The Mysterious Collection of Thomas Merlin. Unusual collection of the Merlin Museum (10 photos) Mysterious collection of Thomas Merlin

In 1960, an amazing discovery was made in London. While renovating the orphanage building, the builders came across a walled-up basement filled with wooden boxes containing the remains of some fantastic creatures. British journalists suggested that this was the famous collection of cryptids that belonged to Thomas Merlyn. The scientist devoted his whole life to mysterious and enigmatic animals, the existence of which modern science So far it can neither confirm nor deny.

Without material evidence

For centuries, researchers have been trying to prove the materiality of living beings known only from eyewitness testimony. The most vivid examples- Bigfoot or Loch Ness monster. There is plenty of evidence of encounters with them - and at the same time there are no compelling arguments for their presence in the real world.

Animals whose existence is assumed, but not scientifically proven, are called cryptids (from the ancient Greek kryptos - “secret”, “hidden”). The science of them is called cryptozoology and is based on the thesis that many biological species on our planet are still waiting to be discovered.

Cryptozoologists are confident that there are dozens, maybe even hundreds of unknown animals that live in hard-to-reach areas. So far, they are known only from local legends and eyewitness accounts. But just recently, before mid-19th centuries, such now famous animals as the gorilla or the giant panda were considered mythical creatures that could not be found in real life.

Monsters of the underwater world

The most likely habitats for cryptids are the depths of lakes and seas. Scientists say that now only 3% of the underwater world has been studied, so this is what promises greatest number new discoveries.

Since ancient times, there have been legends among sailors about giant ocean monsters that are capable of dragging a large ship to the bottom. Such an animal is called a kraken; evidence of encounters with it has been known since the 12th century. Some describe it as looking like a crab, others like an octopus or squid.

Such monsters can be found not only in sea water. In three interconnected lakes located in American state Oklahoma, a huge freshwater octopus has been repeatedly spotted attacking swimmers. By the way, indirect evidence of its existence can be the fact that the mortality rate among swimmers in these lakes is much higher than in other places.

Giant fish can also be found in the depths of the water. In 1924, in the sea near the city of Margita ( South Africa) many residents watched as a huge fish, covered with sparse hair, fought with two killer whales. This cryptid was named "tran-ko", but he did not appear again.

Many animals living in the underwater world cannot be classified due to lack of knowledge. For example, the Loch Ness monster is considered by some to be a preserved dinosaur, by others as a warm-blooded animal, and most simply find it difficult to answer what zoological species this creature represents.

Of course, skeptics express doubts that such cryptids really exist. But remember that before mid-18th century centuries, a huge sea animal, which was later called “Steller’s cow” (in honor of the naturalist Georg Steller, who first scientifically described this zoological species), was known only from the stories of individual sailors.

Are pterodactyls still alive?

Other types of cryptids include unusual flying animals. For example, on the islands of Papua New, a creature called a ropen and resembling a pterodactyl was repeatedly spotted. Airplane pilots met it in the air; according to their testimony, the wingspan of the ropen is approaching 10 meters, its beak resembles the mouth of a crocodile, and there is a crest on its head.

In the jungle, according to the testimony of local residents, live huge bats called akhuls, with a wingspan of more than three meters. They are covered with short hair and are nocturnal, feeding on fish that they catch in rivers. Traveler-naturalist Ernest Bartels, who saw them in 1925 and 1927, wrote about encounters with these animals.

Eyewitnesses from Latin America talk about winged creatures that look like huge bats or pterosaurs. In Indian legends, such an animal is called “Camazotz” - a bat with a human head. Some researchers have encountered similar creatures and believe that this is an unknown species of vampire bat, whose head really looks like a human one.

Still a monkey or already a man?

Many cryptids resemble giant apes. In the area of ​​the middle reaches of the Tana River, according to legend, there lives a creature called “code-done”. It walks on four legs and resembles a large baboon. These animals steal sheep in villages, which is why residents periodically scare them away with the beating of drums.

