In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, freak shows were considered a typical element of American culture. The exhibitions were seen as a suitable amusement for the middle class and were profitable for the showmen. Join us, as we look at 20 circus freaks that actually existed.
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Ella Harper
Ella Harper was born in Hendersonville, Tennessee, shortly after the Civil War, with an unusual disease that caused her legs to bend backward, which turned her into a spectacle. She preferred walking on all fours rather than two, and this, combined with America's disgusting love for sideshow "freaks," was enough to make her a circus attraction. Known as the "Camel Girl," she drew thousands of stares. W.H. Harris, an ambitious showman, was anxious to have the most diverse roster of "freaks" possible and, upon hearing of Harper, offered her a hefty payment to sign with him. Ella Harper earned $200 a week as a featured attraction in Harris' Nickel Plate Circus, which is roughly $5,000 today.
This enabled her to find a home while also pursuing a profitable career. Her career, on the other hand, frequently humiliated her. Aside from the obnoxious term "Camel Girl," Harper was also shoved onstage with a real camel, and paying viewers were encouraged to marvel at the similarities. Harper was adamant about quitting and ultimately, after a year’s worth of weekly $200 payments, she did. Ella Harper's post-circus activities are unknown, but it is thought that she pursued education and returned to her native home immediately after quitting the freak show circuit. Tragic events seemed to follow her, when their father died in a house fire in 1890, and Harper's brother Willie died roughly five years later.
The Siamese Twins
Chun and I were born in Siam, now Thailand, in 1811, with a four-inch band of flesh connecting them at the chest. Chang and Eng, as they became known in the West, left Siam as teenagers to pursue a career displaying their physical abnormality. The brothers quickly became objects of fascination, and their personal lives became a source of speculation. For more than a decade, the "Siamese Twins" performed in front of royalty, elite medical specialists, and public audiences throughout Europe and the Americas.
By the 1830s, Chang and Eng had become household names, so well-known that future conjoined twins would be dubbed "Siamese Twins." For centuries, they have served as inspiration for poems, plays, novels, and biographies. They are relevant in current discussions of the nineteenth-century South, race, popular culture, Asian studies, and disability studies as Asian immigrants to the southern United States, enslavers, showmen, and human curiosities.