1860-90 Victorian Men's Hair

During this short century many Victorian men wore their hair short and towards the end of

 the century men wore their hair close cut and shaved.  The image below is of a gentleman from the 1860's with short, curled hair, the man still wears side burns which are slightly shaved near the top of the head and then connects with a full beard and moustache. 

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/6c/a4/d1/6ca4d1de27229116bba174d48a14b10f.jpg

The appearance of men during this century were well groomed and whiskered and some Victorian men even shaved their facial hair off completely believing that this look made a man appear more 'fastidious' meaning they payed close attention to detail and were well put together. 

'Aesthetes Trend'

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/74/11/97/74119770826acca169bdcd6022721b73.jpg

The image above is an example of the 'Aesthetes' trend, were Victorian Men shaved off their facial hair completely. I feel that both of these Victorian hairstyles worn by men have become popular again today and the excess hair grown by boys and men today are styled into 'Man buns'. 

'Man Bun'

http://hairstyleonpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/f1c55f853c1b43cd9580d87fb0b86da9.jpg

During this century, Victorian Mens Sideburns became longer, bushier and whiskery this is how 'Mutton Chops' became a trend, If the side burns were very long and combed out they were called 'Piccadilly weepers'. Many Victorian men who wore both a moustache and a beard were normally worn in different ways; either thick, bushy and in a rounded shape or in a long pointy shape. 

http://14544-presscdn-0-64.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/ulysses-s-grant1.jpg

The Image above is a General Grant from the 1860's who has a full, bushy rounded beard with a moustache too. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Pearce_Bartlett.jpg

The image above is a portrait which shows the pointed beard style men also wore in the 1860-90 Victorian era.

This pointy beard still is less whiskery and more tamed and was worn long and short.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Kaiser_Wilhelm_I._.JPG

The image above is a portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm, who was the last German Emperor from June 15th 188 till 9th November 1918. The 'Kaiser Moustache' is normally referred to the late Kaiser Wilhelm as he wore a well structured waxed, pointed moustache. Many older men continued to wear traditional beards and moustaches into the new century although the clean shave trend took over. 

References 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Kaiser_Wilhelm_II_of_Germany_-_1902.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/wilhelm_kaiser_ii.shtml

http://thehistoryofthehairsworld.com/hair_19th_century.html

Nunn,Joan. Fashion in Costume, 1200-2000. 2nd edition. A&C Black (Publishers) Ltd;Chicago: New Amsterdam Books,2000.

The First Gothic Horror Novels

In order to have a better understanding of Gothic Horror novels and the various genres introduced in the novels from the 1800's, I did some research on a few novels and analysed the themes and Gothic settings of some of the novels. It was interesting to find out the development and change of Gothic Horror novels and how different authors introduced the 'creatures' and 'monsters' we fear and re create today in films, books, myths etc.  

The Castle of Otranto By Horace Walpole.

"The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think."

- Horace Walpole.

- This was the first Gothic Horror Novel 

- The Novel was published in 1764 

- In this Novel Horace Walpole combined the supernatural and horror together 

- Horace Walpole introduced the first Gothic Horror elements in his novel creating a 'Gothic setting' which would be recreated throughout history

- Romance, devastation, death, foreign/ deserted location, Death, lust and betrayal; these are all emotions, elements and themes that are created in this novel 

More about Horace Walpole and his literature -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0054792

http://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/english-online/collection-item-images/w/a/l/walpole%20horace%20gothic%20b20114%2047.jpg?w=608&h=342

The Mysteries of Udolpho: The Dawn of the Female Gothic By Ann Radcliffe.

“Such is the inconsistency of real love, that it is always awake to suspicion, however unreasonable; always requiring new assurances from the object of its interest.” 
- By Ann Radcliffe 

- In Ann Radcliffe's extremely successful novel she introduces 'The Explained Supernatural' 
- This novel was published in 1794
-'The Explained Supernatural' Is when horrifying supernatural activities and events have logical explanations and reasoning
- Similarly to the Gothic Horror author Sophia Lee, Ann Radcliffe carried on the Female Gothic literature style and 'perfected' it in her novel 'The Mysteries of Udolpho'

http://study.com/cimages/multimages/16/ann_radcliffe.jpg

The Monk; Shocking Society By Matthew Lewis.

"She sealed his lips with a wanton kiss; 'Though I forgive your breaking your vows to heaven, I expect you to keep your vows to me.” 