IN North America eyewitnesses met a creature called “bigfoot” (from the English bigfoot - “big foot”) - due to the fact that it leaves huge footprints. According to stories, his height reaches three meters, his weight reaches 200 kilograms, he has a small forehead and highly developed brow ridges.

IN Latin America lives a cryptid called "mapinguari". He also looks like a large monkey and can walk on two legs. There are known cases when these animals were killed, but their bodies were so fetid that hunters rushed to bury them as quickly as possible.

This group also includes the Yeti, or Bigfoot, a hypothetical humanoid creature covered with fur and living in high mountains and Nepal.

Little "alpine dragon"

One of the most famous cryptids is the so-called Tatzelwurm (from german words tatze - “paw” and wurm - “worm”). Researchers consider it to be a type of dragon, a reptile native to the Alpine region.

Written evidence of encounters with the Tatzelwurm has been known since the end of the 15th century. True, the testimony largely contradicts each other. The length of the animal is 0.5-4 meters, the skin can be smooth, warty or lamellar, the number of paws ranges from two to six, and there may be a crest on the back.

In 1850, the remains of one of the killed animals were displayed in a small church in, but were later destroyed. In 1914, on the territory of modern one of the animals was allegedly caught by a serviceman - a stuffed animal was then made from the Tatzelwur, which mysteriously gone.

Photographs and presented remains of Tatzelwurms often turned out to be a joke or a deliberate fraud. So, in 1939, Munich newspapers reported the capture of this creature on the streets of the city, but later it turned out that fans of sensations passed off a large American lizard that escaped from the zoo as a Tat-tzelwurm. In 1934, a Swiss photographer sent a clear photograph of a Tatzelwurm to newspapers - but it later turned out to be a photo of a ceramic figurine. In Europe, it has already become a good tradition to report on every April 1st some “sensational” news about Tatzelwurms, which ultimately turns into a joke.

At the same time, even venerable scientists do not deny the possibility that this animal may be a real-life species of lizard, which over time will be able to be identified and classified.

Mysterious collection

But let's return to the collection of Thomas Merlin. This Englishman was born in 1782. He traveled all his life, collecting artifacts, and became the owner of a unique collection of incredible cryptid exhibits. In 1899, he made an attempt to demonstrate his collection to spectators in several small towns, but the Americans showed no interest in the mysterious skeletons, and Merlin had to cancel the tour.

Another surprising thing is that during this trip Thomas Merlin was already 117 years old! At the same time, according to the recollections of his contemporaries, he did not age at all and looked forty years old.

Ultimately, such strange properties of the body led to the fact that the scientist was considered an evil sorcerer; no one wanted to communicate with him. And Thomas Merlin mysteriously disappeared - along with his collection.

His next public appearance occurred in 1942 in London. The forty-year-old man presented original documents in the name of Thomas Merlin and proved ownership of one of the houses in the capital - after which he transferred it to an orphanage with the condition that the building would never be put up for sale.

According to documents, Merlin's age at that time was 160 years. Journalists became interested in this phenomenon, but the scientist disappeared again.

The house was never really sold and stood unchanged until 1960, when the building underwent a major renovation, during which a basement with a collection of cryptids was discovered.

Some remains were mummified, others were represented by skeletons or individual bones. The boxes also contained ancient manuscripts and accompanying scientific notes.

In 2006, a book was published, the authors of which claimed that the artifacts from the collection of Thomas Merlin were a grandiose hoax made unknown artists and sculptors. But many of the exhibits give the impression of being authentic - there are no traces of processing on the mysterious bones, their location and connection with each other does not contradict physiological laws.

Several years ago, the International Union of Cryptozoologists was created, which unites more than 800 scientists from 20 countries. These people are sure: mysterious mythical animals exist. And this means that new discoveries await us, which for the time being seem incredible.

The famous traveler Thor Heyerdahl wrote in his book “Journey to Kon-Tiki” that in 1947 members of the expedition saw a mysterious sea animal that surfaced and again sank into the depths.

"Fairies" from the collection of cryptids by Thomas Merlin

Thomas Merlyn's collection of cryptoids was found in 1960 in London during renovations to an orphanage building. Workers were sorting through a pile of abandoned rubbish and discovered a walled-up basement containing filled wooden boxes with the remains of fantastic creatures.

