Chambers of the Occult - Old News Nonsense Vol. 9

Episode Date: October 9, 2024

In this hilarious volume of Old News Nonsense, we kick things off with a cheeky Halloween poem to set the tone for some old-timey absurdity. First up, we watch a ghost ship sink—because even the afterlife has navigational issues.Then, we get a listener update on the wild witch-woman who terrorized Los Angeles, adding some spicy twists to the already bizarre tale. We'll swing by a winged monkey statue's triumphant return to Emerald City, followed by a sweet saga of spilled honey that left highway drivers literally in a sticky situation.Things take a ridiculous turn as we revisit the story of a couple who traded their baby for a lorry, proving that you really can trade anything if you're bold enough. From there, we jump into the pig-mania that took over Cincinnati, where the phrase “when pigs fly” was suddenly more fact than fiction.We'll look back at some epic Halloween pranks gone way too far, leaving behind grumpy neighbors and smashed décor. And to wrap things up, we dive into the slippery world of illegal reptiles—because who doesn’t love a story involving snakes sneaking their way into U.S. zoos?Perfect for when you need a break from the serious stuff, Old News Nonsense delivers history’s most laughable moments, one absurd story at a time!Send us a text

Chambers of the Occult may contain content that might not be suitable for all listeners. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome back! Hi! Old news nonsense! Old news nonsense! Old news nonsense! I don't remember who said that for the first time. I think it was... I forgot to open my sangria, you guys.

Oh my god. From last episode? Yeah, it's the same bottle. Never drink it. It is refilled it. Yeah, I would. What do you mean, I don't know who first said what? Because I know in a past episode, one of us said, oh, this is nonsense.

And I just like started saying it since then. Probably Kai. Probably. Probably me. Cool, I don't know. I like the way that Welcome back volume 9. I'm Jay I'm like sitting. Okay. I'm I always go last. I'm Alexis We never planned that no as, as you can see, most professional podcasts ever. That's my line. I stole it. Well, do you want to steal the show right now? Yeah, actually. Cool. So what do you have for us? Let the listeners hear what they want to hear, who they want to hear, sorry.

You know, I'm going to ask you a question. When, when are you taking us to? When? Yeah. Where? When, where, why, who, what, and exactly how. Is that the name? No.

That was the name of the clipping. I'm going to do the one that I thought was kind of cute for this season. But I don't know how to read poems. So typically you look at the word and then yeah Yeah Yeah, it doesn't help me. Do you like some like symbols in the background or like, you know, I don't know some coffee shop Can I get a beat? Or like, you know, I don't know some coffee shop. Can I get a beat?

Oots and cats and Yeah, and cats and boots and cats and Was it was it that bad I'm gonna send you guys the the the clipping just in case you guys can read it better than I can And like wanna yeah that too This is this was published by the echo in Emporia, Kansas on Thursday October 30th

1924. Okay. Wow. Wow. Crazy. October 30th. Wow. 1924. Cool year. Wow.

So crazy. Anyways, so it's a spooky Halloween poem. Cute. Okay. Yeah. So it starts with a little, like, a little, like, a little, like, a little, like, a little, It's a spooky Halloween poem. Cute. Okay.

Yeah. So it's starting again. I don't know how to read poems. I'm going to try my hardest. If you guys want to correct me along the way, you're welcome to. When you see a comma, take a pause. When you see a period, take a longer pause. You guys are so helpful. Take a pause when you see a period take a longer pause

Thank you so much feel like I'm back in elementary school. All right, so say it along with me a b c Be are you warmed up cool take. Take it away. Yeah. All right. So it's called Spooky Halloween. And it goes a little something like this. Listen to the moaning and the groaning in the night. Goblins are howling and prowling such a sight. Eyes and mouths agapen,

sending out a fiery light. Was there ever such a scary scene? Was there ever such a scary scene? Listen to the sign and the crying of the breeze. Listen to the squeaking and the creaking of the trees. dancing gnomes, erasing over the valleys and the lees, coming on for spooky Halloween, coming on for spooky Halloween. Better keep abiding and hiding till it's over, better keep a-looking and a-bloking of the door. Better mind your mother as you never did before. Goblins will know it if you're mean.

Goblins will know it if you're mean. Maybe they will nab you or they'll grab you like a shot. Maybe they will take you and they'll shake you like as not. Wouldn't that be awful for it to happen to a lot? That was Naughty. What? Oh, to a tot. That was Naughty on a Spooky Halloween. That was Naughty on a Spooky Halloween by Griff Crawford.

Nice. Beautiful performance. Snaps all around. You probably can't hear my snaps. I can hear yours. I can hear Jay's too, I think. Cool. I love the spelling or whatever of goblins.

Yeah, goblins. Yeah, goblins, yeah. I think that was cool. It's cute. It's a cute- And it turns into like- We're gonna put the art on it. Go ahead, Jae. I was gonna say also you read it like a poem, so you're good.

Okay, then. Yeah, you're good. I love that it turns into like a cautionary tale for like children. It does. It's like don't be bad or else the goblins are gonna kill you. Oh shoot, you're right. Yeah It's not only Santa Claus you got Santa Claus you got to worry about now. Sanny Claus

He knows when you're sleeping. Okay, that's a poem for December Have you heard the like the like There's like German like bedtime poems and stuff that are literally like, like, act like Jack the Ripper is gonna kill you if you don't. Yeah, wait a way. Yes. Yeah. Or like, or there's people that's like, that's crazy.

That is crazy. I mean, Germans are green. All the green fairy tales come, I mean, a lot of them come from Germany. Yeah. That's so true. I think it's funny how like adults are like, I'm gonna make sure these kids listen. I'm gonna scare the crap out of them. Through fear.

