Strange Bodies

A frigid visit to the morgue at the Great St Bernard Hospice in the Pennine Alps.

An intrepid reporter for a Cincinnati newspaper tours the dissection rooms of the Ohio Medical College and describes the gruesome sights and smells.

The Freak Man describes how he creates carnival gaffs and “natural specimens” for dime museums.

Today we look at two accounts of goat-men, one in Windsor Great Park; the other, a satyr-sighting near Wemyss Castle in Scotland.

In the depths of the Chickasaw Mine a miner sees a bizarre emaciated centaur with a warning.

An astonished Grand Duchess and her husband see a band of centaurs on a Greek hillside.

A past Bishop of Liberia gives us an eye-witness account of a restless corpse determined to find her murderer.

We are coming to the end of the traditional Silly Season. Last year I did a post on popular images of sea serpents from vintage newspapers. This year, we move on to an equally popular Silly Season topic: mermaids, as seen in newspapers and book illustrations.

“It was rather dark, for the lower half of the windows were boarded up; but in one corner, on the floor, was plainly distinguishable what looked like a heap of clothes flung together in disorder. It appeared to be in motion, however, and the mistress of the house once more turning to her follower had just time to utter the mysterious words—”Don’t be frightened. If she likes you, she’ll hoot; if she doesn’t, she’ll scream…”