Not too long ago, the disabled and “different” were put on display in Circus Sideshows. A “Freakshow” of sorts that audience members could pay a little extra to see when the circus came into town. Recently, we saw these people make a fictitious comeback in the film, The Greatest Showman, so we took a look at the real people behind the characters.
While some of the folks felt like they had a place where they fit in with the circus, many others experienced something closer to indentured servitude. This bizarre collection of photos serve as proof that this wasn’t one of our finer moments in history…
The Human Owl
Martin Joe Laurello was referred to as “The Human Owl” because he could rotate his head around almost 180 degrees.