Yeah. I'm gonna make them just not be able to sleep at night and be traumatized. It's one of those like villain lines that says I love it fear is power like type of thing. Oh 100% Yeah. Yeah It's like I have control over my own children Cool so Mine is not Halloween related, but like but like But like like ghost is in the title so okay, I close enough

Anyway, this is from the daily news from Lebanon, Pennsylvania on Monday May 9th, 1977. Oh, goodie-er. Hex continues as Ghost Ship goes under in Wrong Place. Okay. Oh, really? Watchman? So there's an upper caption of it and it says,

there she goes, cheers and applause accompany the launching of the Ghost Ship Quest when it was launched at the Millardsville Quarry Sunday following numerous delays. It was to have been guided to the center of the quarry and sunk there to be used in the instruction of scuba divers. So it was supposed to be sunk. It was going to be a little training type of thing for the scuba divers. Oh, okay. But the lower caption then says,

The quest, a ghost ship resurrected from a water grave in a New Jersey bay, seems to have been haunted by unfriendly spirits ever since plans to transport the vessel to the Millardsville Quarry from Philadelphia were formulated. The final hex occurred Sunday. The final hex. The final. A little weird. When was the first one? Um, we don't talk about that one.

Okay, got it. The old trawler was launched early in the afternoon following days of preparation to make sure it floated long enough so workers could attach the mast and guide the ship into the middle of the quarry, there to be sunk to be used in the instruction of scuba divers. Although the boat stayed afloat for about five minutes, the applause and cheers that accompanied the launching soon turned into moans and gasps. Wrong place. The ship went down in about 20 feet of water, only a few feet away from the shore. Water poured into its hole faster than the one portable pump aboard could spill it overboard.

First, the bow slipped out of sight, and the rest of the ship was surrounded by bubbling, gurgling water as the stern silently settled underwater. Only the pilot house remained above water, tilted starboard toward the center of the quarry, revealing how the boat had settled on the slope from the shore. The trawler sank so quickly that one man aboard the boat was unable to abandon ship before it settled on the bottom. What? He was in no danger though and remained above water, standing on the port side rail of the ship. He walked to shore on a plank supported by the ship's rail and the shore. He had boarded the boat after launching to see how well the exterior work was functioning. After the boat finally settled, scuba divers attached cables

to the crane onto the boat to secure it. And then it moves over to a picture of the sunken boat with a caption that says, all that remains. The ships say to float for only about five minutes and sink at about 20 feet of water, only a few feet from shore. Oh my god. So it did what was meant to happen, just not at the right location? Just way too soon. Yeah, okay.

And I wonder if they just like left it there. I feel like they did. Like they probably wouldn't have been able to move it once again. Yeah, I don't think so. I mean, overachiever for the boat, I would say. No, seriously. Yeah, what do we?

You know? Is there anything else to the clipping? But no, that's it. Okay. The ghost ship carrying out its last hex. The last hex. Find it interesting. That's cool though. Yeah. Yeah, because logically to train, you know, some things, you have to sink ships. I don't think you can like train them. I mean, it makes sense. Like, I've never actually thought about it, but I feel like that makes perfect sense with like scuba diving instruction and stuff to have just like an already sunk ship. Yeah.

Ghost ship, you just sink it for training. I don't know. That makes sense. It does make sense. I think it's a lot safer than actually having to go out and go into like one out in the ocean or somewhere else. Figure it out on the spot. This is like not related at all, but like I'm still making the connection in my head of how like

back in the day, like the Navy, they would go out to like the far Hawaiian Islands and they would literally just use like pieces of like the abandoned islands as just target practice that is true their missiles and their torpedoes and stuff it wasn't smart because it was doing irreparable damage to the Hawaiian there. I was being sarcastic. Okay. No, and I know like, like they stopped it eventually, but like, I don't know, it was like some years later, but there are people who still found just like an intact like bomb. Yeah, just in the water. And like you never know if those things are like live or not. Yes. So they had to alert the Navy and they had to go back in and like dispose of it. And I don't know, it's crazy.

Do you guys watch those videos on like YouTube of that one dude that puts a magnet in like the water, the lake, the ocean, whatever? Oh, like magnet fishing? Yeah, yeah, magnet fishing. Yes. And he like will find like a bomb or something And I'll call the police the police must hate that guy because he calls them like Almost every day is what it seems I feel like half of them like it cuz they like finding what he finds and the other half are just like dude like this shit

Is so stupid. Yeah, just like just leave it down Like what are you found a bunch of like license plates? And he was like, Whoa, these might be connected to like a murder or something. Yeah. And he called the police and the guy was like, we can't do anything with this. Yeah, the police literally can't do anything. Yeah, exactly. Because I mean, it's registered to the car. And the name is Well, yeah, I don't know. Sometimes their serial numbers will be eroded away or like whatever. I don't know. Yeah. Damn. Anyway, where to next, Jay?

Well, Alexis covered a spooky Halloween poem. You covered a Halloween. No, not Halloween. A haunted ship. A ghost ship. A ghost ship yeah ghost ship yeah I'm covering I am doing a follow-up on a witch okay do you remember that which that beat up little kids Um, from last episode. What volume was it on? Oh, last? Older sound sense? I don't remember if it was... Let's see.

Um... I don't remember anything, Jae. You know this. Fair. Fair. Um, all I remember is like the hippo love story. Yeah, that's the most important one. Fair. No, it was not the last one one cuz last one I just covered full hippos and might have been the one before that

I'm just I don't remember you bringing up which oh, yeah, which woman? Yeah, which woman crazy lady? Yeah, was that volume seven was I was I on that? You were Yeah, I totally know what you're talking about. Yeah, that's when you talked about the corn queen. Oh. Yeah. Which Kai took the title for.

