These Vintage Photos From Circus Sideshows Are the Stuff Nightmares Are Made Of

BY MANDY KENNEDY

It wasn't so long ago that disabled and different people were put on display in what were called "sideshows" (or "freakshows") as an added attraction when the circus came to town.
While some participants were happy and made a good living, many others experienced something closer to indentured servitude.

These bizarre photos below serve as profound documentation of an era that’s, thankfully, behind us.Note: Some of these photos may be slightly NSFW.
This was Martin Joe Laurello, who was known as "The Human Owl" for his ability to rotate his head around almost 180 degrees.

via: PinterestSideshow boxers of very different proportions.

via: Ten Cent FoxThis man, known as "The Human Caterpillar," was born limbless and would roll and light cigarettes with his mouth.

via: Vintage Gal

This is Koo-Koo, the bird girl.

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The Human Pincushion.

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A "performer" with hand and feet deformities.

Lucia Zarate is the smallest person who ever lived, weighing only four pounds at 18 years old.

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Mike, the headless chicken, survived for 18 months after his head was chopped off.

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A man who, seemingly, was born with a vestigial tail. His malnourishment may be even more concerning, however.

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This is the Four-Legged Woman, which may have actually been an illusion.

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The Elastic Skin Man.

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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 haunting image is The Pierced Man.

Pip and Flip.

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A legless acrobat with his family.

A performer with giant feet and another with nomblr

 

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These "Wild Men of Borneo" were actually developmentally disabled under-grown twins sold by their mother to the circus.

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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Conjoined twins marketed as "The Two-Headed Man."

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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.

via: The Human Marvels

This performer was known as "The Minnesota Wooly Baby."

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This man, Isaac Sprague, was presented as "The Living Skeleton."

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Ella Harper was known professionally as "The Camel Girl."

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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This woman was known as "The Living Doll."

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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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Conjoined twins Josefa and Rosa Blazeh with Rosa's son.

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Unknown diminutive performer with a very serious look on her face.

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This photo is depressingly captioned "Real life troll babies ..."

This woman can smoke a cigarette with her toes!

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Sadly, this young man also suffered from Marfan's Syndrome.

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In the 1920s, obesity was considered an "oddity." This woman was known as Jolly Irene.

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Here is another woman singled out for her weight. This is a real postcard from the era.

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This is Stanley Berent, known in the circus as Sealo the Seal Boy.

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These bendy circus performers titillated viewers.

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Susi's loose skin earned her the strange moniker of "The Elephant Skin Girl."

This young woman of 18 was dubbed "Princess Tiny." She stood at 21 Inches tall and weighed a paltry 15lbs. Princess Tiny's birth name was May Trudgen. She performed with the PT Barnum Circus.

The photographer, Frank Wendt, was well known for chronicling the lives of circus performers including those at the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show and the PT Barnum Circus.

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This Little Person's talent was weight lifting.

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This is "Schlitzie," one of the real life circus performers and star of Tod Browning's controversial 1932 film "Freaks."

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