The peak of the popularity of freak shows came in the 18th century, however, the first mention of such "performances" came in the 16th century. Over time, traveling circuses, where the highlight of the program were the performances of people with body abnormalities, became the main entertainment throughout the civilized world, although the craving for such performances makes one doubt the civilization. The word "freak", of course, offends people with various kinds of physical disabilities, however, it was it that was secretly chosen as the only true one. Today we will talk about 10 people who participated in the freak show in the 19th – 20th centuries, including an elephant man and a woman with a pig’s face. Sit back, start the anatomy lesson.
1
Minnie wolsey
In many sources, you can find the pseudonym "Ku-Ku girl-bird", which the audience christened Minnie Woolsey. She was born in 1880 with a congenital disease of the skeleton, which manifested itself in the form of an unusually small skull with a sharpness in the front part, which determined the similarity with a bird. And also because of this rare disease, Minnie had neither hair nor teeth, and was supposedly almost blind. During her performances, the “Bird Girl” wore a costume of the indigenous peoples of North America and addressed the audience in a fictional language. She later stopped talking, just dancing in a feather costume. The popularity of Minnie Woolsey was so great that in the 30s she even starred in the film "Freaks," which was banned in various countries and states for more than three decades, and gained cult status only in the 60s of the 20th century.
In the photo: a shot from the movie "Freaks" 1932.
Like most artists of the "freak circus", the origin of Woolsey is hidden in mystery behind seven seals. The only thing that is known about the girl’s early life is that she was rescued from a hospital for patients with mental disabilities. Also unknown is the exact date of her death, although she certainly lived for at least 80 years, as she continued to perform until 1960. Most-beauty.ru will allow herself to assume that perhaps she never died, and somewhere around the world stands almost 140-year-old Minnie Wolsey.
2
Ella harper
Ella Harper was 10 years older than Minnie Woolsey. She received the nickname "camel girl" and was a real star of the freak show of the late XIX century. People came from all over the world to look at Ella, who was born with her knees bent in the opposite direction, which made the girl move exclusively on all fours. As a teenager, Ella earned a lot of money ($ 200 per week), which in modern times, taking into account inflation, is equivalent to $ 5,000.
Ella Harper left the freak show at the age of 16, deciding to get an education and lead a “normal” life. After that, she never appeared in the circus and was not even photographed for the press. The last photograph of Ella dated the same 1886 year. Having received education, the girl got married and was even able to give birth to a child. Unfortunately, Harper’s fate is full of tragedy. Her daughter died just six months after birth. Ella, along with her husband, adopted the Adventist faith and 12 years after the birth of the firstborn, she decided to take custody of the newborn girl from the shelter. However, this child died even earlier, and did not live up to 4 months. Little is known about the future life of Ella Harper, one of the sources claims: she died at the age of 51 from colorectal cancer.
3
Schlitzi
It is believed that Schlitzi was born in 1901, however, according to some reports, he could be 9 years older. His full name is also unknown, and the nickname "pin head" was usually assigned to the name, as all people with congenital microcephaly were then called. This disease is characterized by an early stage of developmental arrest. Microcephals have a very small head, which affects mental development. Shlitzi’s height a little exceeded 120 cm, he was short-sighted, and the level of intelligence was equal to the mental development of a 3-year-old child. From a young age, Schlitzi performed in various circuses, but worldwide fame came to him after filming in the film "Freaks."
A lot of legends go around the life and origin of Schlitz, most of which were invented by circus owners to arouse public interest. For example, he was called the "last of the Aztecs," although he had nothing to do with the indigenous people of Mexico. Shlitzi often appeared in public in dresses, which gave reason to believe that he allegedly suffered from urinary incontinence. This was also not true. The truth was that Schlitzi was practically unable to speak and required constant care (nothing unusual with his mental development). Nevertheless, he lived for about 70 years and until his death remained a world celebrity, speaking in a freak show.