Okay, I'm going to have to look at it. Okay, so this is from the Decatur Daily Decatur, Alabama, from Saturday, July 14th, 1934. This is just where it's been reported. It actually took place in Los Angeles. Oh, okay. Yeah. Oh, okay. I remember.

The title says there's a lot of pictures. I'll send you the clip and once they rate you the clipping, but it says eight year, eight year trial of the phantom witch woman who beat little children. So it says... That is so crazy. The fact that it went on for so long. It's just mind-boggling. It says... Also, um...

It's written in a very funky way. Some parts make sense, some other parts it seems like a middle schooler put big words in there trying to make it make sense. So just bear with me. Okie dokie. It says, fear pervaded a whole city and detectives ran down countless clues as 16 kitties became the victims of fiendish attacks. No.

Though one little, then one little boy's finger pointed to a mother of six. You've got to be kidding me. Uh, uh, huh, huh, huh, huh, so funny, huh, huh. Stop. And then it goes to a section that says, the finger of the guilt. And it says, the well-known admonition, is that the word?

Okay. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, okay. Of non-thinking parents to their capricious child. You better be good or the witch woman will get you. Has been no more idle thread in Los Angeles for the last eight years. For this quieting the facts was lately revealed that there was that there has been a real in-person witch woman prowling the streets of the California metropolis ever since 1926. No less than 16 tiny children had been victims of heinous and cruelty. Oh my gosh.

That's insane. Yeah. So many kids. Just wait till we get to this because I like shook my head stepping away from my computer at one point. Okay. So it says conditions of this kind as a rule are jealousy guarded by the authorities of large cities. For that reason, there were a few outside of Los Angeles who knew of the witch's depredations. A woman, mother of six, was arrested and convicted on the attacks, with accusations resting almost solely upon identification by the children who were victims. The assaults reported again and again from many different sections of Los Angeles seldom

varied in their details. A horrid-looking woman lured little boys and girls to open fields or porches of unoccupied houses. Usually the pretext was the story that the child's mother had been horribly mangled in an accident. Then... Yeah. Then suddenly... It sucks.

It does. This children are like, oh my God, your mom got hurt, come with me. And of course, little kids are going to be like, oh no, what happened? Like, yeah, like let's help. Just wait till you hear what she told one of the kids, but it continues by saying, then suddenly the woman would fly into a rage, rain blows on her tiny victims, uh, punctuated

with her uncanny hisses and snarls. After plummeting the children severely, she'd, she usually was frightened away by abandoning her victims to extensive medical ministrations in the city's hospitals. Fortunately, none of the children were fatally injured by her wicked beatings. Some of the witch's earlier victims have now grown into young men and womenhood, but even over the years, the scarlet-etched memories of their wild experiences stand out in their minds. The last assault was reported only recently. Little six-year-old Arthur Miller was sauntering home from school when he was accosted. He said by a woman speaking excitedly, she told,

your mother is dead. Her head was cut off in an auto accident. Oh, I will take care of you. Yes. It's nothing simple. What? It's like, like she is making up ridiculous lies. That's when I had to, like, take a pause. I'm like, did she really yell this at kids? What the hell? Yeah. Yeah.

And it continues by saying, this was not as terrifying as it might have been to young Arthur. He remembered, well, that his mother had quote unquote, gone away for a long time. Some months before, he remembered too that his father had talked kindly to him then and explained, mama has died and gone to heaven. Oh my gosh. So his mom was already dead.

He knew that she had already passed away. His dad told her, told him. So Arthur wasn't like completely taken back by what the lady said, but at the same time you can only imagine what she was yelling at the other 15 victims. Yeah. No, that's like just running and saying like your mom like got decapitated and died and now I'm the one that's taking care of you. And it continues by saying, but Arthur's curiosity was aroused.

Even though he had been warned by his father never to go near with strange people, he willingly accompanied this woman. She led him several blocks until they came the home of Mr. and Mrs. W.L. Donaldson, who by chance happened to be downtown at that minute. The woman led Arthur to the front door, even pretending that she was going to enter. Then suddenly, according to the story, the boy sobbed to the police. The woman struck out at him.

Sparks of hatred leap from her eyes. Arthur was paralyzed with surprise and terror. He could not run. She hurled him to the floor. Then the witch began swinging her vicious fists. Once, twice, three times she struck Arthur about the face. Gain to swell, pale blotches, where the forerunners of black and blue appeared.

pale blotches where the forerunners of black and blue appeared. Babbling incoherently and with frenzied actions, the woman ripped a strip from a porch hammock. The powerful hands, which had so horribly burst the children, seemed to possess inhuman strength. She slashed that man with the canvas bands, opening wide cuts in his face and legs. Yeah. And it continues by saying, Arthur might have been killed, the doctor said,

had the Donaldsons not returned at that very moment. Oh, my God. The witch heard the car stop in the alley in the rear of the house. One final slash at a nearly unconscious youngster. Then she leaped from the porch and hurried down the street. Within a few minutes, physicians had arrived. A large crowd had gathered around the porch railing.

Arthur was revived, assisted to his feet, and then, there she is, there she is, he screamed, that's the woman who hurt me. So turns out that this witch woman beat the child up and then came back to pretend to be a concerned citizen. Dude, what the fuck? Yes! It continues by saying... She really is a witch. She really is! Oh my gosh.

And she's a mother of six, and here she is beating up random children in the streets. Yeah. What the hell? So it continues by saying, His tiny, shaken hand pointed to the fat, middle-aged-looking woman standing, call me me amid the curious at the porch edge. Detectives promptly arrested her.

