20 Circus Freaks That Actually Existed

[Music] in the late 19th and early 20th century freak shows were considered a typical element of American [Music] culture the exhibitions were seen as a suitable Amusement for the middle class and were profitable for the Showman [Music] join us as we look at 20 circus freaks that actually existed 20 Ella Harper Ella Harper was born in Hendersonville Tennessee shortly after the Civil War with an unusual disease that caused her legs to bend backwards which turned her into a spectacle she preferred walking on all fours rather than two and this combined with America's disgusting love with

Sideshow freaks was enough to make her a circus attraction known as as the camel girl she Drew thousands of stairs wh Harris an ambitious showman was anxious to have the most diverse roster of freaks possible and upon hearing of Harper offered her a hefty payment to sign with him Ella Harper earned $200 a week as a featured attraction in Harris's nickelplate circus which is roughly $5,000 today this enabled her to find a home while also pursuing a profitable career her career on the other hand frequently humiliated her aside from the obnoxious term camel girl Harper

was also shoved on stage with a real camel and paying viewers were encouraged to Marvel at the similarities Harper was adamant about quitting and ultimately after a Year's worth of weekly $200 payments she did Ella Harper's post circus activities are unknown but it is thought that she pursued education and returned to her native home immediately after quitting the freak Show circuit tragic events seemed to follow her when father died in a house fire in 18 9 and Harper's Brother Willie died roughly 5 years later 19 the Siamese twins Chun and in were born in cam

Now Thailand in 1811 with a 4-in band of Flesh connecting them at the chest Chang and as they became known in the west left sayam as teenagers to pursue a career displaying their physical abnormality the brothers quickly became objects of Fascination and their personal lives became a source of speculation for more than a decade the Siamese twins performed in front of royalty Elite Medical Specialists and public audiences throughout Europe and the Americas by the 1830s Chong and in had become household names so well known that future conjoined twins would be dubbed siamese twins for centuries

they have served as inspiration for poems plays novels and biographies they are relevant in current discussions of the 19th century South race popular culture Asian studies and disability studies as Asian immigrants to the Southern United States enslavers showman and human Curiosities 18 Priscilla lather throughout her lengthy life Priscilla lther was known by many different names originally labeled the hairy little girl she was later dubbed the monkey girl but those close to her will most likely remember her as Priscilla Bano EMT the alligator skinned man's beloved wife Priscilla's parents flew to New York City in search

of answers from American doctors where they stayed for 7 months until Priscilla's father came up with the concept of profitably exhibiting his daughter Priscilla's father was not a propheter he simply saw an opportunity to take advantage of the predicament that had been foed upon his daughter by Nature however his inadequate grasp of English and business made promoting Priscilla problematic so he sought help from showman Carl L lather lur was offended that the public referred to illa as a monkey girl and he angrily retaliated against anyone who called her a freak but the title monkey girl

persisted and Laur caved and began openly pairing Priscilla with a trained monkey named Josephine however because the two attractions were juxtaposed he may have had the final laugh Priscilla would sweetly and enthusiastically greet visitors to her exhibit Priscilla passed away in her sleep in February 2001 17 schlitzie certis Schlitz was a prominent freak Show performer who appeared in almost every major circus of the 20th century he was born with a condition known as micral in 1901 this disorder results in a small brain skull and head as well as a body that is undeveloped Schlitz whose

real name could have been Simon Mets was raised in foster homes before joining the circus he could only communicate in short sentences and phrases since he had the mental capacity of a three or four-year-old but he also had to deal with jeering audiences calling him a freak cron and he received a big break in 1932 when he was cast in the picture freaks though the film was critically derided it momentarily elevated him to stardom however his brief Celebrity Status could not save him from the brutal reality of circus life even though chimp trainer George CZ

took him under his wing and cared for him like a son sirz died soon after 16 Francis o'conor Francis o Conor who was born without arms learned to eat drink write and sew exclusively with her feet all by herself she signed on with the Ringling Brothers at the age of 15 while living in Sheridan with her mother as her manager while the Ringling brother's circus was the largest OK Conor got her start in the spotlight in Wyoming first with Barnes Circus and later with the cells floto and Cole brother circuses where she was touted as

the living Venus Deo OK Conor's act consisted primarily of her doing activities that audiences took for granted such as drinking wine or beer eating a steak or writing a letter if you were lucky you may capture her bracing and aiming a gun with her feet while pulling the trigger with her toes and of course she'd light a cigarette and take a few Puffs Francis Bell oconor eventually retired choosing not to marry assuming she was too old to do so she died in Long Beach California in 1982 at 67 15 Martin Joe lorello Martin Joe Loro

