10 Freaks That Inspired The New American Horror Story
2. Sealo The Seal Boy
In the most recent trailer for American Horror Story: Freak Show, we see Evan Peters character Jimmy Darling hanging around a man with rather short arms. This could be a reference to Sealo who had phocomelia, which causes a deformation of the limbs. There are multiple causes for phocomelia, but it is mostly caused by heredity or the use of the drug thalidomide. Thalidomide was used to treat morning sickness in women, but did not hit the market until 1957, five years after Freak Show takes place. Born Stanislaus Berent, Sealo was born in Pittsburgh in 1899 and reared in a Polish immigrant family. Once a newspaper boy, he was discovered by freak scouters. Freak scouters looked for people with differences and disabilities to use in circus sideshows. Much like the milkman, this job no longer exists. Sealo worked regularly at Coney Island and had a successful 35-year career. Even with his disability, Sealo was able to shave himself, sculpt animal figurines from clay and use a handsaw. One of his greatest accomplishments came when he fought alongside the circus performers of Ward Halls show who were going to be banned by the state of Florida because of a law that prohibited the display of the handicapped. Sealo petitioned to have the law repealed. In 1976, he retired to Gibsonston, Florida but returned to his native Pittsburgh when his health declined. Hes buried in a local cemetery.
