Traveling freak shows or oddity museums were also popular entertainment in the 19th century. P.T. Barnum was the most famous showman, equally remembered for his menagerie of performers and his grandiose publicity campaigns centered around hoaxes. His most famous hoax was the mermaid. He made a pretty penny off selling people tickets to view the remains of a mermaid….
P.T. Barnum’s most famous performer would have to be the one who also made him the most money. General Tom Thumb was a dwarf who stood 25 inches tall and weighed a little over 9 pounds.

P.T Barnum

Grady Stiles, Lobster Boy
Grady Stiles, also known as Lobster Boy was a side show performer. He was born in a condition (ectrodactyly) in which his fingers and toes are fused and appeared as large claws. He learned to crawl with his elbows because he couldn’t walk.
In his childhood, he performed with his father who also had ectrodactyly. He marries two twice and had four children. Out of his four children, two had also ectrodactyly, because it was in their genetics. With the name of “The Lobster Family”, he took his family to perform on the roads. They were good performers but all was not well in the household. He was an alcoholic, who verbally and physically abused his family.
After killing his daughter’s finance he was sentenced to 15 years of probation. He was not sent to jail because there were no prisons to take care his special needs. He quit alcohol after that but soon started again. His wife and son was done with him and made a plan to murder him. They hired another side show performer Chris Wyant to kill him in 1992. Grady was killed but his wife and son charged with a second-degree murder and prisoned for 12 years.
Due to his horrific personality, he is still famous and a Lobster Man character, based on him, was also appeared in many Television shows and movies.

Lady Myrtle Corbin, Four-Legged Girl
Lady Myrtle Corbin was born in a rare condition “dipygus”, in which she had two sets of internal and external genitalia and two pelvises. She had eight brother and sisters but she was only born with that rare condition. At the age of 15, she started working in side shows and generated a good income. She earned enough that at age of 18, she was able to retire.
She married and fell pregnant at the age of 19. Pregnancy was in her left uterus, so there was no other option except abortion for her. After abortion; she made complete recovery and gave birth to five children, it was thought that pregnancies were in her right uterus. After living a happy and normal life, she died in 1928.

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Cristian Ramos, Lionel the Lion
Cristian was born with Hypertrichosis, a condition causes excess growth of hair, but it was severe in his case. He was born in 1980, covering his full body with long hair. His mother was horrified at first sight on her baby. She believed that he was a monster caused by her, witnessing his father’s death when she was pregnant.
At the age of 4, Crisitan was sold to a man who toured with him around the Europe. After that, he started working in side show circus under the name “Lionel the Lion”. Before retirement, he came to America and worked in side shows and after retirement he lived in Germany.

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Prince Randian
Prine Radian was in a rare condition tetra-amelia syndrome, born without any limbs. From British Guiana, P.T Barnum bought him when he was only 18 years old. He performed in side shows over 45 years and he was a popular attraction on Coney Island.
He started his act like a caterpillar, appearing from stack wool. He also wiggled, rolled around the stage and lightened cigarette from his mouth in his act. He died at the age of 63 and left a wife, Princess Sarah and four children.

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Francesco Lentini, The King
Francesco Lentini was born with three legs, four feet and 16 toes. He also had two sets of male genitalia. His all legs were of different lengths, which made walking difficult for him but not impossible.
Many people are born with extra body parts and not able to move them but Francesco was best known to kick football with his third leg. Sometimes, it was seemed that he had a parasitic twin, because there was an extra foot on his knee. Under the stage name of “The King”, he performed nearly thirty years in the side shows. He earned very respectable reputation during work.

Fanny Mills, Bigfoot
Fanny Miller was suffered from a disease named “Milory”, due to which, many fuilds were built in her lower extremities and fluid buildup had caused severe circulation problems. Her parents and other siblings were normal but she was suffered. Due to disease, her feet size grew to 17 inches in length and she used a custom made shoe of number 30.
Fanny moved to U.S from England to appear at Human oddity museum and to star in side shows. She was very famous due to her unusual feet and was making a good living with $150 per week. She married and had a child who died shortly after the birth. The death of her child was no less than a shock for her, due to that, her health started to deteriorate rapidly. She retired in 1982 and died shortly after retirement in her home in Ohio.

Ella Harper, Camel Girl
Ella Harper was born in Tennessee, in 1870. She had a very rare condition, due to which, her legs were only bend backwards and her preference for getting around was walking on all four. Her parents and other siblings were normal but she was born with that rare condition. She entered in side show business and performed well. She was paid $200 per week to perform for hundreds curiosity-seekers, who came to see the half girl and half camel.
She married and had two children, but both were died before the age of six months. Ella was died in 1920 due to colon cancer.

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Lucia Zarate, The Porcelain Doll
Lucia was born in rare, condition of dwarfism. She got her full height when she turned one. She was only 20 inches tall but she had a good health. Although her parents and siblings were normal. He joined side show business and performed well. After one year of performing, she died with hypothermia when her circus train became stranded in the frigid mountains of Nevada. It is said that she died when she was 13 years old while in dental records she was only six years old.

Isaac Sprague, the Living Skeleton

Issac was born in Massachusetts, in 1841. He was healthy till the age of 12, but after that, he started to lose an extreme amount of weight. His appetite was normal but still had no effect of his hunger and health.
His parents support him until they died. He was unemployed after their death, due to his condition which made him fatigued. At that hard time, he joined P.T Barnum’s side show. He toured the country and performed in Barnum’s side shows.
He married and had three healthy and strong boys. He was 5 feet 6 inches tall but weigh only equal to a toddler, because his condition caused him to waste away to 43 pounds. He died of asphyxia in 1870 and his weakness was the real cause of his death.

Schlitzie, the Pinhead
Schlitzie’s life is still a mystery. It is not confirmed that either he was born in U.S or Mexico and what was his real name. He was born with microcephaly. Microcephaly is a condition which causes to develop less size of skull and brain than average. Schlitize had a mentality of three years old kid. He was referred as male and female roles when he performed in side shows.
Schlitzie was passed around from circus to carnival to showmen. A showman adopted him and brought him up as his kid. However, the showman was died and left Schlitizie on his daughter’s courtesy. In beginning, she took care of him, but soon she realized that he was not less than a burden and sent him an institution.
When he was not performing, a man, named Frenchy Unks, brought him back in side shows. Schlitizie performed few years before retirement. He died at the age of 70 in Los Angeles, California.