Welcome to the National Supernatural History Museum at Beacon Hills and our latest exhibit
- "A Kanima at Versallis".
The remains and artifacts surrounding the discovery of this rare and mysterious creature
from the 18th century are on loan from the French National Supernatural Museum at Paris.
The centerpiece of the exhibit showcases the world’s only known skeleton of an "alpha"
kanima, discovered by a Flanders farmer while plowing a field in 1966.
Initially thought to be the partial remains of slain soldier from the first world war,
workers at the Gallery of paleontology and comparative anatomy quickly determined the
remains were of supernatural origin.
The bones reacted to Rowan ashes so they knew it was unusual.
Stephan hoped it was a vampire.
Of course there's no such thing, several different types of werewolves we know about but there
is no vampire.
According to the extensive collection of Henri Argent Journals on permanent display at Versailles
- a kanima arrived at the court of King Louis the fifteenth of France in 1767.
The kanima was ultimately revealed to be a tradesman of Flanders who was hired along
with hundreds of others to work on the new palace opera space.
But about a dozen courtiers were killed in nightly attacks before Argent and his wife
Jean Marie Valet managed to track and capture the
lizard-like creature’s human form.
According to Argent, the man was the unwitting and unwilling host of the shapeshifter.
Following the werewolf hunters’ instructions - the king ordered a cage - "simple in shape
but of extraordinary complexity" "consisting of layers of metal bars and woven pieces of
rowan wood."
Under strict secrecy, the cage was built in one night inside a temporary structure on
the grounds at Versailles
The king – having survived one assassination attempt in 1754 – did not want word of his
latest brush with death to reach his people or his political enemies.
At the Argents’ urging, the prisoner was not fed and only allowed water laced with
wolfsbane and heavy doses of opium.
from the journal of Henri Argent 1767”
[speaking French]
Translator: As I questioned, the man began to change in a most dramatic way, scales like
those of a snake appeared in waves upon his skin, his face elongated until it appeared
snake-like and the transformed man spoke in voice different than his own.
A thick eastern accent, I initially believed to be Russian, demanded to know if the murderous
king was dead.
When informed otherwise, it cursed Louis and his entire line, France, French women, and
the sorry state of French opera.
Upon hearing Argent’s account, the king came to the cage and situated himself nearby
for more than three hours waiting for the creature to speak again.
For much of that time, the human only moaned or sang softly in Waloon while the king amused
himself playing cards. Toward sunset, Argent reports that the scales again appeared
on the man’s skin his drooping eyes opened showing red and yellow with the slit-shaped
pupil of a snake.
The king seemed fascinated by the process and edged ever closer to the cage until his
guard bade him stop.
In a few moments, the creature fixed its gaze on Louis and spat “puppet king” and words
in a language Argent did not recognize.
His excellence exclaimed – [Speaking French]
The voice of the traitor Saint Germain.
A student of alchemy, the Comte de Saint Germain had been a favorite of the king’s mistress
Madame de Pompadour but ran afoul of the king’s advisors during the seven years war and was
sent fleeing across Europe.
It is believed that Saint Germain found the kanima in the possession
of petty thief in Belgium.
While the Count apparently paid for the creature with several diamonds, the purchase price
and the means by which the kanima was transferred to its new master are lost to history.
After a few more attempts to free his monster remotely, Staint Germain apparently gave up
leaving the man to doze, drugged, in human form.
It stayed that way for approximately three months before the man was found dead.
While obviously deceased and declared so by a court physician, Henri Argent demanded that
the body be returned to the cage and locked inside.
Within a day, the body began oozing a clear viscous liquid.
According to the journal the room filled with smell of cinnamon and rotted wood.
When the third day dawned, the liquid had hardened into a full body cocoon and was pulsing
with an inner light.
After a week, the cocoon opened with a thunderous crack.
By the time Henri was summoned and was making his way through the palace grounds to the
outbuilding that housed the cage – the creature burst up through the roof of the structure
and flew away.
Immediately, reports of a winged demon began to spread throughout the French countryside.
One cow was reportedly mutilated and partially eaten by the beast, but there were no
reports of any attacks on people as the creature seemed to avoid populated areas.
The Argents tracked three weeks north out to Flanders.
dutifully taking down the accounts and sketching out even the most outlandish descriptions of the creature.
The last confirmed sighting was from a soldier atop the Citadel of Lille who reported the
creature circled the star shaped fortification slowly several times before flying toward
the northeast.
While the tales of the “flying demon man of Flanders” persisted for decades, there
was no evidence of what had actually happened to the creature that Argent and Valet dubbed
the “kanima evolved”.
And now this rare creature comes to the home of the nemeton – Beacon Hills - offering
a unique opportunity to explore a piece of history that has captivated imaginations for
centuries.
While viewing the actual reconstructed remains of the creature, artifacts and 3-d recreations
of the various images and descriptions from the Argent journals - visitors can gain insight
into the cultural significance of this creature and its impact on French folklore and mythology.
See "A Kanima at Versailles"! Tickets on sale now at the museum in the heart of Downtown
Beacon Hills – join us for this once in a lifetime opportunity and step back in time
to uncover the supernatural secrets of the past!