Freak circuses were one of the most popular entertainment in the United States until the middle of the 20th century. The creators of the establishments recruited people with developmental disabilities and more terrible defects - and showed them to the amusement of the crowd. The audience poured into such circuses with a shaft. It is not known how the "exhibits" themselves treated their work, but they still did not have a choice: tolerance had not yet been invented, and in any place they were expected only by ridicule and mockery. Not to look nervous!
Myrtle Corbin - "Four-Legged Girl"
Myrto Corbin from Texas, born with an extra pelvis and an extra pair of underdeveloped legs, has been performing in the circus since she was 13. She has always enjoyed immense popularity and earned great money. However, at the age of 18 she left the circus, got married, gave birth to four daughters and a son - in a word, she led a very ordinary life, despite an extra pair of limbs.
Fanny Mills - "The Woman with Giant Legs"
Fanny Mills from Ohio suffered from lymphedema - a congestion of lymph in tissues, leading to severe swelling of the lower extremities. There was no cure for this disease in the 19th century, and Fanny, who found it very difficult to walk, had to make a living in a freak show.
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"The Elastic Man" by Felix Werl
Felix Werle has enjoyed great popularity in Barnum and Bailey's circus shows, demonstrating his ability to dramatically pull skin on any part of the body. This telant was associated with a rare disease that Felix suffered from. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is characterized by disorders in the production of collagen by the skin, which makes it extremely mobile.
Robert Hadlerston - "Pony Boy"
Due to the joints turned in the opposite direction from birth, Robert Huddlerston could not move or even stand on two legs, and walked exclusively on four limbs. In his youth, he earned his living by working as a real horse: lumberjacks harnessed him to a cart, and he dragged from the forest to the village, 25 kilometers away, a cart loaded with logs. From this work, Robert's shoulders and arms gained extraordinary strength. And yet it is not surprising that at the first opportunity he happily escaped from her to the first freak circus he came across.
Chang and Eng - Siamese twins
The Chiam twins Chang and Eng were born in 1811 in Thailand. A few years later, a merchant brought them to America and sold them to freak show owners. They were extremely popular and managed to save enough money over the years to retire, buy an estate in North Carolina, and even start a few jobs. In addition, the brothers got married, leaving behind 21 completely ordinary children for two.
Ella Harper - Camel Girl
Ella Harper had an amazing ability - she could turn her knee joints back at will. With this number, the “camel girl” performed in the circus for several years, earning $ 200 a week - crazy money for the end of the 19th century! However, after a few years, Ella decided to settle down. She left the circus, graduated from high school and got married.
Stefan Bibrowski - "the lion man"
Stefan Bibrowski, suffering from hypertrichosis - increased hair growth - was noticed by the owner of a freak show in Europe and was bought from his parents at 4 years old. Since then, he has traveled all over the world, performing in various shows and earning good money. Stefan was a very intelligent and educated person, he spoke five languages. According to rumors, he adored his external feature, declaring that he owed her everything that he saw and what he achieved in life.
Isaac Sprague - "living skeleton"
At the age of 12, Isaac Sprague's weight suddenly stopped growing. Doctors of the 19th century could not find the cause of his condition, which Sprague turned into a source of income, acting in freak circuses as a "living skeleton". Sprague died at the age of 46, and at that time weighed 19 kilograms.
Eli Bowen - "the legless miracle"
Eli Bowen was a victim of phocomelia, a genetic underdevelopment of the lower extremities, from which he had only feet that were developed like flippers. At the same time, Bowen was an excellent acrobat, was distinguished by incredible physical strength and was adored by the audience who came to the circus to see his numbers. He earned great money, was married and raised four perfectly healthy children. Eli Bowen died at 80.
Mirin Dayo - "invulnerable"
Another star of the 19th century freak show, Dutchman Mirin Dajo, is a mystery to historians. He performed under the pseudonym "invulnerable", piercing himself with a sword, swallowing glass and blades, and even shot himself twice in the head in front of the audience - without any harm! Experts believe that Dayo did not suffer from any defect and did not have superpowers, but was simply an extremely dexterous illusionist.
Willie and George Mewes - "People from Mars"
Because of, to put it mildly, non-standard appearance twins Willie and George Mewes, who were born in the late 19th century in Virginia, were kidnapped by "bounty hunters" in childhood and sold to a traveling freak circus. However, a few years later, the mother managed to find them and took them home. But the boys liked the circus life much more, and soon they again, completely voluntarily, went to the circus, where they became known as "people from Mars". They performed for many years and retired as wealthy and happy people. One of the brothers died in 1971 at the age of 78, and the second even lived to see the Mafusailovs 108, having managed to see the 21st century and get acquainted with the era of tolerance.
Betty Lou Williams - The Girl and Her Parasite Twin
Betty Lou Williams was born in 1932. She was a rare case in medicine: from her body grew the legs and pelvis of her underdeveloped twin sister, whose underdeveloped head resided in the body of a girl. In the freak show, Betty made a crazy $ 1,000 a week. With this money, she bought her parents a huge farm and sent all of her brothers and sisters to college. Betty Williams died at 23, suffocating during an asthma attack.
Giant Edouard Beaupre
Edouard Beaupre was not only the owner of an incredibly tall height - almost 2.5 meters - but also an extraordinary strongman. He was an indispensable participant in wrestling stunts, lifted a live horse on his shoulders and demonstrated other equally impressive tricks. Alas, his circus career did not last long: Eduard Beaupre died at the age of 23 from pulmonary hemorrhage.
Suzy - "the girl in elephant skin"
The freak show star of the 1920s, Suzy, suffered from ichthyosis, a violation of the process of keratinization of the skin. Her skin was scaly, gray and cracked, exactly like an elephant's. With such a feature, she had one way - to the circus of freaks. Suzy had an excellent career and earned great money, but, according to eyewitnesses, she suffered a lot from her work, as she was shy and did not like to show herself off.
Grady Styles - Cancer Man
One of the last stars of freak circuses, Grady Styles suffered from extrodactyly - split wrist. His father had the same disease, he performed in freak shows all his life and, naturally, added his son to the case. Grady Stiles Jr., among other things, could not walk, but his hands were extremely strong. His character was simply disgusting, he drank a lot and beat first the first and then the second wife. In the end, tired of scandals and beatings, Stiles' second wife hired a killer who shot the "cancer man".