The Morbidly Fascinating Page

THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS MORBIDLY FASCINATING PAGE WILL CHANGE EVERY MONTH

THIS MONTH'S SUBJECT: THE CIRCUS SIDESHOWS OF THE LATE 1800s AND EARLY 1900s

The Circus Sideshows of the late 1800s and early 1900s

Freak shows were popular in the United States from around 1840 to the 1970's, and were often associated with circuses and carnivals. Some shows also exhibited deformed animals (such as two-headed cows, one-eyed pigs, and four-horned goats) and famous hoaxes, or simply "science gone wrong" exhibits (such as deformed babies).

Changes in popular culture and entertainment led to the decline of the freak show as a form entertainment. As previously mysterious anomalies were scientifically explained as genetic mutations or diseases, freaks became the objects of sympathy rather than fear or disdain.

One of the better known movies showing human oddities was Tod Browning's Freaks, filmed in 1932. Director Browning took the exceptional step of casting real people with deformities as the eponymous sideshow "freaks," rather than using costumes and makeup.