10 Freaks That Inspired The New American Horror Story
10. Percilla The Monkey Girl And Julia Pastrana
The very talented Kathy Bates will be playing The Bearded Lady in this season of American Horror Story. Aside from the fact that the beard appliance looks worse than young Abe Setrakians eyebrows in The Strain, were pretty excited to see her. Two of the more popular bearded women were Percilla The Monkey Girl and Julia Pastrana. Both were born with hypertrichosis, which causes excess hair growth all over the body. Julia, born in Mexico in 1834, toured with the circus most of her life, during which she learned to read and write in three languages. She died in Moscow after childbirth and her husband had her mummified. Her corpse spent many years being passed around universities and sideshows until she was finally returned to her hometown in 2013. Percilla, on the other hand, didnt suffer as badly at the hands of curious children and morbid researchers. Percilla was born in Puerto Rico in 1911. Seizing an opportunity, her father approached showman Karl L Lauther to help promote Percilla. When her father was shot and killed in Gainesville, Florida, Lauther adopted Percilla. In the 1930s Percilla met Emmitt Bejano, The Alligator Skinned Man. They were soon married and travelled the sideshow circuit as the Worlds Strangest Married Couple. Aging and tired, they left the public eye to live in Gibsonton, Florida where they remained happily married until Bejanos death in 1995. Percilla appeared on Jerry Springer to talk about her unusual life and her wonderful marriage. She passed away in her sleep in 2001.
