Part of Merrylins collection of infant human skeletons, some of which are peculiarly disfigured by various ailments, this particular diorama, a “danse macabre” features four very young healthy human infants, dancing around a decorated tree, with various religious artifacts, a key, pocket watch and ribbons tied within its branches, all of which represent the articles of death.

Dioramas of such infants were often used to show anatomy and organs structures within the human body, often as medical illustrations. This physical collection is rather rare, presented here in a perspex protective case. They are ethereal and although a sense of sadness permeates their tiny bones, they smiles of joy upon their toothless faces as they cavort for all time seems eerily playful.

“The mounted skeleton of a young Draco Alatus, preserved at death”

Merrylin made great strides in understanding the anatomical and behavioral traits of the species that he identified. One species, that was on the brink of extinction during his years of research, is the Draco, a winged theropod, related to a subspecies of dinosaur that survived the KT extinction event. There is evidence of more than one subspecies of Draco, yet little physical examples. This very well preserved Draco is a young infant. Adult examples are of course cumbersome and more or less non existent. Within the Merrylin archive we have a number of younger specimens, this being one of the finest.

The basic anatomy is very similar to the dromaeosaur, not unlike Dienonychus or velociraptor. A bird like theropod, the forearm digits elongate into large wings which would support a membrane, like that of Pteranadon. Very little fossil evidence exists of this divergent species, that carried such a unique wing type, not found in other species of true dinosaur. What fossil evidence there is suggests that earlier forms of Draco Alatus had a downy covering, yet it appears that the species evolved to eventually shed these feather-like coats, and in place developed a thick horny epidermal adaptation, which not only provided some degree of insulation, but also the creation of keloid scarring in mating rituals. Draco Alatus are capable of producing a combustible secretion from the mouth. These displays created bizarre and unique markings to attract a mate.

One of few surviving research cases of the naturalist and Lycanthrope Behaviorologist Edward Harrell. This study case falls not long after his infection with the Lupus Virus, which caused malformation of the spine. Harrells ethical practices in the harvesting of Lycanthrope for his research changed radically as a result of his attack and infection, it appears he believed he had seen the error of his ways. Soon after this he no longer took the life of any Lycan, and any specimens that appear after 1815/16 are sure to be from previous expeditions.

Contained within this case, an overview diary of Lycanthrope knowledge which he gave to his pupils in his teaching years. Few of these are within the Merrylin Collection and they are a wonderful snapshot of Harrells wealth of information pertaining to the Werewolf. The trappings and tools of field research, a myriad of biological samples and specimens, including the severed hand of a young Lycanthrope.

Many have searched for this item for hundreds of years. In the late 1870′s, an amateur archeologist managed to prize a series of items from a crumbling mausoleum not far from the ruins of the Abbey. Amongst disintegrating cloth, a number of prizes. A carefully bound relic – a portion of forearm and hand of an undisclosed saint, the only clue, a reference to Saint Augustine, yet it could indeed be the remnants of Bernard. More likely, it is one of the 44 Abbots who held office there. Beside this a wooden engraving of a haloed saint, portions of pigment and gold leaf still applied. But perhaps the most stunning was the crude statue of the Madonna and child. It was squat and ugly, yet the peering painted eyes of the mother were mesmerizing. Much of the cloth and wood of the vessel were rescued and worked into a box by the archeologist, adding his personal bible to the case, and secreted it away, handing it down through his own family, until sold and authenticated in the early 20th century.

Wraith children, often known as vagabonds, were a horrific development of the aftermath of Black friday, an event that saw the spread of one of the most virulent symbiotic viruses. Homo Gluttiens are the result of two specific pathogens, an immunodeficiency virus and the Vampyrus strain.

The wrath outbreak started in New York city harbor in September of 1869, believed to have arrived on ships carrying slaves for manual labour. The virus was insipid, infection occurred almost instantaneously causing the infected to become feverish and eventually in a state of constant hunger. The virus augmentations were aggressive, drawing vital energy from elsewhere in the body to radically altar the bone structure of the upper and lower mandible. These result in bizarre disfigurements. What is more frightening is that the virus is not choosy about host – human or non human, the virus would infect. Cases of wild wraith dogs, looking more like shambolic zombified demons were rife in the slums of Brooklyn.

