[Donate to the Kickstarter page by clicking here.]
About twenty minutes from my house there lies this huge piece of land, about 3,000 acres, that was once owned by Doris Duke. Doris Duke was a tobacco and electricity heiress from the second quarter of the 1900s. She turned a chunk of the property into one of America’s largest indoor botanical displays, which still gives tours to this day. As far as the urban legend goes, I’m not sure if it takes place ON the property or NEAR the property.
Anyway, the urban legends say that a woman was born who was so severely disfigured that she lived isolated from the rest of civilization. Other versions say she was a maid for Doris Duke who was injured by a fire in the mansion, or even some sort of pig-humanoid hybrid. Stories state that this tale gets horrific when boys vowing to leave a pigs head on her door disappeared, which is where I guess you would get the name Pig Lady from. She has obviously died since her childhood in the early 1900s, but her ghost still haunts the area. If you drive down a particular street (I’ve tried to find it, with no avail), and flash your high beams three times and scream “Pig Lady!” she is supposed to appear and chase you out with an ax. Also, if you leave someone behind and come back several minutes later, people have said to recovered their friends alive, but with deep scratches all over their body.
Of course with all good ghost stories, this New Jersey urban legend is receiving a cinematic treatment! Directors Thomas De Napoli and Steve Makowski are working diligently to bring you a new short film titled, what else, Pig Lady! Right now, they are seeking funding through kickstarter.com and you can donate to their page by clicking here. The plot of Pig Lady is definitely a horror-comedy, and summarized as a short film about “a teenage guy who tries to impress a girl by agreeing to face down the Pig Lady – an axe wielding humanoid pig creature. All hell breaks loose when they discover that the legend actually exists.”
Joining Thomas & Steve on the production side of filming Pig Lady is pyrotechnician Brian Schuley, special effects artist Jeremy Selenfriend (who worked on Blood Night, btw), artist Neil Dmonte, and producers Chris Goodwin (Spiderwick Chronicles) and Jordan Foley (Puncture). As far as casting goes, the only actor I can confirm for Pig Lady is newcomer Alex Shaffer. When I briefly spoke with Mr. De Napoli, this is what he had to say about the film: “Pig Lady is an indie coming of age comedy that takes a sharp turn for the messed up. This short is for every bored sur who has gone out looking for trouble and didn’t find it.”
So, get to donating! As a huge fan of WEIRDNJ and a bigger fan of horror film – Pig Lady has definitely grabbed my interest. Do not let me down people! You can even get some cool prizes by donating to this film including a signed DVD of the film, film panels, special thanks credit, script read by film critic, Skype from set, autographed poster, and producer credits. Pig Lady will be submitted to the world renowned Sundance Film Festival and you get to say you had a part in making this happen. And remember, even if you can’t donate, tweet this and help spread the word. In the mean time, check one out of the storyboards below.
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