British newspapers immediately suggested that this find belonged to Thomas Merlin, who throughout his life collected mysterious and enigmatic animals, unconfirmed and unrefuted by modern science.

Thomas Merlyn was born in 1782 into a family of British aristocrats. His mother died during childbirth and raising the child fell on the shoulders of his father, Edward, who was a retired military man. Having sufficient financial resources Edward decided to go on a trip with his son to collect a collection of rare plants and artifacts.

The death of his father greatly shocked Tamas and made him a hermit, whose main hobby was only searching for and collecting rare plants, animals, artifacts and ancient manuscripts. To replenish his collection, he traveled a lot, visited the most remote corners of the earth and met many interesting people.

In 1899, Thomas Merlin decided to organize an exhibition of his collection of cryptoids in several small towns in the United States. However, the townspeople were not interested in the mysterious animals, and the tour was cancelled.

"The Forest Child" from the collection of cryptids by Thomas Merlin

During this tour, contemporaries noticed unusual fact: At 117 years old, Thomas Merlin looked 40 years old and did not age at all! In this regard, they began to consider him a sorcerer and stopped communicating. Soon after this, Thomas Merlin's collection of cryptoids and the owner himself mysteriously disappeared.

However, in 1942, a man who looked to be about forty years old showed up in London, presented documents in the name of Thomas Merlin and proved ownership of one of the houses in this city. After that, he donated the house to an orphanage with the condition that the building would never be sold. Moreover, according to the document presented, Merlin was already 160 years old at that time!

In 2005, a book was published in England, the authors of which claimed that Thomas Merlin's collection of cryptoids was just a fake , made by unknown artists and sculptors. However, there are no traces of processing on the bones of the mysterious exhibits, and their location and connection with each other does not contradict physical laws.

British builders in the 60s accidentally discovered a basement with boxes containing the remains of mysterious creatures while renovating an orphanage, and scientists immediately assumed that it was the collection of Thomas Merlin. Their colleague devoted his whole life to searching for cryptids, the existence of which he managed to prove.

For many centuries, experts have tried to prove the reality of the most famous monsters described in the stories of eyewitnesses of the events. This concerned Bigfoot and a monster from Scotland, but no one found any compelling arguments confirming their presence in the world. It’s worth adding right away that these animals are called cryptids, and the scientists involved in the search are sure that there are hundreds of unknown species on the planet, hiding in hard-to-reach corners and known only local residents or described in their legends. Until the 19th century, the gorilla or giant panda was also classified as one of these species not found in nature. Lakes and seas are the most common refuges mysterious monsters, because they are only 3% studied and can bring sensational discoveries scientific world.

Ancient sailors often described encounters with terrible creatures capable of dragging ships to the bottom. Krakens actually existed in real life and are mentioned in 12th century chronicles, where some people described them as octopuses or crabs. Such monsters can be found not only in the depths of the sea, since Americans from Oklahoma have also repeatedly noticed a giant monster with tentacles attacking people in the waters of lakes. Therefore, there are much more deaths in this area than in other bodies of water in the country. Mysterious fish of incredible size were also found. Many residents of the South African city of Margate in the 20s witnessed an incredible fight between such an individual covered with fur and killer whales, but no one else saw it.

Also, scientists cannot classify the inhabitants underwater world, living in such places, so Nessie is still considered a type of dinosaur or warm-blooded creature, but most experts find it difficult to answer this question. Skeptics used to say that they simply did not exist, but only after the 18th century was the sea cow recognized as a biological species, and until that time it was only seen by sailors while sailing. This refers to flying monsters, striking in their resemblance to ancient extinct pterodactyls. Pilots flying over Papua New Guinea have seen a ropen with 10-meter wings, a reptile-like beak and a crest on its head. The Indonesian jungle hides giant akhuls from people bats, going out to hunt at night and having 3-meter wings. They were first discovered by scientist Ernest Bartels, who explored these areas in the 20s, after which he described that these individuals are covered with thick hair and feed on caught fish. Latin American Indians even have legends about mice with human heads that drink the blood of people and still live in mountain caves.