She gave her name as Ms. Betty Cochleys, 34. She was the wife of a fruit vendor and the mother of six children, but indignantly shouted her innocence. But she was taken to the police station for questioning and finally was charged with nine different assaults on children. The Donaldsons, who had seen the fleeting fiend when they returned to find Arthur on the porch, also pointed to the witch woman as the culprit. Then Jackie Fosterling, seven years old, and Virginia Wilhia- Wilh- Wilhite, I was like, what is this name? Also seven-year-olds declared that she was the witch who had attacked them, under almost identical circumstances. Mr. and Mrs. F.W. Martin, occupants of the house where little Virginia had been beaten,

stepped forward to accuse Ms. Cochlea of being the woman they had frightened away from Virginia on that dreadful afternoon. The Martins, like the Donaldsons, had not been at the home when the woman and her prey reached the house. On this occasion, the witch took Virginia into the rear yard where she was screened from praying eyes by rows of foliage and trees. Virginia's description of the assault was much like Arthur's. The girl said that the woman growled like a bear throughout the attack and that she

used a twig torn from a tree to whip her. The witch, I know, the witch in this case also fled when she heard that Martin's approach their home. Ms. Cochleus accidentally denied every identification she pleaded that she could establish alibis for her presence on each occasion. To climax her defense, she reminded detectives that her own little daughter Betty had been one of the witch woman victims. Why, she sobbed, if she were the fiend, would she attack her own child? And would not little Betty recognize her mother and tell if she had?

Detectives could not and never did explain this. The accused mother was held for trial, the nine counts against her charged child stealing, felonies, assault, and moral violations. Upon the day of her trial, Ms. Cochlea dropped a bombshell in the PAC courtroom. After repeated denials, she pleaded not guilty because of insanity. The hearing continued with many sensual scenes, and finally she was found legally of sound mind and guilty of all nine counts. As this was written, she was awaiting sentence which under California, under the California

anti-kidnapping law could be death. From the psychiatrist, it was learned that her compiled case histories show quite the number of men and women alike who have been driven to inflict torturous punishments on the weak children, but they cannot explain why other than this type of cruelty is a breach of the particular sadistic impulses which flare in some people. Which women? Fortunately have usually been characterized of fancy rather than fact in this country. No further attacks have been reported in Los Angeles since Miss Cochlea's captures, since Miss Cochlea's capture.

Good. Yeah. Jesus Christ. I know it was a long clipping. No, no, no, but that was good. Like that was so much more than I thought. Yeah. Yeah.

Bro. It was. That's insane. It is. I'm just like reading through this and I'm like, okay, like this woman, you know, could have been at like burn at the stake if she was alive during like the Salem witch trials. They're like, which woman? Burn her.

But yeah, so the reason I brought this up is because on episode volume 7 that we covered, we had a comment that they wanted to know more about the witch woman. So I did some research and I found it out. So that's cool. I hope you're satisfied people. Because honestly, I'm satisfied. That was good. Yeah, it's it's kind of like a dark story for all of these nonsense, but it's a follow

up to you know, an interesting one. Yeah, it's it's kind of like a dark story for all news nonsense, but it's a follow-up to you know An interesting one. Yeah But yeah, that's cool Alexis here to take it Oh and I'll send you the clipping right now as well so you can take a look because there's multiple pictures of her the children And for some reason they have like different pictures of her. They're like, this is her side profile. This is her front view. But, um, I'll say it your way. Meanwhile, Alexis, go ahead. Take it away. Swag. Okay. Um...

I'm gonna send you guys the clipping too. Just because I feel like it. But, um... Uh... This was published in Burlington, the winged monkey has returned to the Emerald City. The iron monkey sculpture taken in October from the roof of the Emerald City bedroom shop now sits by the store's counter, said Rick Carlson, owner of the furniture store. South Burlington police said the monkey was recovered last week

after they acted on a crime stoppers tip. Detective Paul Cassell said two people will be cited for possession of stolen property. The monkey's recovery means that Emerald City soon will have three sculptures. Carlson said a replacement for the stolen monkey is due to arrive any day. When it does, it will join the recovered sculpture inside the store," he said from Staff Reports. Somebody stole a winged monkey freaking statue sculpture? As far as things to steal, I think that is very cool. Yeah, I would do that. I wanted to steal the skull in the lattice room from Last Unhinged. No.

I wanted to steal it so bad. Things go missing a lot. Everywhere. But a monkey statue, I would understand. A flying monkey statue, at that. We love flying monkeys. One thing you guys could take from the house, what would it be from the house? Okay? Oh My god, oh my god guys we're dropping more breadcrumbs For the listeners out there wow it would have to be

For the listeners out there. Wow. It would have to be... I'm not gonna lie. I just want that like grandfather clock in the guest reception hall. That's so cool. Bro, you could probably get that from anywhere though. Huh? From eBay.

Yeah, for 13,000 pounds. Oh. Oh, do you have that? No, I took a picture of it and then put it on like Google reverse image search and then saw it on eBay for 13,000 pounds. Damn. Okay. That's why when Kai was like, if you could take anything, I'm like, I'm taking 13,000

pounds of a grandfather clock. What about you? Ballad. I... This might be a basic answer, I don't know. But... Uh... I... Lame crust?

No, no, no, no. In the twin dining rooms, they're like, when you're met with it, there's a stained glass window in the ceiling. Ah. I would take that one. Oh, that one's beautiful. So you're going into like things built into the place. I was just thinking from the house.

So fair. Okay. What about you? What about you? Um, the Winchester Park guestbook. No. Oh, actually valid.

