The_Resurrectionist_The_Lost_Work_of_Dr

“It was quite a disturbing thing to see the taxidermy medley of Dr. Black. The animals appeared real,
as though their eyes could have opened. All they needed was a nudge and they’d wake up.”
Initially, the show included only a small harpy, a Cerberus (a three-headed hell hound), and an
Eastern dragon. But audience sensibilities were tested when Black presented a centaur that combined
a human cadaver and a dead horse. The macabre scene was simply too grotesque, and audiences
protested in horror. A local Philadelphia newspaper wrote, “Dr. Black is still disgusting and lacking
the decency, manners, and good sense he once had.”
But Black was determined to persevere. He never lost his conviction that all the fantastic creatures
he presented were once real. He argued it was his responsibility to science, medicine, and the world
to uncover the true nature of man. According to his claims, there once lived more bizarre and
unknown creatures in the world than what had been discovered. He believed mermaids once swam in
the deep, minotaurs ruled in the hills of Macedonia, and sphinxes nested in the rocks of Mount St.
Catherine in Egypt.
Black claimed to have proof of these ancient species, which had been shipped to him from around
the world, packed neatly in a case in his caravan. Although it was true he had received many
shipments, the contents of those crates are believed to have been specimens of mutations, more
oddities for his research from when he was still working in Ward C. Among the objects recovered
from the museum was a large crate bearing a bill of lading. It indicated that the parcel had arrived
from Constantinople; the shipper’s name was illegible. The contents of the crate were unknown, but it
was large enough to comfortably fit two adult humans. Unfortunately, even an approximate number of
shipments received by Dr. Black remains unknown.
Finally, finally it has arrived. I have waited long enough. It feels as though I waited
impatiently for a longer time than it took to travel here.
As Black’s popularity grew, increasing numbers of people came to be aware of his unique
scientific views as well as those of his critics. It’s fair to say that the whole affair turned into a sport
with two opposing teams. None of the mania dissuaded Black from remaining in the public eye; in
fact, he would often attend social functions, dinners, and public events or political rallies (usually
uninvited) specifically to discuss his position and philosophy. It was reported that at a small and
exclusive dinner club in New Jersey, Black incited the hostilities of the host when he hurled a glass
through a window, attempting to illustrate that God does not intend for man to fly, but man alone
intends it. His actions prompted further violence, and the main dining room was destroyed as a result.
I hear them marvel at my work—my indignant science. I hear them call out in fear
of what they see. And there are some gentlemen who doubt what I tell them. They
call me a liar and a charlatan or a quack. But in time the methods of science that I
now employ to convince people will surely set them free—alas, this I cannot explain
to the angry fools.
Black had little to no respect for his critics; toward the end of his public career he was known for
his volatile behavior and unpredictable personality. As his audience continued to grow, so, too, did
his critics. Black worried he wasn’t being taken seriously enough; he was a scientist, not an
entertainer. Disappointed, he performed only twice in the fall of 1884 before stopping the show and