Grub Street's Daniel Maurer felt pretty guilty about taking up space at last week's third annual Carnivorous Nights taxidermy contest at Union Hall — after all, so many people were clamoring to get in to the sold-out event that bouncers had to man the door. "You have to let me in!" one girl begged. "I've been obsessed with taxidermy my whole life!" (Hey, it beats the usual "I know the owner.") Nevertheless, if we had ceded our place at the bar where Wet Specimen cocktails were served, we wouldn't have captured the mind-blowing footage you're about to see of human-head replicas made from animal parts, mermaid rabbits with duck feet, and two-headed cat skeletons (real or fake? Not even a judge from the Museum of Natural History could say for sure). Click above to see the video. We promise that after watching, the words "Pope squirrel" will forever be lodged in your brain.

Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest [NYM Video]