The Brief History Carnival and Circus Freaks

There was a time when it was perfectly acceptable, and certainly profitable, to put humans on exhibit. For a period of about 100 years (generally agreed as 1840-1940), museums, carnivals and circuses featured many human “oddities”- also referred to as sideshows or “freak” shows.

In the mid-to-late 1800s, museums of science popped up in the bigger cities. At the time, Americans didn’t have many of the entertainment venues we have today - movies, computers, arena sports, etc. - so the museum was an attractive adventure. A minor part of most museums was to feature people with deformities, basically putting those people on display in the name of science. Eventually, the museum proprietors realized the crowds were there to see the freaks. However, many of the scientific owners also thought it was beneath them that people wanted to see this type of thing instead of actual science and technological progress. Phineas Taylor Barnum wasn’t that kind of guy.

You’ve no doubt heard of P.T. Barnum, of the “Greatest Show On Earth” fame - Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey (by the way, socreepy HATES circuses - and clowns). Before that, though, he was a marketing genius that owned The American Museum in New York City. He was part showman, part fraud, part salesman and damn smart. He had a knack for finding people born with physical abnormalities, putting them on display and charging 25 cents for admission. People visited the museum in droves. He also would make up completely absurd histories about where these so-called “freaks” came from, and it was often about as exotic as Kansas City. The American Museum burned down in 1868, but it started an acceptable movement (if you can believe it) of the American fascination with humans that appeared different from the rest of us. Eventually, the sideshow made it to your town by way of travelling circus or carnival. It was much easier to travel and rake in the dough than stay in one place where the interest may wane. Eventually, it did wane and somewhere along the line people realized this type of exploitation was simply wrong - at least in the case of the “born freaks”.

Made freaks are a different story and they’re all over the place today. Ever heard of Jim Rose? Ever see Marilyn Manson? What I’m talking about are the oddities such as modern primitives (tattooed and pierced in places my doctor has never even seen), fire eaters, contortionists, those who sculpt their face with surgical techniques. The list goes on, but you get the idea. People just LOVE to stare at the weirdos - particularly here in the Midwest, where an eyebrow ring still can raise an eyebrow. Perhaps our fascination with the different will never quite leave us.

Now I can’t talk about this subject without also mentioning Coney Island. I think the thing that strikes me the most about Coney’s history is that they actually built an entire functioning city - complete with government, fire department and beach - for “midgets”. It was located within the theme park Dreamland and it was referred to as “Lilliputia”. It was home to over 300 little people who made their living entertaining visitors to Coney Island.

Another thing that needs to be mentioned is Tod Browning’s 1932 classic “Freaks”. It’s really an amazing piece of film that isn’t necessarily disturbing because of the visuals of the actors. After all, the stars suffer physical abnormalities - not something to be frightened of. I think the real terror of the movie lies in what happens to “nice” people when they’ve finally had their fill of abuse, cruelty and bullshit by others. Kinda brings out the monster in all of us. Also of note, Tod Browning directed the original “Dracula” prior to “Freaks”. The movie was banned for decades. That should tell you something. Go out and rent it RIGHT NOW!

Recommended reading:
Freak Show - Robert Bogdan
This is an impeccably researched “academic” book - it also happens to be immensely enjoyable to read. It covers the 100 year period of sideshows and human oddities for profit. It’s loaded with pictures, anecdotes and fascinating tidbits. It documents a true piece of Americana without judging in any way.

Geek Love - Katherine Dunn
Simply one of my favorite books. It’s totally f*cked up beyond belief and utterly fascinating and memorable at the same time. The author’s story is of interest as well, but that’s for another time. Imagine peeking into the lives of one of the world’s great freak families (fictional). The carny freak parents believed the best gift in the world they could give their children was a natural gift - to be deformed. Being deformed meant the kids could always make a living at the carnivals or the circus - and they’d never lack for much. However, to give them the gift, it was necessary to ingest chemicals, pesticides and other nastiness. But that’s really only the beginning of the book. Seriously, this book is a fascinating study of human interaction - socially and at the family level. Plus, a little lust, love, jealousy and hate thrown in for good measure. A MUST have.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 21st, 2005 at 6:39 pm and is filed under Bump in the night, Did you know?, Halloween. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.