35 Vintage Images of Midway Freak Show Performers
Needless to say, P.T. Barnum’s traveling 'freak show' Congress of Freaks would not fly today.
Yes, once upon a time people paid good hard-earned money to see "freaks" for a bit of entertainment. Imagine you're a farm boy whose never been out of your small farm town and one day a man seven feet tall shows up, or a woman with a beard, or heck, some dude who can turn his head a full 180 degrees backward, okay maybe that guy is a freak.
But back in the day attending one of these shows was the highlight of many people's years. And these photos help us see why.
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This was Martin Joe Laurello, who was known as "The Human Owl" for his ability to rotate his head around almost 180 degrees.
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This man, known as "The Human Caterpillar," was born limbless and would roll and light cigarettes with his mouth.
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Lucia Zarate is the smallest person who ever lived, weighing only four pounds at 18 years old.
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Frank Lentini, known as "The Three-Legged Man" didn't just have three legs, but four feet, sixteen toes, and two functioning sets of genitals.
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This is Schlitzie Simon Metz, who suffered from microcephaly, a shrunken cranium and brain, which caused him to have the intellect of a small child even into adulthood.
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John Jennings was known as the modern-day Sampson for his ability to lift heavy weights with his hair.
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These "Wild Men of Borneo" were actually developmentally disabled under-grown twins sold by their mother to the circus.
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Robert Owen Melvin was known as "The Man with Two Faces" due to his neurofibromatosis. He was said to be very personable and ambitious, even one day graduating from school after his circus days were behind him.
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This man, known as Robert "The Pony Boy" Huddleston, suffered from inverted knee joints that kept him from standing up straight.
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Atoria Gibbons, who made a name for herself as a tattooed woman, wouldn't stand out at all these days.
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Fedor Jeftichew was a Russian child suffering from hypertrichosis (excessive hair growth) and was given the bizarre name "Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy."
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Atoria Gibbons, who made a name for herself as a tattooed woman, wouldn't stand out at all these days.
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Grady Stiles suffered from etrodactyly, which caused him to develop claw-like extremities. He was given the predictable nickname "Lobster Boy."
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