# Dark Truth About Victorian 'Freak Shows'

An episode of [After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1705694900), 2 Feb 2026, 49 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/64e89a796854bf00115a70e0/e/697a25e00507f716248da986/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=PCqwTWWDW-Lq6zyKMq3N2rXCjjDpZKBFCFy53sPIRMA

Julia Pastrana was a Mexican woman exploited as a sideshow attraction in life and grotesquely exhibited even after her death because of her appearance. Her story is part of the dark history of the Victorian 'freak show'. Anthony tells Maddy the story. This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Stuart Beckwith and researched by Phoebe Joyce. You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here. All music from Epidemic Sounds. After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast. Voting is now open for the Listener's Choice Award at this year's Podcast Awards. Click to place your vote on the Spotify mobile app: https://open.spotify.com/s/xhg6PJa Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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