Okay. And the- and Marion's green dress. You can't take two. You only choose one. Um, listen Alexis. No, no, no. I need something to wrap the book He has two hands you need

That window you need two hands to carry that window. I need two hands to carry the grandfather clock He can carry one on each hand so small But you gotta be careful with it, it's one of a kind No, I need something to wrap the window so you know what I wouldn't steal the book I think I would just open it up and try to find cool names Okay, did you take pictures of them? Yeah, okay, you have to And then I'd tear out one of the pages so that like people looking at it. I like oh my god What happened to the page? Oh, no, like somebody's name was in here and there's like a whole like and you're gonna be giggling in the corner

Yeah, it's gonna start conspiracy theories of like who visited Celebrity was it like this president was it like this famous? I don't know person. Yeah. Yeah, I think that'd be fun Yeah, what do we turns out he just rips out an empty page? But no one knows. Nobody knows. Well what I do know is that I have another story for you guys. Yes. Oh my god. So glad you knew that.

The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. Friday, September 3rd, 1971. Honey Spills. Traffic. Sticky. Missouri Friday September 3rd 1971 honey spills traffic sticky I love the title of this one yeah I knew this was gonna be a story before I even read it I was like the title I was like that's. A section of US 71 bypass in Liberty was turned into a sticky strip of road last night when six barrels of refined honey from a passing truck tumbled to the highway. Liberty police said the honey spilled

from the 55 gallon drums covered both southbound lanes of the four lane highway south of I-35 and cutting off traffic for about 75 minutes. Cases of honey jars were also shattered by the impact. That's a lot of honey. I am picturing this and I don't know how they cleaned it up. Oh man. Wow.

Fire department, pretty much. Yeah. I'll get it. Did they spray it down? Did they just like spray to the side? I guess so. So it says no accidents or injuries resulted from the accident. Police said trucks from the Liberty fire department were dispatched to the

scene to wash the pavement clean. But the state highway department had to be called in to throw sand over the block long sticky spill. That makes sense. So it was just kind of covered up. Wow. Traffic was rerouted to M152 and then I-35 while firemen and highway crews labored to return

the pavement to passable condition. 40 gallons remained in one barrel which a Venard's doll said would be recovered today. Police said the hitch on a trailer carrying the barrel snapped but a safety chain attached to the two-ton southbound truck held causing the trailer to swing back and forth. The truck owned by the Osage, Os at Sibley in eastern Jackson County was loaded with cases of honey in combs. George Venarddall, owner of the farm, said the load did not fall off the truck. The spill was confirmed to the contents of the 8x12 foot trailer, which was loaded with honey and eight cases of empty honey jars.

There were 12 jars in each case, Banner's doll said. He said the honey was being taken from a processing plant in Nebraska to the farm. He refused to give an estimate of the loss but agreed with $800, a quote, ballpark, end quote, figure reported by the farm. Okay. $800 a quote ballpark and quote figure reported by the so about $800 worth of honey in 1971 could when you guys look up the version that 1971 $800 anyway Sergeant Larry Lewis shift supervisor who took charge of the scene said the pavement was passable by 11 p.m Quote there will be a lot of bees there in the morning in fact they've

already started to come in oh true dude okay $800 in 1971 is worth six thousand two hundred eighteen dollars and nineteen cents that's a lot. So around $6,000 worth of honey was lost. That's wild. That's so much. I honestly feel bad for that worker. Right? Like how do you like you pull over and you just step out of your truck and you're like hands on your head you're just like oh what the fuck. I'm curious if they have like, is there such a thing as like honey insurance or like, I don't know. I'm just like, how, how does the business recover this loss? I don't, I don't know if I do, honestly. Yeah. I also imagine that this man either got just reprimanded a write up or just lost his job entirely. I mean, it would really suck if he lost his job.

Yeah, but it probably didn't. I wouldn't be surprised. You know, I wouldn't be surprised. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Poor dude. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Funnily enough, you're talking about things going wrong while driving. I'm not necessarily saying that something went wrong in this story. But for this story, this is from the Daily Mirror from London, in London, England. So we're going overseas. And this is from August 11th, 1958. And the headline just says, they swap their baby for Lori.

Huh? Yeah. Now, a Lori is a truck. Oh, a Lori. Oh, okay. Yes. I was like, who's Lori? That's what I thought at first, and then I was like, what?

A Lori is a truck, yeah. So it says, a young couple swapped their 20-week-old son for a Lori, police alleged today. The couple, Richard Reddy, 26, and his wife Helen, 20, were hitchhiking their way from Pennsylvania to California They Thumbed a lift from Jesse burger 42 as he was driving his lorry I was just thinking about the how long hitchhiking from Pennsylvania to California. Oh, that would be crazy dude. Wait, hold on. Let me look at it with a

With a... With a baby. A 20 week old baby. Yeah. Like why? What were they doing? Yeah, they were going to California. Why? They got picked up by this guy in a lorry. Yeah. As he was driving his lorry through Joplin, Missouri, Reddy is alleged to have admitted to the police that during the ride he said to the burger to the man. I'll trade you the boy for the truck.

It's a deal replied Burger. No way. That easy. Not even like asking the wife. It's just like, oh my God. The two men made out a bill of sale for the lorry to make the deal, quote unquote, legal. That is insane.

I almost thought you were just gonna finish after made out. No, it says, Burger was on his way to visit his sister at Tulsa, Oklahoma. When he arrived there, he told his sister about the deal and she told the police. Um, Mr. and Mrs. Reddy, uh, and Burger were arrested. The couple will appear in court tomorrow charged with abandoning their baby, Paul Andrew. Reddy told police that he had only 14 seconds left and that he and his wife were afraid that they would never reach California. 14 seconds? That's told police that they had only 14 police that they had only 14 left. Anyway, that said, that he gave, well, what am I reading now? Okay, that he said gave him the idea of swapping Paul, their only child.