4
Julia Pastrana
Julia Pastrana was born in the 30s of the XIX century in Mexico. Her pathology is called hypertrichosis. It is accompanied by increased hair growth throughout the body, including the face. Julia was not very tall (about 135 cm) with an enlarged nose and ears, she also had crooked teeth and a lower jaw extended forward, which made her look like a primate. The girl was studied by Charles Darwin himself, he concluded that her anthropometric data are similar to those of a gorilla, however, he also noticed her good manners and education.
The girl gained fame traveling around the world with freak shows. Her childhood was shrouded in mystery, one of the actual owners of the girl made up a story, allegedly her adoptive mother found Julia in the forest, and the bribed doctor said that she was the fruit of mating a man with an orangutan. Julia Pastrana even married the owner of her troupe, however, it is hardly worth talking about pure love. While on tour in Moscow, pregnant Pastrana died in childbirth, she was about 26 years old. The child survived the mother for only 3 days. Not wanting to put up with the loss of profit, Julia's husband turned to Professor Sokolov, who mummified his wife and child. After some time, Theodore Lent, and that was the name of the husband of the “gorilla girl”, found a woman with the same illness and married her. He traveled to Europe and exposed his wife with a mummified child and Julia, until he was placed in a psychiatric hospital in St. Petersburg. After Julia's death, more than 150 years passed before she was buried in her homeland.
5
Francesco Lentini
Francesco or Frank Lentini was born in 1889 in Sicily. He had an unformed parasite brother, partially absorbed by Frank, who shared a portion of the spine with his brother. Because of this, Lentini had three full legs and two pairs of genitals. And also from the knee of the third leg came the underdeveloped fourth leg. Parents abandoned the boy, sending him in the care of his aunt. However, she was also unable to care for Francesco and placed him in a shelter for children with disabilities. There he realized that the third leg was not a curse, but a gift, because most of the children of the shelter did not have legs or arms at all.
At the age of 8, Frank Lentini, along with many residents of Sicily, emigrated to the United States, where he ended up in a freak show. The highlight of the program was his soccer ball trick: Frank walked on two legs, minting the ball third. Interestingly, Lentini’s lifestyle was fundamentally different from the life of many freaks of that time. He married an ordinary girl who bore him four children. The couple lived in abundance, because Frank's performances brought considerable income. His good manners and sense of humor allowed Lentini to be respected both among colleagues on the show and among the audience. He died at the age of 77 and even in old age did not stop joking about the fact that not one of his legs has a pair, as they are of different lengths.
By the way, on our site most-beauty.ru there is an interesting article about the TOP-10 touching stories about Siamese twins.
6
Pigfish
Stories about a woman with a pig's face can be attributed to the category of urban legends who walked around all European cities. Almost all the stories came down to one thing: a woman from high society was born with a human body, but a pig’s head. By the beginning of the 19th century, rumors had begun that one such woman supposedly lives in London. The myth caused widespread panic. Realizing the public’s interest in all kinds of physical disabilities, enterprising citizens began to set up freak shows one after another, looking for people with anomalies of the body.
The leaders of some "freak shows" decided to go for a trick. They sculpted a pig mask from wax, making the audience believe that the scene is really a pig woman. Others soldered the bear and shaved all the hair on his face, apparently believing that shaved bears look like pigs. Madness on women with a pig snout has reached such proportions that Charles Dickens said: "Not a single fair can be held without their appearance."
The original story dates back to the beginning of the 17th century. She says one witch punished a wealthy man by cursing his wife. She gave him a choice: either the girl’s pork snout will be visible only to him, but others will see an ordinary face, or she will be beautiful for him, but ugly for everyone around him. Apparently, the man made a selfish choice.
