After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Episode: Dark Truth About Victorian 'Freak Shows'

Air Date: February 2, 2026

Hosts: Maddy Pelling & Anthony Delaney

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the bleak history of Victorian "freak shows," focusing on the life of Julia Pastrana—a Mexican woman exhibited across the world in the 19th century due to a genetic condition. Through Pastrana’s tragic story, the hosts unpack themes of otherness, colonialism, exploitation, racism, and agency, while reflecting on the broader societal and scientific contexts that enabled and justified such displays.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Origins of the Freak Show Phenomenon

• Historical Roots:

  • The fascination with human “difference” began in the 16th–17th centuries with printed pamphlets about extraordinary bodies (03:50).
  • Cabinet of Curiosities: Collections (sometimes public) with classified objects—bones, indigenous artifacts, and animal/human remains—helped create a sense of “us” vs. “them.” (04:53–06:21)
  • Early freak shows evolved from these cabinets, moving to include live displays by the 18th century, often in traveling markets and fairs (07:22).

• Themes of Otherness and Colonialism:

  • Such displays reinforced the boundaries between “normal” (the viewer) and “other” (the displayed), perpetuating imperial and racial ideologies (06:21–09:32).

• Victorian Era Escalation:

  • By the 19th century, these shows were integrated into mainstream entertainment, blending scientific, medical, and sensationalist justifications for their existence (09:32–11:19).
  • The Victorian public’s appetite for novelty and shock was partly a reaction to the monotony of industrialized, urban life (11:19–12:31).

Quote:
“It very much is trying to normalize this idea of a them and an us. And also the kind of schadenfreude thing of going, look how...look at us in our bodily perfection and our societal perfection. And look at them. Look at the otherness.”
— Anthony (05:44)

2. The Life and Exploitation of Julia Pastrana

• Early Life and Lack of Agency:

  • Little is known about Julia’s origins; even her birth name remains lost. Born in Sinaloa, Mexico in 1834, possibly to an Indigenous community (14:02).
  • She was born with hypertrichosis (excessive hair growth, dubbed “werewolf syndrome”) (15:12).
  • Likely orphaned or separated from her parents and eventually came under institutional care before being “discovered” for exhibition (18:11).

• Theodore Lent and Control:

  • Showman Theodore Lent finds and essentially “collects” and marries Julia in 1855, gaining legal and economic control over her life and career (19:35–20:32).
  • Debate exists about whether Julia had any agency or financial participation—some argue she may have leveraged her role for survival, but evidence is scant (21:29–23:17).

Quote:
“He marries her in 1855. So he very much legally then becomes the owner of this person.”
— Anthony (20:32)

3. Marketing, Spectacle, and Pseudoscience

• Sensationalized Exhibition:
  • After being brought to London in 1857, she is marketed as “Ms. Julia Pastrana. The nondescript”—the ambiguity fueling both fascination and dehumanization (23:49–24:04).
  • Creation of origin myths about her being from a “tribe of hairy women,” reinforcing her otherness and playing into colonial adventure tropes (25:26).

Quote:
"There's this backstory created for her that she comes from a tribe of hairy women...We've gone, we've explored, we found. And here is our proof."
— Anthony (25:22)

• Public and Medical Gaze:
  • Audiences could get uncomfortably close to Julia—sometimes as part of an upcharged experience (27:11).
  • Medical professionals would examine her on stage, providing pseudo-scientific validation for the spectacle (27:53–31:47).

Quote:
“Lent or someone like Lent...right beside her on stage...talking through her body, her otherness, her difference. And Julia is 90% of the time just passively standing there.”
— Anthony (27:53)

• Disturbing Medical Theories:
  • Examples include an American surgeon claiming she was the product of human–orangutan mating, and a British surgeon dismissing her as “only a deformed Mexican Indian woman” (29:11–29:32).

4. Julia’s Voice and Lost Humanity

• Absent Narrative:

  • Julia was multilingual and a singer, but her own account is absent. Even images and posters distorted her features to exaggerate her supposed otherness (33:04–36:15).