We figure out we would be better off without the baby, Reddy said. Oh, Berger and his wife Barbara have a seven-year-old daughter. Paul has been placed in a juvenile home. And that is all. So I guess it's good they recognize they couldn't really take care of the kid. But I, in a way. Yeah. But just being like, I'll trade my kid for your

truck I mean I'm gonna do this I also feel like I don't know what the man was thinking when he said it's a deal burger yeah like did you not question it at all or like I mean maybe he was like oh like you know like I can give this kid a better life because these people aren't like good enough. Yeah or maybe like if I don't take the kid they can abandon him somewhere else. So yeah I see. That's crazy. But yeah so Alexis. I tried looking up how long it takes to hike to Pennsylvania from here but it

it won't even let me press the walking option. Yeah no of course. Of course. So like driving is 40 hours. Yeah, and these people are hitchhiking with a baby. Yeah. That's crazy. Oh, yeah, that's crazy.

Well, Alexis is going to be here for us. Oh, OK, anyways, it's me. Yes. Did one kind of long. This one kind of long. So I'm'm gonna send it to you guys before I Share it because I want to do you guys want me to share read the whole thing Our listeners are here to read it They want to hear your your your sexy voice, thanks so much you guys

Thank you listeners. I'll sign your autographs later. Send her a coffee. Yes. What? No, don't send me a coffee. I don't like coffee. Don't send me anything. Okay. Anyways. So this one was published by the News Messenger in Fremont, Ohio on Saturday, July 30th, 1988. And the headline is Flying Pig Sculpture Gives Birth to Pig Mania. Okay. Yeah. All right. It was the birth of an addiction of an addiction or collection, whatever you want to call it. I'm gonna go to pig mania.

Anyways, Cincinnati's passion for pigs and all things has, I don't know how to say that word. How do I say that word? I'm going to Google it. What word? Poresign? Is that how it is? What? Bella. Poresine. Poreson. Poreson. Okay. Okay. Cincinnati's passion for pigs and all things has achieved its own status as a phenomenon. It has been dubbed pig mania. Pig adorned sweatshirts, t-shirts, and pencils are selling like proverbial hotcakes.

Model pigs of almost any material, porcelain, pewter, hand-painted wood, and paper mache, are selling briskly at the city's gift and novelty stores. The interest has prompted squeals of delight from retailers. Quote, one of our biggest sellers has been a sweatshirt that says, who gives an oink? End quote. That's right. I like that. It is cute. Said Judy Rathven, who operates a gift shop for Cincinnati Historical Society, quote, every city should be so lucky as to have a little bit of levity like this, end

quote. It began last winter when some residents and leaders of this Ohio River city of 385,000 got upset that the city's bicentennial sculpture would include a set of bronze flying Sculptor Andrew Lecester said the pigs were just part of a salute to Cincinnati's 200-year history and were intended to commemorate the city's porcopolis days in the late 19th century when it was a hog-butchering capital. A hog-butchering capital. A hog-butchering capital? God. Yeah. But the issue became a sizzler that went all the way to City Hall and attracted international attention before city officials

decided that the 180-pound winged pigs should be included in the $600,000 sculpture, which was commissioned for Cincinnati's 200th birthday celebration. Pig Mania has been alive and well ever since. Even while city council members, some of whom donned plastic snouts and pig hats, were listening to the debate in February, a radio station had a woman carry a pig into the council chambers.

Carry, like, I just showed up a pig. Like a pig. It's bring your pet to work. Right into the counter chain Who gives an oink you for me? Pro pig forces Carried signs to get across their message Pig mania hasn't eased in intensity

Mrs. Rathven said tourists, including those from other countries, often make a beeline in the historical society's downtown gift shop for some of the more than 50 varieties of toy or model pigs on sale. She recalled that one visitor bought more than $600 worth of pig items. Oh no. No way. This was in 1988. 56, 88.

I can only imagine that this was a tourist. They come back and they're like, America is all about pigs. I need one of you to convert $600 in 1988 to today. 600 even. But then it goes on to say, quote, there's no stopping this, only the imagination. We're in for the long pool, end quote, she said. She expects that the pigs will be featured sellers through the Christmas season. Asked why customers are so attracted to the pig items,

Mrs. Rutherbine said, quote, it seems to make them happy. I think it's just a connotation. Here's something that's fun, and they are. People look in the shop and they laugh. We have windows full of them, end quote. Her husband, wildlife artist, John Rutherven, began months ago making wooden hand painted porkers on a stick for sale at the store.

The Rutherven's- Yeah, I don't know what that looks like. But Google it. The Rutherven's joined forces for a while to produce a variety of large and small pigs on a stick. Okay, that's what it is. Which they called Queenies and Weenies. Okay. That's not bad. I guess. Could be worse. Yeah.

But although demand was strong, the Ruthvins finally quit making them. Quote, we just couldn't do it anymore. We got queenied and we need out. End quote. Okay. Quote, she was a creator of the pigs and I was the artist, end quote, Rathven said, chuckling as he recalled his involvement. Quote, being a wildlife artist, it kind of authenticated the situation, end quote.

The people at the Greater Cincinnati Bicentennial Commission, which is coordinating the year-long celebration of the city's bicentennial, have been amused and perplexed by the public's fascination with the pig sculpture and pig mania. Pig mania. Quote, it's funny what will capture the imagination of the public," end quote, commission spokeswoman Mary Lynn Ricks said. Rather than miss the publicity opportunity, the commission distributed foam rubber pig hats, complete with wings, at the June 1 dedication of Lecester's winged pig sculpture. Rathven said the public interest has been an artist's delight.

Quote, it's been a bonanza. And quote, he said, quote, we really got into the pig thing in a big way. The whole city went topsy turvy over the pig thing. And quote. And that is so fun. I would want one of those hats with the like winged pig. Yeah, that's so fun. I would want one of those hats with the winged pig. Yeah, that's so cute. So the $600 in 1980 is roughly $1,595.

