24 Vintage Pics of Carnival and Circus Acts

Daniel Bonfiglio Published 04/27/2024 in wow

Today, if you were looking for a good time, you might throw on a pair of sneakers, head on down to the amusement park, and hop on a few rides. Afterwords, maybe you'd shoot a water gun, throw a tennis ball, or try and win a prize or two at the arcade. You know, normal fun things. But if you lived in the 1900s, you'd be grabbing a quarter and buying a ticket to see the local "freak show."

It's hard to imagine spending money to go and gawk at other human beings as a form of entertainment, but the 1900s were a different time, and carnival sideshows often drew large crowds as profitable endeavors. As you'd expect, conditions for performers were less than ideal, and many suffered premature deaths from a lack of proper care. But you can't tell the story of entertainment history without them, and many helped pave the way towards normalizing future acceptance.

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“The Ohio Big Foot Girl,” Fannie Mills suffered from Milroy disease.
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"The Bearded Woman," Annie Jones, toured with P.T. Barnum, and became the county’s top bearded lady.
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Tattooed Lady Betty Broadbent.
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Chang and Eng Bunker toured for three years before moving to North Carolina. They married stepsisters and had 21 kids.
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Joseph Merrick, the “Elephant Man.”
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Felix Wehrle, the “Elastic Man,” in 1902. He suffered from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
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Grady Stiles Jr., "Lobster Boy" had a genetic birth defect. He would go on to murder his daughter's fiance.
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The "Living Human Skeleton," Isaac Sprague.
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Myrtle Corbin, the Four-Legged Girl from Texas. She was a dipygus, born with a severe congenital deformity of conjoined twinning, and could move her smaller legs.
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1.
2.
“The Ohio Big Foot Girl,” Fannie Mills suffered from Milroy disease.
3.
"The Bearded Woman," Annie Jones, toured with P.T. Barnum, and became the county’s top bearded lady.
4.
5.
Tattooed Lady Betty Broadbent.
6.
7.
Chang and Eng Bunker toured for three years before moving to North Carolina. They married stepsisters and had 21 kids.
8.
9.
10.
Joseph Merrick, the “Elephant Man.”
11.
12.
13.
Felix Wehrle, the “Elastic Man,” in 1902. He suffered from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
Grady Stiles Jr., "Lobster Boy" had a genetic birth defect. He would go on to murder his daughter's fiance.
19.
The "Living Human Skeleton," Isaac Sprague.
20.
21.
Myrtle Corbin, the Four-Legged Girl from Texas. She was a dipygus, born with a severe congenital deformity of conjoined twinning, and could move her smaller legs.
22.
23.