"The Hog" by W. H. Hodgson / A Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder Story

[@HorrorBabble]

Once more, we hear from that most special of paranormal investigators: Thomas Carnacki. In the very last Carnacki story attributed to Mr. Hodgson, we'll be introduced to an entity from the Outer Circle: The Hog. Previous Carnacki recordings: horrorbabble.bandcamp.com/album/carnacki-the-ghost-finder Chapters: 0:00:12 - Introduction 0:00:54 - Chapter 1 0:10:13 - Chapter 2 0:26:11 - Chapter 3 0:38:13 - Chapter 4 0:58:45 - Chapter 5 1:10:10 - Chapter 6 1:19:25 - Chapter 7 Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder: Volume II: horrorbabble.bandcamp.com/album/carnacki-the-ghost-finder-volume-ii Narrated by Ian Gordon for HorrorBabble Music and production by Ian Gordon Support us on Bandcamp or Patreon: horrorbabble.bandcamp.com www.patreon.com/horrorbabble HorrorBabble MERCH: teespring.com/stores/horrorbabble-merch Search HORRORBABBLE to find us on: AUDIBLE / ITUNES / SPOTIFY Home: www.horrorbabble.com Rue Morgue: www.rue-morgue.com Social Media: facebook.com/HorrorBabble instagram.com/horrorbabble twitter.com/HorrorBabble

[@DarkSideBecky]

Can you please read The De Silva Tales? Chico Kidd writes them and Demon Weather is the first book. I would love to hear them read by your channel! Thank tyou so much for the Carnacki tales have kept me entertained while I do my dailies in Wow :)

[@donaldmccleary9015]

These are excellent. Carnacki is hilarious. He is always tired at his house when talking with his buddies, but is full of energy when he tells the stories of his adventures.

[@johnbryant8603]

🙏🏽❤️🎩! The the nice part about allowing these to lull me to sleep, is that I get to ‘rediscover’ them in the mornings. Thank you so much. I’ll catch up on my patronage in a couple of months. You’re very productive, thank you.

[@babalon7778]

I do the same thing, I finish these during breakfast with earbuds in and it's so much better than the lame tv my housemates watch.

[@SkySailor75]

I love all the Carnacki stories, Thank you for reading my favourites!

[@Morboeatspeople]

Never any lazy writing in the Carnacki series :) I am always impressed by that. So refreshing to see a fallible character, who doesn't need moments of extreme stupidity to move the plot forward.

[@chrishalliday8371]

Thank you so much for doing this! THE HOG is one of my favourite Carnacki stories and ties in to THE HOUSE ON THE BORDERLAND, so it’s always been frustrating to me that it gets missed out of most collections. Finally I have the complete Carnacki canon by one of my favourite readers! 😀

[@EmoryM]

Listened to this while I slept, absolutely bizarre dreams. Woke up and listened again - yep, absolutely bizarre story.

[@darkstarnova5846]

Thoroughly enjoyed this series 🖤🌠 as always thank you and well done

[@pbr-streetgang]

Thanks for the reading sir.👍🏼👍🏼

[@jamiecameron7615]

What a treat!! Thank you very much!!

[@robertmiller6467]

I could (and did) listen to these Carnacki (Hodgson) stories all night. Bully!

[@bobbymarcum772]

This is wonderful! Kind of funny, in a strange way, too...it's probably the way Ian portrays Carnacki's tinkering with the subject's er...um..eh, um, malady. One wonders what on earth had happened to Hodgson which made him so adept at creating such descriptions involving pits and pigs in this, and one other great work of his. I must say Carnacki does not seem to mind playing fast and loose with his friend's psychological well being, or perhaps, play-acting the part of a necromancing Mr. Wizard with the man's soul. Lol

[@mostlydead3261]

Concerning pigs, it was pretty typical to keep pigs on ships for food back then. Hodgson even references the pig pen in one of his sea stories. Now, Hodgson was OBSESSED with personal hygiene. So it is easy to guess where the pigs and fungal infections and all other nastiness from his fiction might have originated from, given the conditions that sailors had to deal with back then.

[@bobbymarcum772]

mostly dead that is extremely interesting! I noticed that lovecraft, in Ian's admirable reading this evening, employed prodigiously the image of a pig in a blasphemous monstrosity - a swine-ish mockery of the human countenance

[@chrishalliday8371]

mostly dead That’s an interesting insight! I knew that Hodgson had a thing about pigs - see The House on the Borderland - but hadn’t made the connection to his days at sea. Thanks!

