The Fiji mermaid (also Feejee mermaid) was an object comprising the torso and head of a juvenile monkey sewn to the back half of a fish, covered in paper-mâché. It was a common feature of sideshows, which was presented as the mummified body of a creature that was supposedly half mammal and half fish, a version of traditional mermaid stories. [from Wikipedia]
The Island of the Dolls (Isla de las Munecas) sits in the canals south of Mexico City and is the current home of hundreds of terrifying, mutilated dolls. Their severed limbs, decapitated heads, and blank eyes adorn trees, fences and nearly every available surface. The dolls appear menacing even in the bright light of midday, but in the dark they are particularly haunting.
Not surprisingly, the island’s origins lie in tragedy. The story goes that the island’s only inhabitant, Don Julian Santana, found the body of a drowned child in the canal some 50 years ago. He was haunted by her death, so when he saw a doll floating by in the canal soon after, he hung it in a tree to please the girl. He hoped to both appease her tortured soul and protect the island from further evil. The story took a particularly sinister turn in 2001 when Don Julian drowned in the canal just like the little girl.
Getting to the island is a long and difficult task, but walking among the creepy dolls is an experience like no other. Most, if not all, of these dolls were rejected by their previous owners for various reasons. Severed limbs and body-less heads hang side-by-side with whole, sun-bleached dolls. Mold covers some, while others are missing nearly all of their artificial hair. Spiders and insects have taken up residence in the hollow parts of most of the dolls.
[text and photos taken from WebUrbanist.com, click here for the full article]
There is also a SyFy channel show called Destination Truth that features the island (however the video is not available in my region).
Altar Demon
Albert Fish
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Divine Comedy
Sexual Fantasy
For more on this artist, read my review of the Joe Coleman documentary, Rest In Pieces: A Portrait of Joe Coleman.
“Pickled punks” is the carny term for human fetuses preserved in jars of formaldehyde and used as sideshow attractions. Most pickled punks display some sort of anatomical abnormality, such as conjoined twins or polycephaly; however, the deformities present are as varied as the nature of human inflictions. Faked pickled punks, made from rubber or wax, are known as “bouncers” for their tendency to bounce when dropped on the floor. [from Wikipedia]
Many of these were preserved by master anatomist Frederik Ruysch. I have a separate entry on him here.
