Department of Cryptozoology and Teratology

As its name implies, the Department of Cryptozoology and Teratology studies unknown animals and monstrosities. Nothing really 'magic' about that, except perhaps the hand of a yeti found among the instruments of a Nepalese shaman.
The vampire collection is unique in its breadth and scope.
A rare example of archicephaloteutis virulens from the Humboldt-Fonteyne collection was also acquired by the Museum from its owner, Mr Michel de Spiegeleire.

  • Bernard Heuvelmans
  • Vampire collection (Vampires have always been with us, ever since the dusk of time. They are predators, lying in wait for the slightest sign of weakness. They wait in the dark and feed on our life force. The vampire is the arch-enemy of the sensitive, his nemesis, his total opposite. Despite this, alliances and truces can sometimes be reached.)
    • Historical Section (The great vampire fright of the 18th century, linked to the dread of Satanism following the Affaire des Poisons, is first seen in Magia Posthuma, a work by Charles Ferdinand de Schertz published in 1706. Brimming with over-the-top exaggerations, the book tells a number of vampire tales from Bohemia and Moravia. The case of Peter Plogojovitz is described, among others. Monsignor Giuseppe Davanzati (1665-1755), archbishop of Trani, wrote his Dissertazione sopra i vampiri in 1743, refuting the existence of vampires and contradicting the opinion of Cardinal Schtattembach, the bishop of Olmutz, who made no secret of using Schertz's arguments. More importantly, in 1743 Davanzati's work was validated by a letter of recommendation from Pope Benedict XIV, the Catholic Church's leading authority on divine and diabolical miracles and wonders. It is now widely accepted that belief in vampires in the 18th century was linked to the work of Dom Augustin Calmet (1672-1757). A cautious sceptic, this priest from Sénones collected a number of accounts in his Traité sur les apparitions des esprits et sur les vampires ou les revenans de Hongrie, de Moravie,&c, a book in which the Church officially acknowledges the existence of vampirism for the first time. Held in check for some forty years, fear of vampires skyrocketed during the French Revolution, which some Catholic authorities blamed on a Satanic conspiracy.
      The 19th century would see the emergence of a romantic literary movement beginning in 1819 with John Polidori novel, The Vampire. Legend has it that the book was written at the same time as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. These were followed by Lord Ruthven, Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu and, finally, the highly celebrated Dracula, by Bram Stoker.
      • Vampire illustrations
      • Don Augustin Calmet: Traité sur les apparitions...
      • Camazotz
      • Babylonian demon bowls (These Babylonian demon bowls date back to the fifth and sixth century AD. The incantations inscribed inside the bowls are written in an ancient Semitic language, Syriac, and pseudo-script. The bowl was placed upside-down in the corner of a room because the meeting of walls and floor created cracks where the demons could sneak in. Lamia and Lilith, the first vampires, were imprisoned by the incantation. Bits of eggshell and food were placed under the upside-down bowls, since these creatures were very fond of it.)
      • Last rites kit (USA 1897) (This last rites kit went on sale in the United States in 1897. In case of emergency, a priest was called for. He could come straight to the dying person without having to make a detour to the presbytery because everything he needed was already there. The kit could also be used to give the last rites to a lost soul .)
      • Collin de Plancy
      • Montague Summers

        · The Vampire, His Kith and Kin
        · The Vampire in Europe
        · The Werewolf

    • Dracula section (No vampire collection would be complete without a rare edition of Dracula. Numerous websites can be consulted for more information and a full biography of this extraordinary Irish author . Here, we will simply emphasise that he was a sensitive who perceived the traits of the vampire in the strange personality of his employer, English actor John Irving. In addition to an original photo of Sir John Irving dressed as Mephistopheles, the Museum possesses a handwritten letter from Bram Stoker signed in Irving's hand, as well as the very strange pipe given him for his role in Faust in 1885.)
      • Dracula (Bram Stoker, 2nd US edition, 1904, green cover, extremely rare)
      • Dracula's Guest (Bram Stoker, 1st edition)
      • Bram Stoker (photo and handwritten letter)
      • Sir Henry Irving (photo of Irving dressed as Mephistopheles)
      • Sir Henry Irving's Mephistophelean pipe
      • Map of London (1900)
      • Map of Transylvania (1789)
      • The Vampire (Rudyard Kipling) (Poem written in 1897 on the occasion of the publication of the novel Dracula. Kipling was a friend of Bram Stoker.)
    • Pieter Schlemihl section (The true story of this doctor from Ghent, given a slightly fictionalised treatment here, is one of the rare pieces of material and historical evidence of vampirism.)
      • Rhesus 1
        · Story
        · Interpretations
        · Book by Chelman/Swolfs
        ·The Host
      • Equipment (CT/SV/PS/cv)
        · Case
        · Documents
        · Transfusion apparatus
        · Arminius Vambéry
        · Bottle of blood
        · Jawbone and artifacts from the Pannonian Tomb  (swastika, etc.)
      • Rhesus 2
        · Spirit case
      • Rhesus 3
        · Pistol and crucifix
      • Rhesus Timeline
  • Nepalese collection (A secret mission by the Museum in search of the legendary yeti yielded some strange findings. This was one of the most dangerous missions taken by the exploration team.)
    • Legends
    • Expedition
    • Shaman's gear and a yeti hand
    • Basket (develop contents) (CT/CN/CY/pc)
    • Hand (CT/CN/CY/py)
    • Drum and bowls (CT/CN/CY/tc-bc)
    • Shaman's hat (CT/CN/CY/cc)
    • Documents and newspapers
  • Humboldt-Fonteyne collection
  • Demon Hand talisman (CT/MD/Ta)
  • Skull of a horned man (CT/HC/01)
  • Peula Peula
  • Daphnia
  • Biloko