She Was Dubbed The World’s Ugliest Woman, And Then After Her Death, She Was Mummified Before Being Put On Display
The first sideshow ever dates all the way back to mid-seventeenth century England. But this cruel form of entertainment– which was ignorantly coined a “freak show” during its rise– would not reach its height of popularity until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
During that time, freak shows became a very lucrative avenue for exhibitors. They capitalized by ostracizing people with physical, behavioral, or mental rarities since such differences were viewed as taboo.
And along the way, most sideshow stars were also subjected to brutal treatment– one of whom was Julia Pastrana.
“The World’s Ugliest Woman”
Julia Pastrana was an Indigenous woman born in 1834 with two rare diseases, which resulted in her having atypical facial features and hair covering much of her body.
And according to reports about her birth, Julia’s mother apparently believed that supernatural forces had somehow interfered. In fact, Julia’s mother allegedly even whispered “naualli” after seeing her newborn– a word that refers to mythical shapeshifting werewolves that were frequently blamed for physical differences in babies.
Still, the first few years of Julia’s life were spent with her mother in a small Mexican community. Then, while Julia was still very young, the pair left town and reportedly lived in a mountain cave.
This move ultimately led Julia and her mother to be discovered by Mexican herders– who took Julia and put her in an orphanage. And once there, Julia became a sort of local celebrity who fascinated community members.
George Wick, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; pictured above is Julia’s embalmed body
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So, word spread quickly about Julia’s unique appearance, and even Governor Pedro Sanchez eventually caught wind. But, this sparked the downfall of Julia’s individuality and freedom– because Sanchez only went on to adopt Julia just to have “live-in amusement.”
Sideshow Star
Julia ultimately worked for Governor Sanchez until she was twenty years old. Then, she reportedly decided to travel home to her Indigenous community in Mexico and live out a life of peace.
Sadly, though, Julia never made it home and instead got thrust into the growing world of carnival entertainment. It is unclear exactly how she entered the sideshow business– moreover, whether it was by choice or not.
Some sources report that while Julia was traveling back to Mexico, she encountered an American showman who convinced her to launch a sideshow career.
However, other sources tell a much more inhumane story– in which Julia was bought by a Mexican customs administrator and exhibited against her will.
Nonetheless, she ended up in America by 1854 and debuted in New York City’s Gothic Hall in December of that year. During that show, Julia donned a red dress, sang Spanish songs, and performed under the title of “Marvellous Hybrid or Bear Woman.”
Medical Scrutiny
The public was obviously uninformed about Julia’s physical differences at that time, so her debut performance prompted a ton of intrigue in the medical community. And over the years, she would be subjected to countless cruel medical examinations.
In fact, the first doctor to ever examine Julia, Alexander B. Matt, claimed that she was half-orangutan and half-human. Then, another doctor declared that Julia must have been inhuman and instead a part of a “distinct species.”
And tragically, none of the doctors who ever examined Julia actually spoke to her about her history or experiences.
From Manager To Husband
At some point during Julia’s sideshow career, she also met a man named Lewis B. Lent. Lewis took an interest in her and decided to manage Julia– leading him to make exorbitant profits.
But, as Julia’s reputation grew, other businessmen, such as P.T. Barnum, started to seek her out. So, Lewis decided to marry Julia in order to secure her lucrative sideshow career for himself.
They officially tied the knot in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1855, but aside from Julia’s profitability, Lewis really did not care for her. She was afforded practically no rights within the relationship and was not even allowed outside during the daytime.
This was because, apparently, Lewis believed that Julia being seen in public would “diminish her earning power.”
Then, he also forced Julia to wear a veil whenever she went out during the night.
Still, Lewis went on to perpetuate lies about his happy marriage. In fact, he even distributed pamphlets claiming that Julia was “always cheerful and perfectly contented with her situation in life.”
Dehumanized
But that could not have been further from the truth since Julia’s entire existence was degraded and ostracized. On exhibition posters, she was advertised as a baboon, bear, or ape.
And sometimes, she was even just called “nondescript”– a term used to describe “strange animals and monsters from beyond the seas.”
On top of that, exhibitors capitalized on Julia’s Indigenous background and atypical facial features. Advertisements would exaggerate her facial features in a way that paralleled racist caricatures and imply that Julia was “the literal product of beasts.”
Julia’s Tragic Passing
Julia ended up spending four years married to and managed by her husband, Lewis, before she found out she was pregnant in August 1859. Even while pregnant, though, she still toured throughout the world– and even ended up giving birth to her child while exhibiting in Moscow, Russia.
Julia’s baby was reportedly a difficult birth and also inherited the same atypical appearance. Tragically, though, the little boy passed away less than forty hours after entering the world.
Then, following the birth, Julia spiked a very high fever and tragically died just five days later at just twenty-six years old.
But still, even in death, Julia was not put to rest. Instead, Lewis reportedly sold tickets to people who wanted to see Julia on her deathbed before moving onto even more sinister means of profit.
Mummified & Displayed
Lewis decided to profit off of his late wife one last time and met with an anatomy professor named Ivan Sokolov– who was experimenting with a blend of mummification and taxidermy at the time.
Then, Lewis ultimately opted to sell both Julia’s and their infant’s remains to Sokolov so the professor could embalm them and continue displaying them at the Moscow Imperial University’s Anatomical Institute.
In turn, Sokolov worked to embalm both Julia and her baby boy for about six months before they were toured and exhibited for decades.
Julia Was Finally Laid To Rest
It was not until the 1970s that the public began to look down upon exhibiting the deceased and embalmed bodies of Julia and her child. Amidst the growing outrage, though, Julia and her child were not even afforded a proper resting place.
Instead, they were thrown in a carnival storehouse outside of Oslo, Norway, around 1973. Then, when the storehouse was broken into about three years later, Julia and her son’s embalmed bodies were stolen.
Their remains were later found thrown in the trash by police. But Julia’s body was missing an arm, and her son’s body was severely damaged.
So, their remains were again placed in storage, this time at the University of Oslo. And there, Julia and her son were essentially forgotten about for over a decade until 1990, when a pair of journalists discovered them in a basement.
This discovery sparked a near decade-long public argument over whether or not Julia should be laid to rest. And apparently, the fight against giving Julia a memorial was to preserve the right of scientists who might have wanted to study her in the future.
Despite the ludicrousy of this debate, though, it continued on well into the 2000s until finally, in 2012, Julia’s body was rightfully repatriated back to Mexico.
There, Julia was finally buried near her birthplace of Sinaloa de Leyva, Mexico, in 2013– where she had first left over one hundred and fifty years before.
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