The strange creatures of the Thomas Merlin collection are the incredible secrets of the world. Thomas Merlin's collection of mysterious cryptids (18 photos) Thomas Theodore Merlin's Virtual Museum

In 1960, an amazing discovery was made in London. While repairing the building of the orphanage, the builders stumbled upon a bricked-up basement filled with wooden boxes with the remains of some fantasy creatures. British journalists suggested that this is the famous collection of cryptids that belonged to Thomas Merlin. The scientist devoted his whole life to mysterious and mysterious animals, the existence of which modern science cannot yet confirm or deny.

No material evidence

For centuries, researchers have been trying to prove the materiality of living beings known only from eyewitness accounts. Most bright examples Bigfoot or Loch Ness monster. There is a lot of evidence of meetings with them - and at the same time there are no weighty 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 species on our planet are still waiting to be discovered.

Cryptozoologists are sure that there are dozens, maybe even hundreds of unknown animals that live in remote areas. So far, they are known only from local legends and eyewitness accounts. But quite recently, before mid-nineteenth centuries, now-famous animals such as the gorilla or the giant panda were considered mythical creatures that cannot be found in real life.

Underwater monsters

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

Since ancient times, there have been legends among sailors about giant ocean monsters that can drag to the bottom big ship. 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 US state 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 water depths. In 1924 at sea near the town of Marghita ( South Africa) many residents watched as a huge fish, covered with sparse hair, fought with two killer whales. This cryptid was called "tran-ko", but he did not appear again.

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

Of course, skeptics express doubts that such cryptids really exist. But remember that until the middle of the 18th century, a huge sea animal, which was later called the "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.

Have pterodactyls survived?

Other varieties 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 seen. The pilots of the aircraft met him in the air, according to their testimony, the wingspan of the ropen is approaching 10 meters, the beak resembles the mouth of a crocodile, and there is a crest on the head.

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

Eyewitnesses from Latin America tell about winged creatures that look like huge bats or pterosaurs. In the legends of the Indians, such an animal is called "camazotz" - a bat with a human head. Some researchers have met similar creatures and believe that this unknown species a vampire bat whose head really looks like a human.

Still a monkey or already a man?

Many cryptids resemble giant apes. In the region of the middle reaches of the Tana River, according to legend, a creature lives, which is called “code-finished”. It walks on four legs and looks like a big baboon. These animals steal sheep in the villages, which is why the inhabitants 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 the stories, his height reaches three meters, and his weight is up to 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 big monkey and can walk on two legs. There are cases when these animals were killed, but their bodies were so fetid that the hunters were in a hurry to bury them as soon as possible.

The Yeti, or Bigfoot, is a hypothetical humanoid creature covered with hair and living in the same group. high mountains and Nepal.

Little Alpine Dragon

One of the most famous cryptids is the so-called tatzelwurm (from the German words tatze - "paw" and wurm - "worm"). Researchers consider it a kind of dragon - a reptile that lives in the Alpine region.

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

In 1850, the remains of one of the dead animals were shown in a small church in, but they were later destroyed. In 1914, on the territory of modern one of the animals was allegedly caught by a soldier - then a stuffed animal was made from tatzelvur-ma, which mysteriously disappeared.

Photographs and the presented remains of tatzelwurms often turned out to be a joke or a deliberate fraud. So, in 1939, the newspapers of Munich reported the capture of this creature on the streets of the city, but later it turned out that sensation lovers passed off a large American lizard that had escaped from the zoo for tat-tselwurm. In 1934, a Swiss photographer sent a clear picture of a tatzelwurm to the newspapers - but then it turned out to be a photo of a ceramic figurine. In Europe, it has already become a good tradition to report some “sensational” news about tatzelwurms on every April 1, which eventually turns into a joke.

