Horror show: the artists who made a living from their anomalies

Deformations, genetic mutations, rare diseases. For years, these were the main attractions at the famous freak shows .

During the 19th century, many of those born with physical disabilities were abandoned and had no hope in medicine. As an alternative to surviving, they surrendered to the "horror show" entrepreneurs who used their abnormalities to profit.

Phineas Barnum was one of the industry's leading producers and, in 1881, merged his business with James Bailey, creating "Barnum and Bailey." With over 1, 000 artists hired, this was the largest circus in the world for a long time.

The success was such that, in 1932, the movie "Freaks" was released, showing several of the circus artists of the time. Directed and produced by Tod Browning, the feature was aimed at reducing intolerance and showing how kind the artists were.

Unfortunately, during filming the crew was banned from lunching at MGM studios for causing revulsion to other local people.

Check out some of the attractions of the freak shows :

1. The Camel Girl

Ella Harper had a very rare orthopedic condition: her knees were bent backwards. When she began performing in circuses, Ella was called by newspapers "the most wonderful freak of nature since the creation of the world."

2. The three-legged man

Frank Lentini was born in 1889 in Italy and became world famous for having three legs and two genitals. Its condition is known as a "parasitic twin" when a fetus does not develop well and is "encompassed" by the other.

3. The four-legged woman

Unlike Frank Lentini, Josephene Myrtle Corbin had Dipigo (Dipygus) or Caudal Duplication Syndrome. The girl was born with two pelvis, two reproductive and excretory devices and four legs.

4. The Bird Girl

Minnie Woolsey suffered from Seckel's Syndrome, characterized by intrauterine growth retardation, dwarfism, bird's head profile, microcephaly, and mental retardation.

5. The Elastic Man

Felix Wehler suffered from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome or Elastic Cutis, caused by a defect in collagen synthesis.

6. The Human Pincushion

Imagine being drilled several times, in different places points, and nothing happens? This was the "talent" presented by Mirin Dajo in the 1940s. He stood still on stage while his assistant ran through fencing blades all over his body. Despite the practice, Dajo eventually died while trying to swallow a sword.

You can watch one of your presentations here.

7. The woman in half

Gabrielle Fuller joined the circus around 1900. Despite her condition, she married twice.

8. The Dogman

Fyodor Yevtishchev was born in 1868 in Russia and became known as the "dog man". Her disease, Hypertrichosis, has caused hair to appear excessively throughout her body. He died at age 35 from pneumonia.

9. The Owl Man

Joe Martin Laurello was born in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1886. For three years he trained his ability to turn his head 180 degrees.

10. The Bigfoot Girl

Born in 1860, Fanny Mills suffered from Milroy's Disease, which caused deformities in her lower limbs, causing them to have half their full body weight.

11. The man with three eyes

Born in 1913, William "Bill" Durks had frontonasal dysplasia, causing his face to split into a slit, split in half. During the performances, Bill still painted a third eye on his face, increasing his fame.

12. The Bearded Woman

At just 9 months old, Annie Jones has begun to shave her face. As a young girl in freak shows, she was one of the highest paid attractions of the time.

13. The Lobster Boy

Grady Franklin Stiles Jr., born in 1937, was a victim of ectrodactyly, a condition that causes the fingers and toes to clamp together. Their ancestors also had this body modification and participated in freak shows . That's why, since childhood, Grady has already been inserted in the middle, being known as the “Lobster Boy”.

Grady was an alcoholic and very violent, having murdered her daughter's fiance days before the wedding. He was tried and found guilty, but since no prison was equipped to keep anyone with ectrodactyly, he served the sentence at home. Due to his history of violence, his wife paid another circus performer to murder him.

14. The circus boxers

Due to your measurements. Oddity Fat and Skinny Man made a humorous picture in which they simulated a fight.

15. The ugliest woman in the world

Mary Ann Bevan had a normal life: she was a nurse and had married Thomas Bevan. However, it soon began to show signs of acromegaly, a type of gigantism that causes bone distortion.

16. Lucasie Family - The Albinos

It was very common that during the performances, details about the attractions were fantasized. In the case of the Lucasie family, it was reported that their eyes were square and that they did not close them even to sleep.

17. The Skeleton Woman

Rosa Lee Plemons was born in 1873 weighing only 450 grams. She is in the Guinness Book as the lightest adult in history.

18. The Siamese Twins

In 1908, Kate Skinner gave birth to Daisy and Violet, Siamese twins who were born together by the hip, sharing only the blood circulation. As soon as she saw them, Mary Hilton, Kate's boss, realized the girls' commercial potential and adopted them into a show of horrors. In 1969, the two died victims of Hong Kong Flu.

19. The smallest woman

Carrier of a rare dwarfism, Lucia Zarate only reached 51 cm in height.

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