There is still much to be learned about the seemingly sane Dr. Luis Merlo, who approached Sandy a few years back with some odd sketches of creatures that appeared to be real, but didn’t follow any anatomical rules.
In fact they seemed strangely familiar to Sandy because of his knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft’s fiction. Here is an early letter Sandy received that started him down the path to publishing Dr. Merlo’s works in The Anatomical Guide to Lovecraftian Horror.
“Dear Mr. Petersen,
I am delighted to know you are interested in my work. Through years of research reviewing the literature and scouring the field, I have come across enough evidence to build a compendium on the entities, even if some polishing is still required.
I strongly believe that the public and the scientific community deserve to know about them and, because of your vast expertise on the field, I trust you to be the person to publish it.
However, I must insist that these are not “Lovecraftian monsters” as you called them. The subjects of my study are mostly unknown creatures depicted in ancient lore and legend, of which HPL managed to get a frightening amount of information, which he simply conveyed through his tales.
That was the reason I chose his framework: He saw the beyond and was outstandingly accurate in classifying these creatures of myth.
My intent is not to scare, but to warn and educate. Creatures like the Zin Ghast (depicted in the attached sketch) roam freely in the spaces between realities, and yet can be fully understood by application of the scientific method! This is groundbreaking science Mr. Petersen, not magic.
I have attached more notes and images to this letter for your consideration, please excuse the stains.
Regards,
LM
P.S. I am sorry to limit my communication to physical post, but I cannot trust electronic means. Please do not try to contact me via email.”
