Isaac W. Sprague, also known as “The Living Skeleton,” was born on May 21, 1841, in East Bridgewater Massachusetts. He had a normal childhood until his health began deteriorating at age 12. Some early speculation indicated that he may have contracted a bacterial pathogen while swimming, which triggered his subsequent lifelong illness.

Sprague’s disease caused him to be unable to gain weight no matter the nutrients he consumed and he developed progressive muscle wasting and weakness. This combination led to his later famed and exploited skeletal frame in adulthood. It was said that Sprague would always have keep a flask of sugared milk with him at all times to sip on through the day just so he could get steady nutrients so he would not faint or die from starvation. The only official measurement of Sprague was taken by a physician in 1885 when he was 44 years old, where he weighed just 43 pounds at 5 feet 6 inches. read more

This is the dubious story of Mr. Edward Mordrake (also spelled Edward Mordake). Perhaps this one is the strangest story of all deformities in human history.

Article updated by Trina McMillin.

If This Is Mordrake’s Mummified Head, It Would Surely Prove His Existence

Source: Newsweek

Mordrake, who was a wealthy man from the 1800s, is said to have had the face of his evil twin attached to the back of his head. There has been continued debate as to whether Mordrake was a real man or just a product of fiction writer Charles Hildreth’s imagination; although this debate seemed to have cooled, on April 30, 2018, a Facebook page, Pictures in History, came forward claiming to have a picture of Mordrake’s mummified head, with the evil twin’s face fully intact. read more

Blanche Dumas (born in 1860) was a courtesan with three legs, four breasts, two vulvas and two vaginas. In addition to her unusual sexual anatomy, Dumas also had an extremely strong libido.

This post was updated by Trina McMillin.

Featured image sketch by artist Desiree Walker

The real Blanch Dumas. (Source: newsmov.biz)

Dumas was born on the island of Martinique (an insular region of France). Her father was French, and her mother was one-quarter black. At the age of 25, Dumas was visited and also documented by Bechlinger of Para, Brazil. She was then added to the pages of Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine (an encyclopedic collection of very rare and extraordinary cases in medicine). read more

Biologist Jessica DeRubeis briefly discusses the life of sideshow performer Eli Bowen. Then, she goes on to explain the extremely rare congenital disorder called phocomelia in great detail.

Who was Eli Bowen?

Eli Bowen, frequently known as “The Legless Wonder”, was an American acrobat who turned his medical disability into a lucrative living. One of eight siblings, Eli was born with a congenital abnormality in which the bones of his legs did not form correctly and his feet grew directly from his torso. This condition is known as phocomelia. read more

Chinese man Huang Chuncai (born December 29, 1977) has the most extreme case of neurofibromatosis ever recorded. With a massive 25 kg tumor hanging from his face to his waist, he became famously known for being “China’s Elephant Man.”  

Chuncai’s medical condition has prevented him from living a normal life. Sadly, he can barely move, eat, or even sleep. When he walks, he has to hold his growth. To help reduce the size of his growths, Chuncai has had a total of four major surgeries (from 2007 – 2013). read more