Freak Shows and Joseph Merrick

Freak show exhibitions became popular in the States and in the UK during the 1840s. Freak shows often exhibited medical anomalies and people who were considered "freaks of nature," like albinos, hermaphrodites, midgets, fire-eaters, sword-swallowers, etc. Freak shows were associated with traveling carnivals and circuses, and so they are still today, in some form or other. Still, their popularity began to wane in the 1970s, as awareness for the degradation of handicapped persons increased. Interestingly, a Michigan law forbids the exhibition of "any deformed human being or human monstrosity, except as used for scientific purposes."







In 1884, Joseph Merrick was billed as the Elephant Man in London's East End. Merrick was born a healthy child and only showed signs of skin deformation at the age of five. Though Merrick got his nickname from the belief that he had elephantiasis, modern scientists have speculated that he suffered from a combination of neurofibromatosis type I and Proteus syndrome. Unable to keep a job, Merrick accepted his fate as a human novelty and allowed himself to be exhibited as such. Merrick spent the last few years of his life in the hospital, as his condition worsened. Throughout his life, Merrick believed the cause of his affliction was due to maternal impression, the antiquated idea that the emotional experiences of pregnant women could have a lasting physical effect on their unborn children.



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