The Centaur of Knoxville

“They” will tell you it isn’t real, that it’s just a gaffe, a prank. A modern-Art project. A joke. The Centaur (half man and half horse, in case there’s one of you out there who isn’t that up on his Greek mythology) on display in the library at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville dates back to 1300 BC and was discovered in Greece in 1980. “They” will tell you that it is in fact the remains of a Shetland Pony cobbled together with some bones from an old medical school skeleton of the human variety, that the Centaur is the creation of a man named Bill Willers, who was, or is, a biology professor at University of Wisconsin; I don’t know if this Mr. Willers is still alive, or if he ever really existed in the first place. Supposedly Willers built it, and then UT Art professor Beauvais Lyons encouraged the University to buy it and put it on display. Well *I* don’t buy it. I know a smooth cover story when I hear one! The Centaur is genuine! “They” are just afraid to admit it, as it would throw all their precious theories into a tailspin.

All joking aside, I’m going to have to swing by the college and check out the Centaur the next time I’m in the area. Who cares if it’s “real” or not? It will be real to me.

Besides, there’s another Centaur at the P.T. Barnum Museum in Connecticut, and it is undeniably the genuine artifact!

By The Evil Cheezman

WAYNE MILLER is the owner and creative director of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS (www.evilcheezproductions.blogspot.com, www.facebook.com/evilcheezproductions), specializing in theatrical performances and haunted attractions. He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 MORTUI VELOCES SUNT!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.