Loremen Podcast

We return to the Tower of London and make a last ditch attempt to find John Barkstead's lost treasure. Meet Mr Quarrell (the treasure hunter) and Major Pogson (the big daddy of British dowsing). The year is 1957: will the traitor's horde finally be unearthed? No, of course not. But James will tell a fun story about the Ceremony of the Keys. Come see the Loreboys LIVE in spooky West Norwood Cemeter...

What connects a traitor, a Sandwich and a mushroom farmer from Kent? It's the lost treasure of 'Invisible' John Barkstead, which is buried somewhere underneath the Tower of London. Although there are those who say ... it isn't. In Part 1 of this LIVE episode, we meet a regicidal bum bailiff, Alasdair unearths the TRUTH™ about the death of Oliver Cromwell and James is ravin' about ravens. Come see...

James talks Alasdair through the case of Anne Gunter's demonic possession... or was it all an elaborate hoax with lashings of wee wee? It's time for more Moreton! We're not talking Eleanor Morton, here. And We're not talking Moreton-in-Marsh either. This week's tale comes from North Moreton, and from from Mike White's book The Veiled Vale: Strange Tales from South Oxfordshire. Join us for this 17t...

Saints alive! Amy Jeffs returns to the pod, and she's brought a bunch of kooky saints with her. We're talking adorable otters, vengeful ghosts and a guy with a load of forks in his beard. (Maybe...) An alternative telling of St Edmund's legend (and many more) can be found in Amy's upcoming book: Saints: A new legendary of heroes, humans and magic. Come see us LIVE in spooky West Norwood Cemetery o...

Athena Kugblenu returns to the pod, for a journey through Enfield: the Croydon of North London and home to one of the world's most famous polterguys. But how is this London borough connected to a three-legged ape in Illinois? What kind of beast appears on the Enfield coat of arms? And is The Conjuring 2 a good film?* These, dear listener, are the Enfield mysteries. Athena's new book History's Most...

Pssst! It's mid-August Holidays Bonus Episode Bonanza time! Enjoy this bundle of bonus material from our Xmas Pig episodes. Featuring: Sunil Patel BB Miller Nick Mason and... Danny Robins You can get more bonus bits at patreon.com/loremenpod Join... Us... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Alasdair and James in a hot air balloon of the mind and gently float over the actual rolling hills of the cotswolds / Vale of the White Horse area. Quiet, peaceful, serene - wait what on earth is that on the side of that hill? Is it a horse? Is it?? Really? Have a look at the graphic for this ep - Have you seen a horse before? This episode was edited by Joseph Burrows - Audio Editor. Come see...

Eleanor Morton returns, with the remarkable tale of an Edinburgh haunting - and a school trip to the site of the nightmare! These are the legends of Mary King's Close, an underground street with more supernatural activity than you can shake a disembodied arm at. Eleanor has a new book out on August 15th, and an upcoming Edinburgh Festival Fringe show all about ghosts. Plus, we decide once and for...

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This episode was edited by Joseph Burrows - Audio Editor. Come see us LIVE Again! https://www.angelcomedy.co.uk/event-detail/loremen-live-again-18th-aug-the-bill-murray-london-tickets-202408181730/ 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=2...

James takes Alasdair to the spooky manor house at Sandford Orcas (a village not some cetacea) and this place is simply brimming with ghosts! From Ghosts in the South West by James Turner, this is a tale of loads of ghosts and one very macabre way of not getting blamed for farts! Follow along here... https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147382139#/?channel=RES_BUY This episode was edited by Josep...

The Loremen have been transported back to the Midnight Library and Miranda has a bedtime story set to chill you to the bone... CONTENT WARNING  Some grisly bits in this one, not for the young tbh LoreBoys nether say die! Join us for another Loremen Live at The Bill Murray in London https://www.angelcomedy.co.uk/event-detail/loremen-live-again-18th-aug-the-bill-murray-london-tickets-202408181730/ S...

If you manage to guess the nature of this episode's cryptid then please write in and claim your prize! Inspired by Steve Cliffe's Moor Mysteries, James and Alasdair return to Derbyshire's Peak District. The Loremen are on the hunt for stones adorned with strange carvings. We're on the hunt for the truth about Parma Violets. And we are on the hunt for the most surprising beast in the podcast's hist...