also known as the man with the revolving head the human owl and Bobby the boy with the revolving head was born in nurmberg Germany in May 1885 he was born with a crooked spine that allowed him to tilt his head 180° when he turned his head his spine formed the shape of a question mark in 1921 he immigrated to the United States from Germany and began performing with sideshows such as Ripley's Believe It or Not Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey he trained dogs to do gymnastics in addition to rotating his head lorel couldn't breathe

when he turned his head around but he could drink he had performed at numerous of Robert Ripley's auditoriums during the 1930s and died at the age of 70 of a heart attack and was cremated 14 Sarah hobolt Sarah hubal is an outstanding worldwide circus and physical theater performer who specializes in Aerials acrobatics and hula hoops she competed in swimming at the 2000 Sydney par Olympic Games she boldly refers to herself as a natural born freak a term developed in the 1930s to characterize disabled Sideshow circus performers how bolt was born with the uncommon howman Strife

disease which Alters her bone structure and causes her to stand at 144 CM she is also legally blind however she prefers to focus on her strengths and the skills she brings to the stage rather than the peculiarities of her disease while she enjoys performing on stage hubt is equally passionate about working behind the scenes where she works in arts Administration in New South Wales she is also an outspoken supporter of disability rights and art history she enjoys associating with the sideshow community in part because she intends to combat misconceptions and negative connotations linked with the

term freak and the sideshow industry 13 Lalo laloo rampersad a native of uin UD was born with a parasitic twin erupting from his chest the brother who was clothed as a sister at times had arms legs and a working penis all it required was its own head despite being a Muslim he was marketed as the happy healthy Hindu in sideshows an Eng English entrepreneur spotted him in 1888 and took him back to Europe to display laloo arrived in the United States in 1891 and traveled with most of the major circus s shows including Ringling broas

and Barnum and Bailey in 1905 he was on his way to Mexico with the Norris and R circus when he died in a train catastrophe 12 Maximo and Bara Maximo and Bara made their debut in 1848 in the spirit of Shameless advertising their handlers hoax not only prolonged their long careers but also the careers of two generations to come Maximo and Bara were born micral and originally from the St Salvador town of Dora later Maximo and Bara were sold to an American promoter named Morris Morris concocted an incredible story to introduce the children to the

American public America was enthralled by the display of ethnological Marvels at the time because of recent discoveries and Publications interest in the May civilization was at an all-time high Morris produced a 48 page brochure in conjunction with his exhibition of Maximo and Bara to profit on the Public's Newfound appetite the intricate real narrative surrounding Maximo and Bar's Discovery in an Aztec temple in a vanished city was told in life of the living Aztec children according to the brochure Maximo and Baro were discovered squatting on altars and were members of a sacred race long woried by

the city's people Morris clothed the duo in Aztec style attire to support this assertion both wore outfits with Aztec Suns embroidered on the front and their hair was left to grow bushy their little size along with their proportionately small skulls gave them a highly unique appearance but would the general people think they belong to a long lost race rather than dismissing these outlandish statements the General populace believed the pitch Maximo and Balo were seen as the final survivors of an old Civilization by those who saw them they are said to have been on display until

1901 under the supervision of numerous successive managers and the facts of their eventual demise remain unknown our thumbnail is creepy to say the least with the picture on the left showing a man in some sort of weird costume pushing what looks like a farming apparatus and the picture on the left is of a man with a homely face or or perhaps a scary mask who doesn't look too friendly 11 Johnny eek e was not born cut off at the waist but he did have small non-functioning legs which he tied close to his body using a

customized apparatus born with a fraternal sibling named Robert who was completely formed and resembled him the two performed a notorious trick in Raja rid's magic show in 1937 rid would pretend to see Robert in half and Johnny would emerge from the box with his legs severed during this act Spectators were known to faint or escape the theater Johnny had joined a sideshow as a single o in 1923 with this brother accompanying him to keep an eye on him he was known as the halfman and worked for Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Ripley's Believe It or

Not and the 1933 Chicago World's Fair in addition to freaks he played goon bird in three Tarzan films he then returned to his birthplace of Baltimore where he shared a house with his brother Robert in a nearby amusement park the two guys ran a penny arcade and a children's train ride in his later years he focused on his Hobbies of screen painting and putting on plays for the neighborhood kids 10 Millie and Christine Millie and Christine McCoy were conjoined twins born on July 11th 1851 in Columbus County North Carolina to Slave parents Jacob and monia

who belonged to blacksmith jobz McKay the McCoy twins attracted attention and scrutiny from the minute they were born the sisters were joined at the lower spine and shared one pelvis but each sister had her own two Limbs and legs in adulthood they referred to themselves as Millie Christine a single person the twins owner allegedly sold them for $1,000 to a showman interested in displaying them in freak Show circuses they finally ended up in the possession of another individual Joseph Pearson Smith who was thought to be a wealthy Trader the girls were known as Millie and

