Unusual collection of the Merlin Museum (10 photos). Monsters from the collection of Thomas Merlin Complete skeleton of Draco Alatus

In London in 1960, quite by accident, while renovating the building of an orphanage, builders discovered an entrance to a dungeon, which was carefully walled up so that not a single soul could enter it.

This underground storage facility contains thousands of artifacts and cryptids that defy any reasonable explanation other than the assumption that our world is not structured at all as it is presented to us. pundits, and of all stripes, from historians to biologists.

In the basement there were creepy skeletons of some fantastic creatures, strange devices and unique ancient manuscripts. Researchers have suggested that all these things once belonged to Thomas Theodore Merlin. And there were certain reasons for this.

Thomas Merlyn was born into an aristocratic British family in 1782. Since his mother died during childbirth, the boy was raised by his father Edward, who devoted the rest of his life to this. Being a military man, he just soon retired, and since he was not a poor man, he went with his son to travel, along the way collecting and collecting rare plants and various artifacts. This was facilitated by the fact that Edward was interested in esotericism, as well as natural history.

So father and son traveled for many years, until Merlin Sr. died. Thomas, having barely survived the death of his father, turned practically into a hermit, who was only interested in collecting rare exhibits of plants and animals, artifacts and ancient manuscripts. However, on the other hand, all this made him a fairly famous scientist in certain circles in England. He traveled the world many times (with his father and after him), visited its most isolated corners, met with a wide variety of people, thanks to which he expanded and deepened his esoteric knowledge received from his parent.

The Riddle of Thomas Merlin

Sir Merlin, according to the descriptions of his contemporaries, was a surprisingly ageless man. Already at an advanced age (to say the least), he remained in excellent physical fitness, while no one gave him more than forty years. There were rumors that his occult practices brought him this eternal youth and health. Merlin began to be feared and shunned, after which he realized that it was time to disappear from the circle of people he knew. And he disappeared...

It was not until the spring of 1942 that rumors leaked out that someone claiming to be Thomas Merlin had produced (unquestionably authentic) documents confirming his ownership of a house in London. This gentleman, no more than forty years old, wished to transfer the property to the Tunbridge Children's Home, stipulating that the house would never be put up for sale.

Some researchers who knew a little about Thomas Merlin immediately became interested in this strange person, since the owner of the house being sold at that time would have to be one hundred and sixty years old. However, the mysterious Merlin disappeared again, and now, it seems, forever...

The house, which was given over to an orphanage, was not actually for sale, but in 1960, as stated at the beginning of the article, major renovations were carried out in it, during which a basement was discovered with numerous fantastic cryptids and artifacts that Sir Merlin had collected for many years to the whole world...

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.

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 , completed 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.

Thomas Merrilyn was born in 1782 into a wealthy aristocratic family. His mother died in childbirth and he was raised by his father Edward. His father was an army general, but after retirement he became interested in esoteric and natural history. He invested in profitable companies to finance his travels around the world in search of various artifacts and unknown species that lived on forgotten continents or lost places, far from prying human eyes.

They traveled together for many years until his father died of sudden death. This event turned Thomas into a recluse, and he sought solace in his work. He studied in the large library at his home and also studied at University College London on Gower Street. Even then, he isolated himself from other students.

In subsequent years, Merrilin expanded the collection into geometric progression. He traveled all over the Earth, learned a lot, but he himself remained a mystery to everyone. He simply disappeared in 1942.

In the spring of that year, a man calling himself Thomas Theodore Merrilyn donated a townhouse for an orphanage. His only condition was that the house would never be sold and the basement of the house would always be closed. Thomas Merrilyn, photographed in a local newspaper handing over the deeds to the house to the new owner, looks forty years old, although he should be already 160 years old. They say that he quickly disappeared, leaving no trace of his existence.

IN orphanage They kept their promise, in the 60s it was closed and the existence of the basement was forgotten. The door, sealed behind two brick walls, could only be discovered by chance, which happened before the building was demolished.

Alex CF explains that all these strange creatures and mysterious manuscripts are currently on display at the Merrylin Cryptid Museum and they are real. From a scientific point of view, their authenticity has never been proven.

The Merrylin Cryptid Museum collection is believed to be actually the fictional invention of Alex CF, a London-based illustrator, writer and sculptor with a whimsically twisted imagination and a flair for the mysterious. And now you can add to his merits the skill of a marketing specialist, so brilliantly he promotes his Merrylin Cryptid Museum.

Of course, such truth destroys the illusion, but this does not make his terrible creations cease to be amazing.

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 cannot be met 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 can drag you to the bottom. big ship. Such an animal is called the 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 the US state of Oklahoma, a huge freshwater octopus has been repeatedly seen 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 underwater world, due to lack of knowledge, cannot be classified. 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” - bat with a human head. Some researchers have met similar creatures and believe that they are unknown species a vampire bat whose head actually looks like a human's.

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 big 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 modern territory, one of the animals was allegedly caught by a serviceman - they then made a stuffed animal out of the Tatzelwur, which mysteriously disappeared.

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 good tradition every April 1st to report 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 attempted to show his collection to audiences 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 whose authors claimed that artifacts from the collection of Thomas Merlin were a grandiose hoax made by 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.