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

Mysterious collection

But back 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 show 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 thing is surprising - during this trip, Thomas Merlin was already 117 years old! At the same time, according to the memoirs of 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 took place already in 1942 in London. The forty-year-old-looking man presented authentic 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 on the condition that the building would never be put up for sale.

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

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

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

In 2006, a book was published in which the authors claimed that the artifacts from the collection of Thomas Merlin were a grandiose hoax made by by unknown artists and sculptors. But many 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.

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

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

Thomas Merlin's collection of cryptoids was found in 1960 in London during the renovation of the orphanage building. Workers sorted out a pile of abandoned rubbish and found a walled-up basement, which contained filled wooden boxes with the remains of fantastic creatures.

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

Thomas Merlin was born in 1782 into a British aristocratic family. His mother died in childbirth and the upbringing of the child fell on the shoulders of Edward's father, who was a retired military man. Having sufficient financial resources, Edward decided to go on a journey 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 the search for and collecting rare plants, animals, artifacts and old 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. Shortly thereafter, Thomas Merlin's collection of cryptoids and the owner himself mysteriously disappeared.

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

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 arrangement and connection with each other does not contradict physical laws in any way.

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

This underground vault contains thousands of artifacts and cryptids that defy any reasonable explanation, except for the assumption that our world is not organized at all the way pundits present it to us, and of all stripes, from historians to biologists.

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

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

So father and son traveled long years until Merlin Sr. passed away. Thomas, having hardly survived the death of his father, turned into almost a hermit, who was fascinated only by collecting rare exhibits of plants and animals, artifacts and old manuscripts. However, on the other hand, all this made him a fairly well-known scientist in certain circles in England. He repeatedly (with his father and after him) traveled the world, visited its most separated corners, met with the most diverse people, thanks to which he expanded and deepened his esoteric knowledge received from the parent.

The mystery 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 a wonderful physical form, while no one gave him more than forty years. It was rumored that this eternal youth and health was brought to him by his occult practices. Merlin began to be afraid 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 posing as Thomas Merlin had produced (undoubted authenticity) documents confirming his ownership of a house in London. This gentleman, no more than forty years of age, wished to give the property to the Tunbridge Orphanage on the condition that the house should 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 should have been one hundred and sixty years old. However mysterious Merlin disappeared again, and now, it seems, forever ...

The house given over to the orphanage was not actually for sale, but in 1960, as it was said at the beginning of the article, it was overhauled, during which a basement was discovered with numerous fantastic cryptids and artifacts that Sir Merlin had been collecting for many years around the world...

About 50 years ago, in London, they were clearing a place 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 found in the basement of this building...

Having opened these chests, the builders were horrified, because inside were 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 article, 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 in the distant 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 fond of esotericism.

Edward and his son traveled the world a lot, collecting a variety of artifacts. Thomas experienced the death of his father very difficult, but nevertheless he found the strength to return to scientific world. Thomas worked extensively on the collected artifacts and interacted regularly with representatives of the then scientific elite.






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

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




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

A few days ago in London, builders began demolishing an old mansion that had previously belonged to a gentleman named Thomas Theodor Merlin(Thomas Theodore Merlin). As soon as this house is demolished, a new modern residential area is planned to be built in its place. But when the workers went down to the basement of the mansion, they found there creepy collection of skeletons of many unknown creatures. Experts have already recognized it as the strangest and most unusual private collection V recent history London.

In London, in the basement of the house found a collection of creepy monsters

Thomas Theodore Merlin was born into an aristocratic family in London in 1782. Later, he became a highly respected scientist - a naturalist, zoologist and archaeologist. Hidden in his dusty basement were several thousand small wooden boxes, each tightly closed. When they began to open the boxes, they found in them the remains of some bodies that seemed to exist only in the darkest fairy tales.


During Merlin's lifetime main passion was the study of esoteric natural history. He constantly traveled to the most unusual and strange corners of the world in search of mystical artifacts and plants. Perhaps the result of these trips was this monster collection in the basement of his house.