Many cryptids appearance resemble a monkey, so the Kenyans were absolutely right in talking about a monster who steals sheep from villages for his dinner, but is afraid of the sound of drums. Big foods are also often mentioned by Americans who have seen their large footprints and also describe these creatures as three-meter giants covered with fur, with a small forehead and weighing 200 kilograms. They are capable of not only frightening a person, but also hypnotizing him with the help of superpowers, and also suddenly disappear from view, passing through a time portal. Mapinguari also looks like a primate, only it moves on two legs and emits a strong stench after death, so the hunters were forced to immediately bury the corpses in the ground. This includes the yeti, which looks like a human and lives in mountainous areas Pakistan and Nepal at high altitude.

The most known species The cryptid became a Tatzelwurm, living in the Alps. Scientists consider it to be a type of reptilian, and the first mention of such an unusual dragon can be found in chronicles of the 15th century. At that time, many people variously described the creature, reaching 4 meters, and having a sharp crest on its back, covered with scales or warts. It then disappeared from view until 1850, when temple parishioners were able to contemplate the remains of the murdered monster for the first time on public display. Then they decided to destroy them, and already in 1914 in Slovenia, a military man caught such a monster and made a stuffed animal out of it. Then came the turn of falsifications, when instead of a dragon they showed an American lizard and pictures of a figurine, and Europeans on the first day of April were already accustomed to every new sensation about finding the creature should be perceived as a joke.

But what did the legendary collector, who himself was also a mysterious person? Thomas Merlin was born in 1782 and then spent his entire life traveling around the world in search of mysterious exhibits, and then decided to show the Americans his collected collection, only in 1899 no one appreciated such a great discovery. Then the scientist crossed the 117-year-old mark, but his contemporaries described him as a 40-year-old man, after which strange features organism began to be considered witchcraft. No one wanted to communicate with the man who had disappeared along with his rarities, but in 1942 he suddenly appeared in the British capital and showed original documents for his house, transferring the building to the orphanage on the condition that it would never be sold. Then his age was 160 years, but the scientist mysteriously disappeared again. The collection of unique cryptids was partially mummified, and there were also ancient manuscripts proving the authenticity of the exhibits. Now 800 specialists from 20 countries have created an alliance to find traces of mystical creatures and people are still waiting for new future discoveries that can revolutionize current scientific theories.

Reshetnikova Irina

About 50 years ago, land was being cleared in London for the construction of a new quarter. Then several old mansions were demolished, including the house that once belonged to Thomas Theodore Merlin. Several thousand old sealed wooden boxes were discovered in the basement of this building...

Having opened these chests, the builders were horrified, because inside lay the skeletons of various mythical creatures(fairies, vampires, lycanthropes, horned hares, werewolves, and so on). People heard about some of them from fairy tales, others seemed completely unfamiliar and strange to them. In this material we will try to slightly reveal the secret of these creatures and tell you more about Thomas Theodore Merlin.

In general, the personality of this man is shrouded in various legends. It is known that he was born back in 1782. Merlin's mother died in childbirth. The boy was raised by his father, whose name was Edward. It was he who influenced the boy’s worldview, since he himself was very interested in esotericism.

Edward and his son traveled a lot around the world, collecting various artifacts. Thomas experienced the death of his father very difficult, but still he found the strength to return to scientific world. Thomas worked hard on the collected artifacts and regularly communicated with representatives of the then scientific elite.






Thomas Merlin even tried to show his collection in the USA, but the local conservative public did not react well to this idea, and the tour had to be interrupted.

Over time, Merlin's mansion was transferred to Tunbridge orphanage, allegedly with the condition not to open the basement. But in the 1960s it was opened... Now the Merlin Museum is located here.




It is interesting that, apart from the link to the website of this museum, there are no other sources telling about this unique collection. From this we can conclude that the story about Merlin is just a nice joke or, perhaps, a good marketing ploy, because any exhibit of this museum can be purchased...