[@AND-od5jt]

Maybe s/o called him Hog-son..

[@Cuban20]

Something else that might interest everyone. The Hog’s true name is *Saaitti* and it’s a Minor Great Old One in the Lovecraft universe. Different authors added Old Ones to Lovecraft mythos. This one was added by William Hope Hodgeson. So every single time he was talking about the Saaitti manifestations he was talking about those evil pig-like spectors that were tormenting this poor man. He seems to view them as the most evil and foul of the spectors. So he more or less knew this was a manifestation, he just didn’t think Saaitti himself was gonna show up. Everytime he talks about these manifestations on the other stories he was secretly teasing the ultimate battle in this one.

[@andilucas6926]

Outstanding! IMHO this is the most concentrated dose of Hodgson's very personal sense of the horrific. I can't help wondering whether pigs figured in his nightmares... and how his imagination would have been affected by the war, had he survived it and continued to write.

[@GodOfPlague]

He might have beat Ozzie to the title War Pigs

[@baruchben-david4196]

Thank you for the uploads.

[@mostlydead3261]

I was waiting for your take on this one. Easily the finest Carnacki yarn.

[@benjaminhunt8307]

Thanks so much for these wonderful stories

[@marianparoo1544]

I just finished this story, and was left aloft at times. When I have a little more time, I'll give this a listen.

[@steffbartell3888]

Excellent, thank you, I've loved these stories for years, and your reading is perfect for them. W.H.H. wrote another story that I'd love to hear you read, The Derelict. Also wonder if you'd consider another of my favourite series, the Flaxman Low stories? Fingers definitely crossed, and thanks again.

[@mostlydead3261]

In the meantime, you can find a couple of Flaxman Low stories over at Hypnogoria podcast.

[@steffbartell3888]

Ooh, thanks, I'll check them out.

[@HorrorBabble]

Thanks for the suggestions Steff - would you mind forwarding them via our contact page? www.horrorbabble.com/contact

[@steffbartell3888]

@@HorrorBabble Thank you, have done. I'd love to hear your take on them. And thanks for the reply!

[@nancyworsley5057]

Thank you for the Carnaki stories

[@caryblack5985]

Another exciting adventure of Carnacki. Excellently done. Hope is the future we will also get a Dr Silence week as well.

[@HorrorBabble]

The Silence stories are a bit too long to squeeze into a week, but the next entry in the series is in the works...!

[@caryblack5985]

@@HorrorBabble excellent, look forward to the story

[@karehhartig7287]

Sending lots a love from our house to yours . I haven't written in a bit . I'm still here and loving Horrorbabble 🤩👻👾☠

[@williamfawkes8379]

Eek! The biggest one yet. This one slowly ratcheted up till I was actually getting tense, certainly a wonderful tale.

[@lordzaboem]

I just finished listening to The Hog. It's a solid cosmic horror yarn, but the story structure is so strange. We listen through all of the action, then at the end Carnacki narrates information about the setting to his guests (and the audience) for ten or twenty minutes. It would be like watching the Lord of the Rings movies, and then in the throne room scene at the end, Aragorn begins handing out exposition about the history and powers of the One Ring to the Hobbits. It's not bad, just abnormal in the way that it's written.

[@euansmith3699]

In my home town, there is a bus route called the Outer Circle. As a result, every reference to the Outer Circle pulled my out of this tale. Aside from that; this was a good fun reading of an interestingly odd story.

[@tediousone2804]

All good things must end, and alas the same applies to Carnacki Week. Thanks for the awesomeness, Horror Babble! ❤

[@feralbluee]

sorry, mr. hodgson, but this story goes on and on - and when you get to rings of whatever around the earth - well by the furthest away, i couldn’t take it anymore. i do love the carnacki stories, but this one needed editing. thanks for reading it though, Ian. as usual very good, i just don’t think you could do much with this one. :} after this, i listened to Your story - heaven!!🌻

[@fisk0]

I still liked it, but it's certainly a bit repetitive, I'm sure he would have edited it a bit if he had been able to. "I wonder if I have made myself clear" is used way too much in this one, and not only by Carnacki himself. Still, the general story is very good and there are tense moments throughout.

[@kaatteey]

Brilliant 🙌

[@charlesReed239]

Dude, I've been on a week long marathon listening to your readings to and from work. This is hands down the best readings I've seen on here. Hat's off to you sir. You've made a fan in Texas.

[@Perseverence111]

An addition to "The House on the Border Land" No doubt! "the swine things!!!!"

[@Self-replicating_whatnot]

Disgusting creatures. Probably don't taste as good as actual pork, too.

