hoping next door's cat, you might have to rethink.

Anyway, they started. Well, the races, yeah, they started coming back. So well, I should start from the beginning that they would go and park with their dates at this secluded bridge. terrified teens began coming back with stories of grotesque pigmen throwing rocks at their cars. Other teams told the tale of a humanoid creature with glowing red eyes who traveled the area with a pack of aggressive grunting boars. Many have suggested that the stories began with pranks being played by classmates or even as a ploy on behalf of parents who weren't keen on their children's amorous activities.

That's why I then recounted the story of the Billy Goat and the thing, because I'm not sure that that is the way to encourage responsible relationships in teenagers by dressing as a bore and throwing rocks at your kids car. I don't know. No, but there is a more, I would say disturbing explanation, more disturbing than parents dressing up and pretending to be paid. Yeah.

More disturbing. Stop their up and pretending to be paid. Yes. More disturbing. To stop their children getting it on. During the 60s and 70s, some of these remote areas near Denton were used by what was called the Rex Corbell's Cowboy Mafia for illicit activities, including drug smuggling. There were reports at the time that a grip, I love the fact that the article I'm using, it the greases basically, you know, like a somebody out of Greece I Would you call them with the slicked back hair in the and the leather jacket a rocker a rocker? Yeah

I'm not a Marlon Brando esque 50s kind of yeah what greaser I think is the thing that got the quift of hair the DA. Yeah the jackets. Yeah Yeah, well, Greaser, I think, is the thing that got the quift up here, the DA, the leather jackets. Yeah. Oh, what are you rebelling against? And a T-Bird. Yes, that was the name of the gang in this one. Oh, what's the car called then? Grease Lightning was the specific one. Is that, oh, the T-Birds is the gang, that's not the name of the vehicle. No, I think you're probably right. What is the vehicle then? Because they've got like these exposed engines, haven't they? It could be. I'm not up on Greek culture further than the musical. What I do know about Greece the Musical is there's a conspiracy theory

that she was dead from the first scene. So the bit on the beach right at the start, with way past spoilers at this stage with Greece, aren't we? Yes. The bit on the beach, she dies on the beach under the dock. Yeah right the star. Yeah under the boardwalk. And the whole movie is her fantasy of how she would have liked her life to go. Right. Ideal life flashing before her eyes. Right. Which is why in the final scene of Greece, they get in the

car and fly out to the heavens. She's going towards the light. It's a conspiracy theory. How that was explained all along. Yeah. And when I heard that and I saw the movie afterwards, you do look at it in a completely different light. Wow.

Yeah, that's, yeah, that's quite frightening. I think it's on this Christmas. I might have watched. Yeah. Well, tell us more about the greases. There were reports at the time of a greaser who was caught by the gang and he had his nose cut off and a joker like Glasgow smile cut into his face.

This was the gangland sign that someone had been squealing to police. Of course. The story goes that the disfigured pig man remained on the outskirts of time, outskirts of time, outskirts of town taking shelter in sheds and under bridges. So right, let me get this right. Greaser gets captured by this gang. They chop off his nose. So he kind of looks a bit pig like. Yeah. Is that where we go? Yeah. He's so whatever

distraught by this. He goes and lives in the woods or something. Yeah and he's the memory. He's revenge and he becomes the pick more scares people as the pick man scares people in the way so they don't get the same. Oh, he's a warning to them. Oh, he's saving them. He did a twist on it. Yeah, yeah. So because the drug dealers are going to get them so they go away.

Don't do your shenanigans here. But he can't because he's all, yeah. And he doesn't want to come close. So he's saying, get away from here. Or ignore the gang of balls that I now hang around with. They're all right. They're all right. They're just, that's Philomena. They're oinking because they like you. Wow. That's a idea. It feels very much though that the author of this piece does point out that there was there was a lot of fear at the time of unplanned pregnancies and pigs and pigs and it was sort of a very biblical part of the world.

So it was it feels like another one of those like moral tales to keep people away. But I will say these tales of pigmen of these are not the only ones. I actually saved three for Christmas next year, but there's three more pig tales that aren't too dissimilar to these. I mean, you don't have to wait a whole year. You can just imagine there's a bridge and there's a pigment. Although in Canock Chase, there is no bridge. It's an iron age fault. Tell it us. You've got three more pig stories that you're leaving in the freezer for next Christmas is that what you're saying? Yes, yes. I will defrost them properly. It's a danger food. We once ran at my friend Johnny, I won't reveal his surname, his parents were away for the weekend, we got quite drunk and

we decided to defrost the massive chicken they had in the freezer and eat it about three in the morning on Sunday morning and we put it in the microwave and we did that thing where we were like the legs are really hot and the breast is still frozen we're gonna kill ourselves if we put that in the oven like what the hell are we gonna do with a half defrosted giant chicken so we buried it in the garden like we gave it a proper Christian burial because we were really worried his parents have find out. And then when they came out, there was no evidence whatsoever. Now the quick thinking of most, you might think, why did you not just take it to a public bin?

Well, that's because we were teenagers and a little bit drunk and he was three in the morning. So somewhere in the vicinity of long Hambrough, somebody will dig up a giant supermarket chicken and think that was probably a lovely family pet alternatively you could have just worn it on your head and run around the village and create future folklore yeah to this day I just do really cross because we had planned to watch Terminator 2 and eat roast chicken for breakfast I would have been a brilliant morning but yeah I think we were just, because it was so ingrained into us to not eat half defrosted chicken.

Well, when you say that, it does make you think you can see why those stories took hold then because, you know, people would find weird things buried. Well, people have tried, you know what I mean? You can defrost the chicken. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, they represent you my Christmas pigs. Thank you very much. What a, what a lovely triptych of a pig, a piggy triptych. The last one's a little bit dark, but I'm hoping that we will go back to Canada chase. Now we're a little braver and have a little bit more knowledge

and maybe Lee Brinkley stories aren't as fantastical as they appear to be. I want to find the lab. Yes, I want to find this lab. Yeah, this pig lab. Yeah, I want to find some documentation. Half Labrador, half pig. I want to find the documentation that says what they were trying to achieve. Yeah, surely. Yeah, the official secrets has got to be expired on that. So let's go through the files. We have been through those files. Yeah, not exactly paranormal or any way weird, but So we have to go through the files. We have been through those files. Yeah, not exactly paranormal or any way weird,

but I really want to see those swimming pigs. Where do they exist? The water? I don't know. Is it in the Caribbean? You know, there's that bay. Maybe it's in Vietnam, where all the pigs go for a swim every day

and you can swim with the pigs. That seems like a lovely thing to do. It does seem nice, yeah. That's a nice, that's much more positive ending, I think. Yeah. Than Greece is being terrorised. Maybe, if I did that. Let's think about the cute swimming pigs.

If I went down there enough, the pigs would swim around me and they'd call me the pig man just because all the pigs would be my friends. Yes, that's beautiful. What a lovely Christmas pig image. Which I'm not going to get out of my head. They're my friends. They're my friends. get out my head.

Well, thank you, James. So where can people hear more less pig related stories from you guys? Well, we are available wherever you get your pots. You can just search the quantum mechanics, paranormal podcast. And yeah, we're what? Three, four years into this now we've just recorded episode 251 wowzers yeah so go check us out there we are on YouTube as well actually QM pod or searches yeah and lovely enjoyable paranormal stuff and we'll go on another field trip soon shall we indeed thank

you very much yes yes we've got one and we won't reveal it yet, but... Yes, we do. You are coming with us. We're going to get all flowery-fingered. Mmm, that sounds bad. Thanks for having us, James. Thanks for coming on.