Once the virus was brought under control, and the piles of bodies burned, an unseen byproduct rose its head in the following months. children exposed to the virus appeared to develop mutations over much longer periods, and analysis of their blood was found to contain yet another strain of the virus. Their bodies formed perfect equilibrium with the strain, rather like that of Homo Vampyrus – but at great cost. Much like its cousin, the virus is dependent on iron as a catalyst for metabolism. Hordes of these street children were now attacking at night, bringing down individuals and preying upon their flesh. A special task force was set up to deal with the stragglers of the epidemic, but even years later, cases were still appearing. A terrifying aspect were the children themselves. They did not age. Unlike other variants of this pathogen, maturity was never reached. These hideous creatures were doomed to unnaturally long lives in a premature state, mouths of shard like teeth and a craving for flesh that could never be sated.

Contained in this case are the augmented skull of a child infected with the wraith strain. The skull has been cut in two, so that the brain can be exposed. The brain has been preserved, yet it is in a state of decay. Areas of mutations within the brain are highlighted. The front portion of the mandible is also shown, with the hinged parts marked in red. These are held by cartilaginous material, allowing the jaw to expand. It contains the trappings of a reluctant ghoul hunter, blood samples, tools and detailed illustrations of the subject. In the drawer are pieces of an adult jaw bone, showing the distended cuspids and the tooth sheath. The box is a beautiful size, much smaller than Abramo’s other research cases.

“A preserved infant Lycanthrope, presented within a glass dome, surrounded by a unique unfolding diorama case”

Years after Edward Harrell had overcome the affliction of the lupus strain, which left him with deformities in the spine and legs, his research turned to a more altruistic approach, applying the information derived from his cure of the virus to similar ailments, spearheading vaccines that could be used against Polio, amongst other diseases. On various occasions his specimens were used in presentations to raise awareness of these cases, and one such display was a Lycanthrope. We can only ascertain that Harrell did not present these examples as “lycanthropes” -more likely an inflicted individual of the Lupus strain.
Lycans are indeed a species, the symbiotic nature of the pathogen within their blood is transferable to other hominids, as we share a common ancestor. The virus itself could be considered a remnant of this relationship which evolved into a single species, with new born Lycans carrying the virus at a genetic level, which has a perfect equilibrium with the host. Cases of infection in humans are rare due to the low numbers of lycans and the unlikelihood of infection.

This lycanthrope cannot be identified as a new born lycan or an infected human who gave birth to this infant. Regardless it was born Lycan, yet suffered some degree of malformation of the lungs. The specimen is presented in a lovely cabinet which unfolds to show a series of illustrations depicting lycanthrope anatomy. The drawer below this, a large dissection case.

merrylin from Simon Lewis on Vimeo.

“The mounted skeleton of a young Draco Alatus, preserved at death”

Merrylin made great strides in understanding the anatomical and behavioral traits of the species that he identified. One species, that was on the brink of extinction during his years of research, is the Draco, a winged theropod, related to a subspecies of dinosaur that survived the KT extinction event. There is evidence of more than one subspecies of Draco, yet little physical examples. This very well preserved Draco is a young infant. Adult examples are of course cumbersome and more or less non existent. Within the Merrylin archive we have a number of younger specimens, this being one of the finest.

The basic anatomy is very similar to the dromaeosaur, not unlike Dienonychus or velociraptor. A bird like theropod, the forearm digits elongate into large wings which would support a membrane, like that of Pteranadon. Very little fossil evidence exists of this divergent species, that carried such a unique wing type, not found in other species of true dinosaur. What fossil evidence there is suggests that earlier forms of Draco Alatus had a downy covering, yet it appears that the species evolved to eventually shed these feather-like coats, and in place developed a thick horny epidermal adaptation, which not only provided some degree of insulation, but also the creation of keloid scarring in mating rituals. Draco Alatus are capable of producing a combustible secretion from the mouth. These displays created bizarre and unique markings to attract a mate.