My name is Mathew Moore and this is my journal. I stumbled across something truly terrifying. I do not know if I will be able to sleep tonight. I have compiled the first volume of my journals, recounting the start of my journey. I will start at the day it all began, so many years ago. It was the day that set off my rise to fame. If only I had known what I was getting myself into!

July 7th

I can hardly believe it! It would seem my passion for beasts and monsters has come to fruition. Just yesterday, as I was pacing in the forest behind the manor, a rabbit crossed my path. It was no ordinary rabbit, for near its front legs were two arms. I would have guessed that the arms were vestigial if it had not been for the claws which it possessed. I suppose those claws serve a purpose for self defense if the animal is cornered, rabbits ordinarily rely only on their speed to escape predators.

I must learn more. I have an iron cage somewhere around here that should be just big enough to contain it. I will set a trap and attempt to catch it this afternoon. I have gotten some carrots from the garden which I shall use for bait.

I shall start using this journal to record my findings as I analyze the beast. There are many things I wish to record about it for the sake of science. Knowledge is meant to be recorded after all…

July 8th

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I’ve done it! It took me twenty minutes to find a good spot for the trap yesterday, but once I did, I got it set up fairly quickly. I returned to it today to find the rabbit had taken the bait and was trapped inside. I could see its arms more closely and much to my surprise, that there was in fact hair. Before, when I had seen it, it appeared to have no hair on its arms, but it seems to be a darker color of fur, similar in color to the flesh of its ear.

I took the creature back with me and right now it is being kept in the shed with the carriage. I have started a second journal with specific measurements and diagrams as I wish to share my findings with the public but do not want to bore them with large quantities of information, however I will still be recording observations in this journal, which I shall keep with me at all times when in the forest.

On that note, I did some testing of the creature I had found, when I placed the housecat near it, it swiped its claws at it indicating that I was correct in my hypothesis of it being used for self defense.

July 11th

I decided to release the animal back into the forest behind the manor. I have done numerous experiments on it. It seems to eat what a normal rabbit would, or at least what one of the maids told me rabbits eat. When I released it, it ran away instead of attacking, so it would appear that I was right in thinking it only uses it when cornered. The weather is extremely nice, so I will be taking a break and going into town to get materials for further studies.

July 15th

One of the maids taught me how to make a trap using rope. I will be using this knowledge to attempt to trap another beast in the following days. I heard some weird sounds last night, almost like howling, and am excited to get to the source of the sound. I will use meat as bait.