I'm totally fascinated by those old-time circus freaks, uh, human oddities, no, wait, that's not p.c. either... ummmmm, "very special people". (Yes, that's it. Heh) I was completely absorbed in the "Lobster Boy" murder trial in Florida several years ago. (See below.)

So now, meet my faves!

FRANK LENTINI, THE THREE-LEGGED MAN

What can be said about Frank Lentini that hasn't been said before? This great man, born in Sicily in 1889, had three legs and uh, two, um, a, well, click here if you're over 18. ;-) Mr. Lentini's legs were all different lengths, and he was known to lament, "I have three legs, but I haven't got a pair." <sob> Anyway, I think Mr. Lentini was quite a handsome man. If he were still alive, or if I was alive back then, I would've done him. TWICE. ;-)

ARTHUR LOOSE, THE RUBBER-SKINNED MAN

Not much is known about Arthur Loose except that he suffered from a medical condition known as "neurofibromatosis". The photo above was taken at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.

"Lobster Boy" Grady Stiles was a carnival sideshow attraction for many years, having put himself and his children on display. He was born with his fingers fused together on each hand, giving the appearance of lobster claws. He also had stunted, misshapen legs. The trait had been in his family for five generations. Grady was reportedly very mean to his wife and used to whack her with his "pincer-like hands". He was once arrested and jailed for killing his daughter's boyfriend, but since the jailhouse was not equipped to take care of someone with his <snicker> physical condition, he was released. After suffering many years of abuse at the hands of her husband, Mrs. Stiles, her son from a prior marriage, and a friend plotted to have him murdered. They succeeded. Poor Grady was shot in the head in his living room of his trailer while drinking beer and sitting in his underwear. All three were convicted and are serving jail time.

EKO & IKO, THE SHEEP-HEADED PEOPLE

Most of what I've read about Eko and Iko, The Sheep-Headed People, says they were black albinos. The photo on the left shows two guys who fit this description. I've seen other photos of Eko and Iko (right), but THESE two guys are WHITE! Confused? So am I! But, here's how I look at it... Since the photo on the left is the first one I ever saw of The Sheep-Headed People, these two guys will forever be Eko and Iko in my mind! (Heh)

Now this is funny! A reporter for The Roanoke Times -- doing an online search on Eko and Iko -- found my "Freaks" page and e-mailed me... She thought I might have some inside info on the guys. (?) (Why she thought that, I dunno... Seems pretty obvious to me that I just put up some pics of freaks on my home page...) Nonetheless, she was doing a story on them for the paper. Here's a link to her week-long series of articles on Eko and Iko. (Who, btw, were black albinos, heh.)

JOHNNY ECK, THE HALF-MAN

Circus freak Johnny Eck starred in the famous 1931 cult film, "Freaks". He played himself. (Heh) What made Johnny special was that he was literally a "half-man" -- he had no lower body beneath his waist -- well, nothing other than his tiny, little feet which protruded from his waist! When I read that Johnny had a TWIN BROTHER, I got quite excited! For the record, Johnny's twin was normal, but I thought it would be funny if he had Johnny's lower-half growing out of his abdomen... For lack of anything better to do (heh), I did a photo retouch and wrote some silly copy that reflects this... Yeah, I know -- that's sick -- but, hey, no sicker than putting yourself on display because you were born with "pincer-like hands"... ;-) Okay, folks -- for the first time anywhere -- here they are...

The jackalope... Half-jack rabbit, half-antelope (hence the name, heh). Several years ago, a company named RAM-Shock Software sold a way-cool jackalope screensaver. (I bought it!) The following "Legend of the Jackalope" appeared on their Jackalope page, at the time:

THE LEGEND OF THE JACKALOPE Some say that the Jackalope is a cross between a deer and a jackrabbit, but nobody has been able to say for sure. This legendary creature is said to be native of Wyoming and the Dakotas, though some people claim to have seen them as far south as West Texas and New Mexico. The Jackalope is known to have a pleasing voice, and can mimic speech, as it often accompanies cowboys singing to their cattle at night, usually assuming the bass part and singing word for word, right along with the cowhands after only hearing a verse or two of songs they have never heard before.

SI-MIA AND FI-DO

These are my conjoined twin pets -- Si-Mia, the Siamese Cat and Fi-Do, the Dalmutation! Cute, aren't they? ;-)

Ever wonder what self-made freaks The Great Nippulini and The Lizardman would look like as conjoined twins? Well, check it out!

The Great Nippulini and The Lizardman photos are from their websites.

Looks like The Great Nippulini isn't the only one who can lift heavy things with his nipples! Check out his cute li'l monkey friend, The Great Macaqulini (nickname: Mac) lifting a BIG BANANA!

Photo retouch by L. Fredericks

TYLER FYRE AND TAILER FYRE

Sword swallower and fire eater Tyler Fyre has a dog with a tail growing out of its head! It's true! According to a post made on Slim's Sideshow Discussion Group by the World's Richest Showman, John Strong, strolling magician (and everybody's friend) Mystic Marlow told him so! Wow. I never heard of a dog with a tail growing out of its head! I spent HOURS looking all over the web for PHOTO PROOF! And guess what? I found it! That's Tyler and his dog, Tailer, above! Cute, huh? (Hmm... Wonder if Tailer appears in His Master's Act as a bone swallower?)

And speaking of Mystic Marlow, he also wrote on Slim's that he plans to build a Kavadi and use it in his show. Since I had no idea what a Kavadi is, I was very happy to read this follow-up post from Chumley, The Happy Clown, who explained it in all its glorious detail...

For those that are not familiar this is a Hindu ritual in which the devotee is strapped into a metal frame supporting numerous sharpened metal rods in a rainbow fashion such that the sharp tips are placed next to the flesh, through the motion of the dancer the rods are jostled and driven into the flesh at which point faith (or in my personal opinion an overload of endorphins) causes a euphoric state in which the bearer of the kavandi [sic] (or the spears of Shiva) appears to be immune to pain and may well recieve [sic] holy visions. This is a ritual with no small amount of spiritual significance, and with all due respect a gaffed version would be about as honourable as passing off a slight of hand while performing the eucharist.
-Chumley, The Happy Clown

Well, now that I know what Kavadi is, I really hope that The Mystical One is successful and attains euphoria!

The above photo retouch was inspired by my friend Evil Elvis.