[@willhuey4891]

i immediatly thought back to that story.

[@joelbell6075]

I was also thinking that there was some connection! Also, the reference to his soul being in danger reminds me of The Nightlands, which was written by the same author as The House on the Borderland! I love when completely separate authors add to the original author's mythos, that's one of the main reason I love Lovecraft and his compatriots!

[@jctrevi89]

Great job, Ian. Here's hoping you consider doing some/all of Blackwood's John Silence series. Much thanks and love

[@HorrorBabble]

Did you miss this one? kzbin.info/www/bejne/foq5ep1qeZmGpK8

[@raymondgerman6671]

Too bad Carnacki couldn’t convert those bad pigs into pork belly futures.

[@PatFerris]

Genius!

[@RolandWieffering1]

From all Carnacki stories I find this one the most creepy.

[@shirleypearl2166]

Ian voice really suits this supernatural sherlock homes great stortys 💜🙏💜🙏

[@SC-jh9qp]

O when will Carnacki, Silence and Van Melsen join forces to rid this wretched world of its malignant supernatural burden? Do you understand me?

[@mikeshivak]

The sounds he describe remind anyone else of the Warrens from Darkest Dungeon when the torch goes out?

[@lorettamowell8764]

What's Darkest Dungeon? Sounds interesting.

[@snippycutwell9878]

Carnacki really went through it in this one

[@parkeaudio1338]

Finally!!!

[@justicepie314]

Carnacki sure is hog-wild about his job!

[@gwendolyn2001]

If Carnacki says, "Do you understand? Do I make it clear? I wonder if you can understand?" one more time, I am going to kick him.

[@BobbyMarcum-nh9lt]

I like in your own carnaki tales you wrote, when carnaki explains some exotic theory of his and says "you understand?!" , jessup or someone says "well no not really"

[@HorrorBabble]

We can't all be as sharp as Carnacki!

[@sarahstardust]

I love this and I love Carnacki, but for as smart as he is, he sure doesn't think things through very well sometimes. I suppose it's these mistakes and the way he sometimes runs away screaming that makes him so human and endearing, though. Purple and red can be used as foci and attract bad things, blue is holy and green works well as a protection too... Let's put purple on the inside of the circle! 😅 Just like the ring in the monster portal story. Oh I do love Carnacki lol 😅

[@sarahstardust]

I do get that he explained that he was trying to summon something, but it just doesn't seem smart to basically stand inside the summoning circle to begin with.

[@SuburbAllied]

This story describes pretty much what we today would call VR glasses

[@GodOfPlague]

Reminds me of a romp in darkest dungeon in the warrens fighting the swine people.

[@jlworrad]

Why isn’t Netflix or the BBC working on a Carnacki series, dammit?

[@jlworrad]

nickyiil Good point!

[@Self-replicating_whatnot]

In grim porkness of far future there is only Hog.

[@richardportman8912]

Wait a minute! He is talking about our beloved bagpipe/gajda music!

[@Dracologist]

a man using an early gellar field to fend of a warp predator

[@davidwhite7294]

I wonder if this tale came before The House on the Borderland. It seems to be a kind of prototype for it.

[@Perseverence111]

had the same thought, they are linked for sure.The House on the Border Land is one of my personal favorites. Looked it up, this one came about 2 years after in 1910, The House on the Border Land came out in 1908.

[@davidwhite7294]

I love all the Lovecraft but my next fave is WHH specially THOTB....what a story and what a character.....his life was extraordinary and much more interesting than the clearly agoraphobic HPL.

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

And now I realize the point of the colours in the thumbnail.

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

Is the client from the Borderland in Ireland?

[@johnwhelan9663]

"The Hog" (1947) is a mash-up of elements from "The Gateway of the Monster" (1910) and "The House on the Borderland" (1908). I prefer the earlier works, especially the latter, and feel "The Hog" adds little to Hodgson's legacy except a basis for renewed copyright. Since "The Hog" was published nearly 30 years posthumously, and since August Derleth (a known literary forger) was involved in its publication, it is also possible to doubt that Hodgson actually wrote this in its current form.

[@kevingoodhope5683]

I feel bad for the author, this story explains my dreams. No pigs though. My dreams are so vivid, I wake up with injuries

[@theratking013]

Reminds me a little of the Game called Amnesia:Machine for Pigs.

[@TheLordUrban]

I wonder if Dan Aykroyd ever read this stuff.