7
General Tom-Tam
The real name of "General" Charles Stratton, however, he became known throughout the world under the pseudonym General Tom-Tam. He was born in the late 30s of the XIX century as a completely healthy child, however, already in infancy stopped growing. The five-year-old dwarf was accepted into his wandering circus by the famous showman and Phineas Barnum. Traveling with Barnum, Charles achieved world recognition, got married and made a huge fortune. Interestingly, in adolescence, Stratton began to grow again, however, it did not reach 90 centimeters.
Being in the Barnum troupe, the boy learned to sing and dance, but most of all the audience loved when he appeared in a military uniform, depicting Napoleon Bonaparte. For these numbers, people called him "general." Interestingly, over time, Stratton became a full partner of Barnum when he helped him out of the financial crisis. Charles married a girl of the same height, acquired a yacht and a mansion in which he died of apoplexy at the age of 45 years. Over 20,000 people came to say goodbye to General Tom-Tam.
8
Chang "Chinese giant"
Chang was born in the 40s of the XX century in China. His height was more than 240 cm, while he had noble features and the right proportions of the body. For unknown reasons, Chang left China in his youth, moving to London. There he gained recognition and became a world-famous celebrity. Initially, the "Chinese giant" did not plan to stay in England for a long time, but the warm welcome and interest of the public turned a short visit into a two-year tour. Thousands of people paid a lot of money just to see the huge Chinese and hear his rare accent. Interestingly, over time, Chang learned 5 languages, not counting native Chinese.
Chang’s world tour was a huge success, in his performances he often stood next to the dwarf, which only increased the effect of his anthropometric data. Earning a giant was about $ 500 per month, unthinkable money for those times. Especially when you consider that he received them simply for standing on a pedestal or sitting on a throne. By the way, according to a long-standing Chinese tradition, Chang everywhere took with him a 2.5-meter coffin, in which he was buried after his death in 1893.
9
Susie
Susie was born in Germany, presumably in 1909. She suffered from a rare disease, due to which the girl's skin was rough and covered with cracks. Over the years, her skin became so thick and rough that it resembled the skin of an elephant. The girl constantly suffered from ridicule at school, but because of her anomaly, she could not even cry. In the 1920s, Susie first visited the United States as part of a freak show. A bearded woman and a giant woman went there with her. The success of the trip finally convinced Suzy to move to America on an ongoing basis, especially since the Nazis came to power in Germany, which became a threat to a girl with such physical disabilities.
Friends describe Susie as an introvert. Outside of the show, she did not like to appear in public, preferring to always be in the shadows. Almost all of her performances took place in New York, but after the death of her agent, Susie was forced to go to the West. One of the last performances of the elephant-skinned girl was held in Pennsylvania, where she was announced as a “swamp girl”.
10
Elephant man
The name of Joseph Merrick became known thanks to the cult film David Lynch "The Elephant Man." Joseph was born in Leicester in 1862 as a completely normal child. The first signs of deformity began to appear at the age of 5 years, when parts of the boy's body began to deform. With age, ugliness became widespread. Tumors covered Joseph's entire body, his head, one leg and arm greatly increased. After the death of his mother, the boy began to be attacked by his stepmother, who called him useless and did everything possible to leave his parental home. Due to his deformed arm, Joseph was unable to continue working at the tobacco factory, and outward ugliness put an end to his attempts to work as a haberdasher. Leaving home at age 22, Joseph Merrick got into a circus show, where he performed under the pseudonym "elephant man."
After the British parliament banned such shows in the country, the guy went to Belgium, where he was deceived by a manager who stole his savings and threw it in an unfamiliar city. Nevertheless, he was able to return to London, where he found a physiologist Frederick Tries, who offered him his help while still participating in the English circus. Dr. Treves placed Joseph in the hospital, where he lived until the age of 27, having received good treatment and care from staff. Interestingly, his death was not caused at all by an illness, but rather by an accident. Due to growths on the body, Merrick was forced to sleep while sitting, but on the day of his death, left in the ward alone, he decided to lie down on the pillow. A heavy head transmitted blood vessels and bent its neck, which led to death.