Damn. So just under $1,600. That's still a lot. Yeah, they splurged. On pig for pig merch. I hope they still a lot. Yeah, they splurge. For pig merch? Pig merch? I hope they still have it.

Maybe it's gone up in value. Yeah, I hope so too. I would love to have that. If a listener has any of those, I'll buy them. If any leads. Yeah, they're going to be like, my grandma has a ton of pigs in her house. That's wild.

Well, for my last one, it's not gonna be a Halloween story. Okay. I was waiting because, you know, it is October. It is. And I wanted to get something in there. So... Sorry, I just blanked out for a second. No, you're fine.

You were... I don't know. You were disassociated. No, I started reading the article, but like I was reading it in my head. And you're like, oh that's right, I have to share this with people. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a monster in his head. Also, because one of you did an article about Berlin or in Burlington, Vermont I did Just really and then what was yours?

mine That was in Burlington It was Which one It was Let me look let me take a look see Titsy it was the flying monkey statue it was the flying monkey statue the winged monkey Yeah, yeah. Yes, and I think it's I Don't know. It's really funny that these are both

Burlington Like verticals and they're both about Kids are like I'll get into it whatever okay yeah this is from Burlington Free Press Burlington Vermont Wednesday November 3rd 1926 complaints follow Halloween pranks. So, residents are flooding the police department with complaints of damage done by lawless boys in their efforts to celebrate Halloween. Harmless pranks were excused on the eve of all Hallows, which was Sunday night, but this year the pranks were not all harmless and they began on a Friday night and were continued through Monday night

One woman had a large iron lawn vase Side note what the hell is a iron lawn vase? I'm gonna Google it How do you spell How do you spell? Is it just a lawn and base? Yeah, okay Like is a vase for your plants outside. I found one on Wayfair. Yeah I found one on Amazon

It's really just a vase for your plants. I think that's okay. Got it well anyway this She had her large iron lawn vase costing $50 broken. Porches and doors were made targets for rotten tomatoes and apples. The contents of garbage cans were dumped on front doorsteps. Flower pots were upset and broken. Shrubs were uprooted and a considerable amount of property damage done. So, a lot of damage. Were you gonna say something earlier Jay? No, I forgot. Okay, cool. Well, Prospect Street, Loomis Street, Bradley Street, and South Union Street were the scenes of the worst

depredations and residents are demanding that something be done to bring the pranks to an end. A number of boys were picked up by the police and taken to police headquarters but the next night some more damage was done by boys. Some of the worst offenders were identified and yesterday it was said that prosecutions were to follow. And that's the story. Nice. Aww. I don't know, nothing too crazy, but Halloween pranks. No, it's like trick or treat, but at this point it's just like tricks.

Yeah, we should do Halloween pranks this year. Excuse you, but where? Like what? Like damage a property? Yeah, let's go rob a federal bank. No, no. How about we just gnome places? What?

How about we just gnome places? Gnome places? Dude, the gnome. Oh my god, I would love to gnome. Let's do it. Just work. What was that one story a long time ago of the gnome, the GLF, the Gnome Liberation Front? Yeah, the Garden Gnome Liberation Front.

Garden Gnome. The GGLF. Yeah, the GGLF. Yes, the GGLF. There we go. God, I still remember that. I think that would be fun. I don't know if it's true or not. That would be really fun.

But I've heard people say that, you can pay someone to gnome someone's property, but you do it through the dark web or something. And I'm just like, I'm not that tech savvy. I know what I'm doing, but I'm not that tech savvy to get in there and then pay people to do that. No, we'll figure it out. We'll figure it out.

Yeah, if any of you folks... No, don't. Don't know places. Don't know anyone. Yeah, don't do that. Um, well, I'm taking us to the Santa Cruz Sentinel in 1977. Okay. And it's actually from Philadelphia, but it's reported in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. It's just kind of a sleeper's work. I don't know. Yeah, I've noticed that with the Santa

Cruz Sentinel, they like to take stories from like all over the place. Yeah. Because I've done some Santa Cruz Sentinel things in there, like other areas of the country. Anyway. No, so this is a story from actually Philadelphia. And it's the headline reads, rare snakes smuggle to US zoos. So it continues. Yeah, there's there's smuggling snakes. Yeah, it says zoo officials quote, we're just looking the other way, end quote, as the international smuggling ring brought more than 600 rare contrabanded reptiles into the United States, a federal prosecutor says. Quote, I think the mentality among the zoos in this country when this investigation started was, if you can get an animal, get it."

U.S. Attorney David Marston said Thursday after a federal grand jury here indicted 12 persons and in a two and one year investigation that range from the United States to France, Switzerland, Africa, and Australia. So this makes her coming. That's a lot. They're coming from everywhere. They are, they really are, a lot of places. It says, eight of the nation's most prestigious zoos

were identified as having received the contraband animals. The zoos are as follows. The National Zoological Park in Washington DC, a branch of the Smithsonian Institute, the Philadelphia Zoological Garden, St. Louis Zoological Park, Dallas Zoo, Knoxville Tennessee Zoo, Sacramento California Zoo, Seneca Park Moon Zoo in Rochester, New York, and Overton Park Zoo in Memphis. So all these parks, all the zoos have illegal contraband snake illegal smuggled snake

That is so sick, which you honestly never think of like you're not going to Seriously, I wonder if the zoo is a new that the snakes are being smuggled Like they had to have been right because they're like no snake. Yeah Yeah, they're like if you can get your hands on an animal, get the animal. Do it. Yeah. And like they're like we're a zoo. They're not going to like arrest us as a zoo for this.

I don't know. No, it's wild. Like I never go to a zoo and think that animal was contraband. No. That's illegal. Exactly. I never think that. Is this a jail?

