From the Journal of Robert Weizz

April 6, 1922, London

I find myself filled with a sense of unspeakable dread, and fear that I have entered into something that I should not have come anywhere near.

Whereas, after my time in the orphanage, I have grown up under the wing of my father Hardeen and my uncle Harry Houdini, I find their teachings of debunking of the supernatural more and more distant. This dream of mine to return to Europe and follow my Hungarian ancestry, while earning a living as a magician, to be turning into something of a nightmare.

My life here in London started well enough. With my father and uncle's letters of introduction, the task of landing my first job at the well know Adelphi Theatre was not difficult. Until now, I have achieved modest success as the introductory magic act for a number of more well known performers. I fear that all that has now changed after falling in with the Baron and Professor Wraight.

Our initial investigations seemed innocent enough - tracking down the source of the recent death of one Professor Masters, obviously by an escaped zoo animal. The descriptions of the "facts" associated with the event were all events easily replicated by techniques taught to me by my father and uncle (or so I thought). But as we progressed further into the investigation, I started to feel more and more uneasy.

After interviews with the suspected next target, Doctor Winterton, the Baron convinced us that keeping the purported victim under bright lights last night would help avert the tragedy expected to unfold. I seized upon this as the perfect opportunity to set us up for the evening on the stage of the Adelphi, where under the bright lights I would have all my props at hand to more easily debunk the supposed upcoming attack. What a fine opportunity to show my father and uncle of what stuff I was made.

This was a mistake. I cannot bring myself to put down to paper all the details. Suffice it to say, last night was filled with horror beyond words. Bright stage lights or no, an immense winged beast terrifying beyond words burst in upon us and proceeded to tear the theatre to pieces - and make mockery of any attempt by us to resist. It made short work of dispatching the unfortunate Doctor Winterton.

And something else happened..... This beast did something to me that has placed me in a different state of mind. Gone are my foolish ideas of debunking. This horror is terrifyingly real - and I fear myself close to losing my mind.

I expect that my (likely former) employer will be ending my brief career at the Adelphi. But this is of minor importance to me now. All that I can think of now is this - How can I rid the world (and my inner mind) of this unspeakable horror????????