[@Wombats555]

Nothing wrong with The Hog but I was hoping for something a little more concrete about the pig people / spiritual entity from The House on the Borderlands... now that Ian is possessed by William Hope Hodgson's ghost I'd love to hear his take on it. It is something best left undefined like The King in Yellow but a morsel snuck into a future Carnacki tale would be cool. It is a particularly big blank space light on detail ... filling in a corner of it would be an improvement. Especially if you need an antagonist for a new story...

[@Cuban20]

SPOILER DO NOT READ UNTIL YOU FINISH THE STORY So I have been researching terms used by William Hope Hodgeson in his Carnacki stories. And it seems that Saaitii is the name of an Old One from the Lovecraft universe that takes the form of a Ghostly *Hog* like this one. And the Sumaa ritual is supposedly based on an actual occult ritual. Edit Confirmed, he is a minor Great Old One created by Hodgeson lovecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Saaitti That’s why he waited till now to mention the Hog. But every single time he mentioned Saaitti Manifestations he was actually teasing this confrontation. Also, it’s suggested that it didn’t always take this form. Here he is : cosmic-horror-rp.fandom.com/wiki/Saaitii It’s nice to know that in the depressing and nihilistic darkness of Lovecraft’s multiverse, Carnacki is an amazing light in the darkness.

[@chrisfisher2469]

Fkn heavy story .... heavy ..but somehow even a commoner can relate

[@tamlandipper29]

Woop wubwubwubwub!

[@Tekel-Upharsin]

While listening, I was left with the impression that this particular Canrnacki story "got away" from Mr. Hodgson. The narrative was all over the place with its excessive use and re-use of descriptive adjectives, each time weakening the impact of said adjectives. Lovecraft was always noted for his heavy use of adjectives, but they never seemed to lose their impact because he somehow instinctively knew how and when to use them. This was just... Adjective vertigo.

[@javedsultan4830]

Mr Hodgson was a professional seaman. he only lived 40 years.. but wrote some terrific scary horror stories

[@MatthewCharmanadventures]

He realy didn't like pigs, did he? Between this and THotB.

[@fisk0]

I've got a feeling the kids in school teased him for his last name.

[@SlideRulePirate]

In 'The House on the Borderland' we have all the piggy home-invaders and the giant swine-thing in the arena. Here we have the 'Hog'. What is WHH's thing about Pigs all about?

[@Normaschthewanderer]

Oldstyle tales did a blog post on this story. Basically they suspect pigs represent mans base urges unrestrained by reason and morality.

[@SlideRulePirate]

@@Normaschthewanderer I investigated your lead. A pleasant rabbit-hole to go down. You have introduced me to much. I am indebted to you sir.

[@precisecalibre6986]

Sleep Paralysis, the short story.

[@larsgadell5016]

I found this last story somewhat less entertaining the the previous eight. To much explaining I think is the case.

[@thefisherking78]

This must be one of the weirdest weird tales you've ever told. So weird.... 😂

[@madderhat5852]

mmmmmmm bacon🐖

[@michaellee6489]

Wow I had never considered the atmosphere as a source of psychic energy!!! How absolutely elementary...so obvious as to elude consideration...

[@timmy---]

This story needs to about half as long as it is. Too much repetition not enough getting to the point.

[@foofy3406]

paranormal porcine twister lol

[@angriella]

Yeah, didn't enjoy this one as much as the others, it's a dull story, for all it made me think of Pigs In Space!

[@nbeasley2]

I really love listening to you. That being said, I was ready for him to kill the guy and himself. Oh my goodness! I love your other readings! This was just not my cup of tea I guess.

[@HorrorBabble]

Thanks for listening either way, Nita!

[@SkullOfTheAbyss]

What’s with the Gā thumbnail?

[@SUNSHINE-t-m]

It's pretty accidental, but... the rainbow lights, the latex, "i liked him as soon as i saw him" and they way he cares for mr., ad the fact his catchphrase is "how queer"... there's a homoerotic subtext to this story

[@XthegreatwhyX]

By far the worst Carnacki adventure. It's very repetitive and boring. It's only good for sleeping, and that's only thanks to Mr Gordon.

[@HorrorBabble]

I'm not a huge fan of this one, either -- it's a case of taking all the Carnacki we can get! Ian

[@tikkidaddy]

Ahh yes...a couchon du lait..ol fashioned Lousiana BBQ...Comin right up mes amis😆 Sounds like somebody "sure does have a Purdy Mouth"...if y'all hear banjos....RUN LIKE HELL!!😃

[@tikkidaddy]

Ahhh boy! Gratons!😂