Christine Smith while in Smith's care their owner hired them out to other touring shows during the same year a showman responsible with displaying the sisters abducted them from Smith and transported them to a private exhibition where they were discreetly presented to Scientific groups and inspected by physicians after nearly 3 years away from their legal owner the Twins were sold to another showman who displayed them in a museum in Philadelphia they were quickly relocated to England Millie and Christine were no longer slaves after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 but they chose to stay with the Smiths

and continue to perform at the circus as a singing pair rather than Sideshow attractions nine Prince prince randan prince randan could roll cigarettes light them and even shave his face with just his mouth he was known as The Snake Man the human torso and the human caterpillar whatever he went by when the curtain Rose and the spotlight landed on Prince randan there was no doubt that the crowd was taken aback by what they saw Prince randan who was only 3 ft tall was a startling sight his arms were nothing more than Nubs that stopped at

his shoulders and his legs were nearly non-existent he looked more like a caterpillar than a man in his one piece red and white striped costume PT Barnum his Sideshow employer took advantage of this throughout his Sideshow career he wiggled around the stage and performed tricks with only his mouth randan died of a heart attack on December 19th 1934 barely hours after giving his final performance after more than 40 Years of Performing eight Jonathan rbass the aifi man Jonathan rbass belonged to the oied men subbranch of displayed peoples he had rheumatism from Boyhood but he managed

to work on the Family Farm in Upstate New York for most of his life until he was 57 years old when his body froze up completely and cataracts took his eyesight with most of his family members who had cared for him already deceased he decided to Showcase himself at Dime museums and sides shows people would travel from across the country to see his Frozen emaciated form which was normally propped up and tied to a board he weighed only 75 lbs due to his all liquid diet he endured 5 years of this apparently with remarkably good

cheer until he passed away of pneumonia in 1892 seven Edward morri Edward morri was a youthful bright and attractive English aristocrat who was also a gifted pianist with all his wonderful blessings however came a horrible curse Mordrake had a terrible Second Face on the back of his skull in addition to his lovely normal face the second face was described as lovely as a dream and hideous as the devil this odd countenance possessed intelligence of a malignant sort when Mordrake sobbed the other face would smile and sneer morr was plagued by his devil twin who kept

him awake at night Whispering such things as they only speak of in Hell the young Aristocrat was eventually driven insane and committed himself at the age of 23 leaving behind a message requesting that the Demonic face be removed after his death the news of the man with two faces quickly traveled across America the public demanded more information on morre and even Medical Specialists approached the story without reservation the morr account was published in the book anomalies and Curiosities of medicine written by American doctors although the doctors were respectable opthalmologists with excellent practices they were also

rather gullible in this one instance because as it turned out Edward mre's account was a hoax even the most outlandish stories have a grain of Truth in them the medical disease known as crano facial duplication can cause an embryo's facial characteristics to be duplicated because of aberant protein expression people are still surprised and duped by Edward Mor's story today even though the man never existed the story has become an urban legend that will certainly continue to raise eyebrows for years to come six aloisia Wagner aloisia Wagner better known by her stage Nam vieta went to

New York from Germany with her stepbrother and worked as a vocalist in Sid shows such as Pony Island's Dreamland and the Ringling Bros in Barnum and Bailey Circus she moved herself by hopping from place to place on the bottom of her torso and was able to manipulate objects with her mouth enough to comb her own hair dress herself thread a needle and sew Violeta was married and wore her wedding band around her neck on a gold necklace violeta's overwhelming appeal and Beauty as well as the complexities of her quite different manner of presentation are detailed

in a superb review of her show written in 1940 she is only a beautiful torso with no arms or legs not even the rudiments of Limbs except for the absence of the typical limbs there is no hint of deformity about the Sleek trunk which would stand up to any beauty queen or national Venus in fact her customary billing without exaggeration is beautiful armless and legless Venus Violeta died in 1940 five general Tom Thumb in 1838 Charles Sherwood Stratton was born when he was 6 months old he stopped growing in 1847 he began to grow again