The Loremen return to the good old U S of America. Inspired by a gift from a listener, the boys head to Monterey Bay, CA, and tangle with a whole bunch of sea beasts. (Or should that be school? Pod? Flock? What is the collective noun for aquatic cryptids?) We meet the monkey-faced Old Man of Monterey (AKA Bobo) and some real-life red-haired sea serpents. So join us, under the sea! It's enchanting!...

The Loremen lived again - again! This is part two of the episode recorded in Oxford (the Cambridge of Oxfordshire) as part of the Saint Audio Podcast Festival. James takes Alasdair and a live lorefolk audience on a tour of Oxford, this time courtesy of John Richardson's Oxford & County Ghost Stories. In Part 2, the boys encounter a couple of workmen's ghosts up the Woodstock Road and James manages...

The Loremen lived again! This episode was recorded in Oxford (the Cambridge of Oxfordshire) as part of the Saint Audio Podcast Festival. James takes Alasdair and a live lorefolk audience on a tour of the county, courtesy of Mike White's book The Ox-Files. In Part 1, the boys encounter an apparition in Burford, a haunted cellar and a teeny-tiny crocodile (deceased). Apologies in advance for James's...

Welcome to Bamburgh Castle! Make yourself at home, especially if you're name's Lancelot du Lac. Don't mind the enormous venom-spitting toad. There's a funny story behind that, actually. It's the Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh... The boys visit Bamburgh, possibly England's most dramatic castle, rising up from the waves on a volcanic dolerite outcrop. And the legends surrounding the ancient Northu...

Richard Herring, a comedian who straddles England's North/South divide like a podcasting colossus, joins the boys for a deep dive into one of Somerset's deepest dives. It's Cheddar Gorge! Somerset's answer to the question, "Which Somerset attraction is almost as good as Wookey Hole?" Prepare to meet the Witches of Pocklington, the Devil (himself), grumpy gravediggers and what might be the birth of...

The Loreboys meet the audacious Scottish con man "Sir" Gregor MacGregor. Calling himself the Cazique of Poyais, this charismatic ex-soldier is the mastermind behind a debacle that will make Fyre Island look like Centre Parcs. He's selling land and government bonds belonging to the Central American kingdom of Poyais. The big problem being: Poyais doesn't exist. The year is 1823, and this South Sea...

Where wolves? James attempts to answer that question with a midnight excursion to Cannock Chase. This Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is home to a range of distinctly unnatural creatures. We're talking lycanthropes, black eyed children, numerous UFOs and at least one pigman. In fact, there are many reports of uncanny incidents in Cannock Chase, James went all the way to Staffordshire to investi...

Thersa Matsuura of Uncanny Japan joins the Loreboys for a tale with more human faces than you've had hot dinners with human faces*. We look at a bunch of Yōkai that can take a look right back at us. From fish with a face to a blister with a kisser, these jinmen will give you the jitters. Especially the fish, because they're real. (No seriously... there are videos.) * Unless you dine exclusively on...

James lures Alasdair back down to the water's edge for an Important Mermaid Update! The Hayfield Mermaid first appeared in Series 2 (get up to speed here). Somehow, the Loreboys managed to overlook yet another freshwater mermaid in a nearby bottomless pool. And the grasping creature that dwells in the waters of Blakemere has a heck of a backstory. It's Hayfield Mermaids 2: Mere-lectric Mere-galoo!...

This year's live show at the Leicester Comedy festival was a delight. The lorefolk were in fine form and James rustled up a folkloric feast, including 'facts' from Geoffrey Hodson's 1925 book Fairies at Work and at Play. Sadly, fairy mischief meant that our recorder batteries died towards the end of the show, so the final portion of this episode has been reconstructed from a low-quality backup. Yo...

April is the time for fooling, especially in Scotland where the first of the month is Huntigowk Day: a day for tartan paint, long stands and other bootless errands. James and Alasdair (a pair of anti-prank killjoys) spent this April Fool's investigating Loch Ness, a body of water which has seen more than its share of hoaxes. But one monster prank from April 1st 1972 really takes the cake. Is that...

The cats from Long Cat Media came back! Lindsay Sharman and Laurence Owen (who are so award-nominated they seem to have gained another nomination since last week) return. And they bring with them a first-hand sighting of a cryptid. That's right, Laurence saw Derbyshire's elusive Beast of Belper. Meanwhile, James Shakeshaft has not been shake-shirking his research duties. He's on the trail of the S...