Free Republic

Dave Roberts has created one of the creepiest attractions that can have ever existedMany of us dream of quitting our jobs to stay at home practising a weird hobby every day, and a taxidermist and horror-lover from south Wales has done just that. Father-of-two Dave Roberts opened his Morbitorium in 2018 in the house which neighbours his partner’s property in the quiet village of Pontywaun nestled between Cwmcarn and Crosskeys. He knocked through the wall to connect the two small houses and has stacked the building with curiosities he’s collected over the last decade to create what is surely one...

For the first time since 1943, Pennsylvania has a new state record typical whitetail taken with a firearm. The “new” record buck, however, was shot about 60 years ago. Frederick Kyriss shot the 14-point buck, which measured 202 7/8 inches according to the Boone & Crockett scoring system, in Montgomery County some time in the 1960s. He had the skull with antlers attached mounted in his garage for decades without ever having it measured. Game Commission officials aren’t exactly sure when Kyriss took the giant buck, but guessed it was in the 1960s. In the record book, the harvest year...

This bizarre mythical creature has been used to trick gullible tourists in the Alps for almost two centuries.If you're ever in a Bavarian forest, keep an eye out for the Wolpertinger. Also known by several variations on the name such as Wolperdinger, Woipertinger and Volpertinger, this mythological creature is a hybrid of several animals with artistic depictions of it present as early as the 16th century. Although no one knows exactly when or why it came into being, it is commonly believed that the rise in popularity of the Wolpertinger myth over the past two centuries is due to the...

Flying the OstrichCopter (real stuffed ostrich) Here's the WTF video of the day!

CARACAS — Venezuela's government said on Wednesday it may not be possible to embalm the remains of late leader Hugo Chavez as planned because the process should have been started earlier. Chavez died last week aged 58 after a two-year battle with cancer. His body has been on display in a glass-topped coffin at a grandiose military academy in the capital Caracas, where millions of people have filed past to pay homage. The government had said it planned to embalm Chavez's remains "for eternity" in much the same way as was done with the remains of Soviet leaders Lenin and...

Orville certainly isn't the first cat to fly, but he may be the first cat to do so under his own power.

It’s officially legal to kill Bigfoot in Texas Cryptid conservationists, be on the alert; it's officially open season on Sasquatch. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, if you can find Bigfoot in the state of Texas, you can kill it. Cryptomundo reader John Lloyd Scharf sent a letter to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department about whether it would be legal to kill Bigfoot, and apparently department Chief of Staff L. David Sinclair replied that killing an indigenous cryptid would be legal since it isn't listed as a game animal: The statute that you cite (Section 61.021) refers...

I like Rick Santorum and I've been rooting for him to be "The Surprise" coming out of Iowa in 2012. But could stuff like this short exceprt from "The Believer" by Michael Sokolove, hurt him in the General Election? Is this beyond the pale? From "The Beleiver" by Michael Sokolove: The childbirth in 1996 was a source of terrible heartbreak -- the couple were told by doctors early in the pregnancy that the baby Karen was carrying had a fatal defect and would survive only for a short time outside the womb. According to Karen Santorum's book, ''Letters to Gabriel:...

Right about now, you're probably starting to receive Christmas cards from friends and family. It's pretty safe to assume that most of them are adorned with candid shots of smiling faces, and some even have a picture of the newest addition to the family: a kid or man's best friend. Well a Christmas card from San Juan's mayor just earned him a spot on the famous blog "AwkwardFamilyPhoto.com."...

Chuck Testa, a remarkable taxidermist and inspiring camouflageur, explains his age-old skinning secrets in song. He is aided by an astonished choir of children, who accidentally harmonize in wonder at his illusory powers.

http://www.ojaitaxidermy.com Commercial created by YouTube sensations Rhett and Link as part of "commercial kings"http://www.ifc.com/rhett-link/episodes/taxidermy-comedy.php

Animal lovers, look away now! These pictures show the misfortune of some of the world's best known creatures ranging from lame leopards to pitiful polar bears!

Democrats and liberals have a nightmare vision of the Supreme Court's future: President Obama is defeated for re-election next year and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, at 78 the oldest justice, soon finds her health will not allow her to continue on the bench. The new Republican president appoints Ginsburg's successor, cementing conservative domination of the court, and soon the justices roll back decisions in favor of abortion rights and affirmative action.

They look perfectly civilised, carefully passing cups and plates around a large table while enjoying afternoon tea. But these guests are in fact stuffed kittens in an odd piece of artwork which will make up part of a special one-off exhibition. It is just one piece of a bizarre Victorian collection of stuffed animals which was broken up and sold around the world seven years ago. The eccentric world of taxidermist Walter Potter, where stuffed animals mimic human life including toads playing leapfrog and rat police raiding a drinking den, was sold for more than £500,000 in 2003.

Looking for a large conversation piece to decorate your home or office? A hippopotamus will be among 700 unusual taxidermy mounts offered to the public Friday and Saturday during the World Class Big Game Trophy Mount & Western Auction at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth. "It’s huge one monstrosity of a piece," John Brommel, the sale organizer, said of the hippo. "It probably weighs 700 pounds." Hippos are the third-largest land mammal, after elephants and white rhinos. Other auction items include a rare black rhino shoulder mount valued at $15,000 to $30,000, a polar bear standing at...

£87,000 Government grant for... dead dog museum By ANDY DOLAN Last updated at 08:24am on 31st August 2007 Even by the barmy standards of modern Arts grants, it sounds a barking mad scheme. One of Britain's most bizarre museum collections has just been awarded an £87,000 grant - to spruce up its display of 88 stuffed dogs. It was part of a new £4million funding package from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and charitable body the Wolfson Foundation for an array of projects in 43 museums and galleries across England. Yesterday the Natural History Museum at Tring, Hertfordshire,...

<p>In Rowley, those who have gathered at Town Hall for the past few weeks haven't been yelling about affordable housing and taxes.</p> <p>They've been arguing about birds. Stuffed birds.</p> <p>No one in Rowley ever imagined that the collection of 400 mounted birds at Town Hall, a gift to the community from the late taxidermist Charles A. Houghton in the 1920s, would become the town's most divisive issue.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON — In a gesture of support for a friend and fellow Democrat, Sen. Daniel Inouye and Sen. Daniel Akaka yesterday defended the decision by U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink's family to keep details of her medical condition private.</p> <p>Mink, 74, has been in the intensive care unit at Straub Hospital & Clinic since Sept. 1 with viral pneumonia linked to a case of chicken pox. Her family has asked the hospital not to release details of her condition, and her congressional office issued a statement Wednesday asking for the public's patience.</p>