Living Skeleton Circus Performer: Dominique “The Mummy” Castagna

The Human Marvels blog has a spotlight on Dominique Castagna, a "living skeleton" circus performer also known as The Mummy, who was only 4’9" tall and weighed 50 pounds fully grown:

The Living Skeleton was a fairly common human marvel appearing in private exhibits and travelling sideshows during the heyday of human exhibition. Living Skeletons, sometimes referred to as ‘shadows’, were generally adult men afflicted with some sort of consumption disease ranging from digestive disorders to full blown cases of tuberculosis. Living Skeletons were emaciated to a startling degree, many of them weighed less that 75 pounds and some weighed as little as 50 pounds.

The Living Skeleton was often presented in tandem with a Fat Lady to better juxtapose the physical attributes of both curiosities. In fact, went visiting a new town, it was a common practice amongst showmen to stage a wedding ceremony between a Fat lady and a Living Skeleton to capitalize on free publicity and draw crowds.

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