albeit slowly Stratton had grown to a height of 2 8.5 in by his 18th birthday at the age of five he began touring with PT Barnum as general Tom Thumb garnering Fame and money that subsequently permitted him a Sumptuous lifestyle and business relationship with Barnum Tom Thumb died of a stroke in 1883 at the age of 45 6 months after narrowly escaping a Terrible Hotel fire at Milwaukee's New Hall house which killed 71 people he was 3.35 ft tall and weighed 71 lbs at his Peak for Jack Earl Jack Earl who was born in 1906

stood 6 feet tall before the age of 10 he was almost 7t tall by the age of 13 his real mature height is unknown however estimates range from 7t 7 in to 8' 6 in he was so tall because he suffered from a disorder known as acromegalic gigantism and while his height could be useful in some situations it could also be harmful in others Earl was a Hollywood actor who appeared in films such as Hansel and gredle and Jack and the beanock before suffering serious injuries in a fall from a scaffolding and retired from the

industry the Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus freaked out soon after his accident the show visited town with Jim Tarver as their current touring giant Earl was significantly taller than Tarver and sensing an opportunity Ringling Brothers offered Earl a one-year contract with the circus Earl had previously stated that he would never participate in a freak Show but he needed a job so he agreed to sign the contract reluctantly on his first day however he was put at ease when a dwarf performer named Harry D stated that there were more freaks in the crowd than

in the sideshow his wringling broos career began with a 2' 2 in tall major might he'd be on the road for the next 14 years with the sideshow often posing alongside extremely short men or average sized men to further emphasize his height after retiring Earl went on to become a traveling salesman for the Roma Wine Company he died of kidney failure in 1952 at the age of 46 three George and Willie Muse George and Wily Muse born black and albino were kidnapped from their sharecropping neighborhood in 1899 George was only 6 years old and Willie

was just 9 years old when they were kidnapped from their home in ronoke Virginia and a freak Hunter named James Herman candy Shelton was about to push them into the circus George and Willie were ordered to perform in freak shows as the men from Mars and lots of other degrading nicknames after being pushed to grow out their hair into dreadlocks and highlight their characteristics despite their popularity the brothers were only given minimal needs in exchange and they weren't allowed to keep their earnings even though their white employers profited handsomely from their humiliation worse George and

Willie Muse were told their mother was deceased even though she was still alive to dissuade them from thinking about their family members or attempting to flee the circus meanwhile their mother Harriet Muse worked feverishly to free them she faced an uphill battle in doing so especially given the times very racist culture and the fact that many authorities did not take her complaints about the circus seriously she miraculously freed them by attending a performance herself in 1927 the brothers who were in their mid-30s at the time quickly spotted their mother in the crowd they were soon

reunited and given permission to return home to their families they eventually signed a new contract with better terms and were able to send money back to their families in the mid 1950s the brothers retired and spent their senior years telling stories about their traumatic experiences George Muse died of heart failure in 1972 And Willie lived until 2001 when he died at the age of 108 two Julia Pastrana Julia Pastrana took the stage at Broadway's Gothic Hall in Manhattan in December 1854 Pastrana dressed in Crimson captivated The Audience by singing and dancing children paid 15 cents

and adults paid a quarter to to view the baboon lady George CD Odell the show's theater chronicler described Pastrana as a wonderful semi-human being and a cross between a woman and an orangutan he saw that she or it was intelligent had a lovely voice and could speak three languages Julia Pastrana build as the missing link between ape and man was examined by various doctors who issued certificates which were posted wherever p went on tour claiming that she was not a woman at all but rather a new species of half human half ape hybrid Pastrana's death

did not liberate her from public scrutiny her body was displayed all throughout Europe for decades before it was eventually stored in Norway Pastrana's narrative on the other hand was never forgotten one Frank lantini the three-legged man Franchesco lentini was born in rosalino Italy on May 18th 1881 into a family of 12 other children with a third full-sized leg extending from the right side of his body he was relocated to the United States at the age of 8 where he later appeared as the great Len tiny in several circus and Carnival sidh shows including PT baram

Ringling Brothers and Buffalo Bill's Wild West show when deformities and disfigurements began to be considered as objects of public attention and enjoyment during English summer fairs entertainment acts such as the great lentini became popular despite the unconventionality of his job Frank lintini's life is a historic immigrant success tale most people go through life fearful of having a traumatic encounter but freaks were born traumatized and they've already passed their life test according to Diane Arbus they are Aristocrats it's sad to see how these circus promoters profited off these poor disabled people on the other hand many

of these people were unable to work and the circus provided them with an excellent salary which one was your favorite why don't you let us know in the comments below well that's it for now if you enjoyed this video please give us a like and let us know in the comments what you think check out our other videos and subscribe to be part of the fun click on the notification icon so you can see our new videos as soon as they're uploaded thanks for watching and see you next time