  Quote:
  "This image is a lie. It is blatantly racist and it is very misogynistic. It is not what Julia looked like."
  — Anthony (35:41)

• Exploitation Continues Post-Mortem:

  • Julia died in childbirth in 1860 while on tour in Moscow at just 26 years old. Her baby (who inherited her condition) died within 35 hours (38:34–39:00).
  • Lent sold the bodies of Julia and her child for embalming and display. He later bought them back and sent them on a posthumous European tour. The remains continued to be exhibited until shocking dates—her body toured as late as 1972, with further desecration after (43:16, 45:03).

Quote:
“If you thought it was going to be relatively plain sailing from here, just buckle up for the last few minutes of this story...her husband...sells her body and her son's body to a Professor Sokolov in Moscow University...her body and her son toured as late as 1972.”
— Anthony (40:43, 42:50)

5. Legacy, Repatriation, and Modern Reflection

• Final Rest and Reclamation:
  • In 2012–13, Julia’s remains were finally repatriated to Mexico, where she received a dignified burial attended by hundreds (45:27).
  • The Julia Pastrana Online project aims to reconstruct her true narrative from available documents and critique misleading promotional material (47:37–48:09).

Quote:
"This website focuses on Pastrana's life...Rather than accepting the account of her life given in promotional brochures, Julia Pastrana online works to provide documentation that researchers and artists can use as the basis for further literary, artistic, and critical production."
— Anthony (47:58)

• Continuing Relevance:
  • The hosts stress the ongoing importance of critically examining such histories as their effects and prejudices persist (48:09–49:49).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Cabinet of Curiosity and Otherness
  “Literally neat boxes, you know. The Cabinet of Curiosity.” — Maddie (06:21)

• On Pseudoscience and Public Display
  “You’re possibly...not having to go very far...sideshows as they were called are making up a decent proportion of what’s filling the roster...part of everyday entertainment culture by now.” — Anthony (09:32–11:19)

• On Julia’s Posthumous Treatment
  “The body of Julie and her son toured as late as 1972...and then...vandals damage the child’s body and its remains are eaten by mice when they’re in Oslo, in Norway.” — Anthony (42:50–43:16)

• Critical Reflection
  “History is now. History is a process. It’s a practice. It’s a set of tools. It’s a conversation. And it’s happening now. And it will always happen now, whatever now is.” — Maddie (49:49)

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Topic/Quote | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:50 | Origins of freak shows and print culture | | 06:21 | Cabinets of Curiosity and othering | | 07:22 | First live “freak show” performers toured in the 18th century | | 11:19 | Industrial monotony and the appeal of spectacle | | 14:02 | Julia Pastrana’s background and lack of personal history | | 19:35 | Theodore Lent (showman/husband/manager) | | 23:49 | Julia marketed as "the nondescript" | | 25:26 | Manufactured origin stories | | 27:53 | Audiences, proximity, and sexualization | | 29:11 | Medical “debate” and pseudoscientific claims | | 33:04 | Absence of Julia's own voice | | 35:41 | Lithograph image is racist/misogynistic fabrication | | 38:34 | Julia dies in Moscow; child dies soon after | | 40:43 | Lent sells, then tours bodies posthumously | | 42:50 | Remains exhibited until 1972, desecration in Oslo | | 45:27 | Repatriation and reburial in Mexico | | 47:58 | Julia Pastrana Online’s mission | | 49:49 | Reflection on the task of history and present implications | | 51:57 | Final thoughts and call to future inquiry |

Tone and Style

The conversation is candid, somber, and unflinching—balancing historical context with emotional and ethical reflection. Both hosts are outspoken about the racism, misogyny, and ableism inherent in “freak show” culture. They encourage empathy and modern critique rather than detached academic observation.

Takeaway

The episode illuminates the haunting legacy of Victorian sideshows—how scientific curiosity, racism, and empire mixed into public spectacle, profoundly dehumanizing those at their center. Julia Pastrana’s story is both emblematic and uniquely tragic, her dignity denied in life and death—until, at last, justice begins in remembrance and reclamation.

If you found this episode impactful or disturbing, the hosts invite listeners to reach out with thoughts and interest in further explorations of circus and sideshow histories at afterdark@historyhit.com.