Are they holding the illegal immigrants? Among the 12 foreign nationals named in the incident was Jonathan Leakey, 37, son of the late anthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey, and regarded a snake park in Kenya attached to Kenya's National Museum, expressed shock and surprise when told he had been indicted. He said he would have to study the report before making any further comments. Although no zoo officials were named in the indictments, Martson said the U.S. Interior Department would seek civil penalties against the institutions and curators that received rare snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and other cold-blooded animals. So there was a variety.

Zoo officials denied any complicit in the alleged smuggling. We did not smuggle any snakes, said Charles, Deputy Director of the St. Louis Zoo. We bought the animals in good faith. The animals were in the country at the time we negotiated for them. If the animals were contraband, we weren't aware of it. Yeah, why do we? Of course they're gonna deny. No one's gonna say, yeah, we knew that we're like contraband, we weren't aware of it."

He declined further comment saying federal authorities had asked zoo officials not to discuss the case. In Memphis, Tennessee, Zoo Director Charles Wilson said he believed the two Fiji iguanas at the zoo were not listed as endangered when they were purchased. To my knowledge, those iguanas were brought here from the Fiji Islands, declared they were endangered, and we believe we were buying them from a reputable dealer, he said. The thing that shocks me is that if they were illegal, then why blame us? He said, we don't import the animals and did not know that they were

illegal, if that's the case. Yeah. Wilson said he had, Wilson said he has not been contacted by the customs officials who conducted the investigation. But Charles Beck, the zoo curator of Aquaria and reptiles, had testified twice before the grand jury. Ronald T. Ruther, president of the Philadelphia Zoological Garden, said last February when the investigation was announced that, quote, this animal came with permits we thought they were proper, end quote.

No, they fake their papers. These lizards, you can't trust. Oh my god. No, seriously, they're all... They're snakes for a reason. A custom official said the investigation showed that more than 600 reptiles were illegally brought into this country. That's crazy. How do you get into the illegal animal trade? That's a good question. About 300 of the reptiles died shortly after being clandestinely brought into the United States on one expedition in 1974.

Yeah, unfortunately, tragic. Yeah. The official said the resale value of the 300 surviving snakes and other reptiles was estimated at $35,000. Would anyone care to put that in the... This was 1974. Alexey. Math time. How much?

$35,000. $35,000? Yes. Okay, cool. It continues by saying, among the rare species of snakes alleged to have been illegally imported were Australian and New Guinean pythons, poisonous quote death adders, and deadly snakes. Other reptiles cited were Johnson's crocodiles, Nile crocodiles, and Fiji iguanas. Martson said that the indictments were the first ever under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. He said the penalty for conviction of illegally imported animals is $5,000 for each offense.

God! Jesus Christ. The 12 individuals were charged with violating custom laws, federal fish and wildlife laws, and the Lacey Act, which makes it illegal to take wildlife from other nations in violation of their laws. Americans indicted by the grand jury were Henry A. Molt Jr., a reptile dealer from Will Grove, Alvin H. Weinberg, a Kings Park, New York, reptile dealer, Stephen and Levi.

Reptile dealer. I know, a student from Pittsburgh, Edward B. Allen Jr., a Delaware County businessman. I'm a businessman, I deal with reptiles. David Christensen, an amateur. Ooh, I don't know what this word is. Type it in the chat. H-E-R-P-E-T-O-L-O-G-I-S-T.

Wait. Herpetologist? I was going to be like herpetologist. Yeah. Herpetologist from Trent was going to be like herpetologist. Yeah. Herpetologist from Trenton, New Jersey. And Rudolph, a New Jersey reptile dealer. Foreign Nationals indicted were Jonathan Leakey of Kenya, Africa and Christopher Wee, both

described as signip- both described as signapore animal dealers. Maurice Von... Maurice Von... Dog, I think? A wild dealer from France. And Walter Zininker, a wildlife dealer from Switzerland. And that is all. So, you said $35,000 in 1974?

Yes. You said $35,000 in 1974? Yes. That is $223,486. Whoa. I didn't say that right, but you got what I said. 200 plus grand for, yeah, 300 surviving snakes. That's a lot. $223,486, yeah.

Damn. That's a lot. 123,486, yeah. Yeah, that's a lot of money. A lot of money. It is. A lot of money. The more you know, snakes are not cheap. Fun stories. Yeah.

Like, and for every single case, and so I wonder if it was like all 600 cases of it, so like the money times 600. I don't know. Yeah, I want to. Oh, damn. It's interesting. You're right. Damn.

Wow. Anyway, good stories today. Yeah, very good. Thank you guys. Well, listeners, thank you for tuning back in. Thank you. Hope you enjoyed that. Thanks for, yeah, thanks for telling Jay

to go more in depth about the witch. Yeah, why not? Yeah, it was very satisfying to know more information about that case. Drink water. I didn't realize it like, so much. That was cool. Yeah. Drink water. Yeah.

Yes. Hydrate. And rest. And listen to all the other episodes we have. Oh, I thought you were gonna be like, listen to your mom about the witch woman. And... Well, that too.

And tell us if you have anything from Pigmania through our website. Yeah, just email us. Be like, this is for Alexis. Yeah, wait a way. Send a picture of it if you have one. Literally only send me emails, you guys, cause... Yeah, and the, and the, and the, what is it, subject?

Line, just say for Alexis. Yeah, wait a way. Yeah. Yeah, so she can read them and then, yeah. And then it can make me smile. Yeah. Well, yes sir. Thank you folks, have a good one.

Till next time. Thanks. Thank you. Bye. Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening to Chambers of the Occult. For photos, sources and anything else mentioned during the episode, check out our website at chambersoftheoccult.com. You'll find everything you need there if you do find yourself wanting more.

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