- By Matthew Lewis

http://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/english-online/collection-item-images/l/e/w/lewis%20matthew%20matthew%20c13742%2084.jpg?w=608&h=342

- This novel is said to be the 'Mans Gothic' due to the novels themes of loneliness and the main male character being an outsider in society

-This Novel was published in 1796 

- Matthew Lewis's novel explores themes of cannibalism, gore, incestuous necrophilia and voyeurism 

-Matthew Lewis was a young MP at the time of publishing the book and themes within the book and his personal life caused controversy 

The Vampyre; Birth of the Tale in English By John William Polidori 1816.

“all those upon whom it was bestowed, inevitably found that there was a curse upon it, for they were all either led to the scaffold, or sunk to the lowest and the most abject misery.” - By John William Polidori

http://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/english-online/collection-items-more/p/o/l/polidori-john-vampyre-b20120-39.jpg?w=608&h=342

- This Gothic Horror is set on the shores of Lake Geneva

-John Polidori wrote the first vampire novel in English 

- His Novel introduced the 'Vampyre' as a deadly attractive and misunderstood monster 

- John Polidori's representation of 'The Vampyre' had been re created in many other gothic novels, thriller stories, films etc 

-Like Lord Byron, both he and John Polidori introduced the first 'Vampyres' in their novels 

-Lord Byron introduced the first 'Modern Vampire'; which is still inspiring vampire characters today, etc Robert Pattison 'Edward Cullen' in the Twilight films by Stephanie Myers

Frankenstein By Mary Shelley 1816. 

"Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerless" - By Mary Shelley

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/RothwellMaryShelley.jpg

- Mary Shelley created the first gothic horror novels which also introduced the scene fiction genre

-Mary's Frankenstein is a creature created by numerous body parts 

-Many readers of the novel in 1816 believed the book to be a warning about the 'dangers' of contemporary science

References 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/zyp72hv

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/summary.html

http://www.sparknotes.com/search?q=the+vampire+

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Shelly,Mary:Frankenstein 1818 (Lackington,Hughes,Harding,Mavor & Jones)

Radcliffe,Ann The Mysteries of Udolpho: The Dawn of the Female Gothic 1794 G. G. and J. Robinson

Gothic Horror

What is Gothic Horror?

Gothic Horror is a style of writing which touches elements of horror, fear, death and also romantic elements  like individuality and nature. This style of fictional writing began mid 1700 and the book ' The castle of Otranto' By Horace Walpole was the first Gothic Horror novel to be created, which caused a lot of controversy due to Gothic Horror exploring 'The unknown' which was unheard of during this time period. 

The Plot of 'The Castle of Otranto'.

"This novel is a medieval tale of love, knights, horror, and curses that features several twists and turns along the way. As the story opens, there is to be a wedding between the sickly, young son of Prince Manfred, Conrad, and the lovely Isabella. Isabella's father, Frederick, has been away at the Crusades. He is presumed to be dead, as is Isabella's mother. Manfred persuades her guardians to allow her to marry Conrad, who is just 15 years old. It is not a marriage of love. 

On the morning of the wedding, a servant finds the crushed body of Conrad under a plumed helmet large enough to fit a giant. This horrifying, inciting event sets up the action to follow."

The text above is taken from http://study.com/academy/lesson/the-castle-of-otranto-summary-analysis-quiz.html, this is an educational site which holds a plot, notes and analysis on 'The Castle of Otranto' By Horace Walpole. 

The term Gothic originated and was associated with the style of art and architecture during the 1700's, Gothic described dark, decaying and dismal settings and events. The settings within Gothic Horror novels are commonly described as gloomy, dead, lifeless, scary and fearful in large Gothic fearful churches and buildings. Most Gothic Horror literature spoke about 'Monsters', 'The unknown', Vampires, The supernatural, werewolves etc, there are also Gothic Horror stories which displayed these 'fearful' and 'gloom' elements of fear and suffering in Gothic settings themselves. 

References 

http://study.com/academy/lesson/gothic-fiction-definition-characteristics-authors.html
http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-origins-of-the-gothic
Clery, E.J. (1995). The Rise of Supernatural Fiction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bloom, Clive (2007). Gothic Horror: A Guide for Students and Readers. 

Starting Ideas for Claudia and Quentin

Since choosing my TV series AHS Freak Show and also my final characters Claudia and Quentin, I have begun thinking of ideas for my face charts. Because Claudia is a fortune teller, I don't think the makeup I create for her will change her facial features too much to try and create any deformities and I feel the same way about Quentin. Although, the makeup I do decide to create will include blood, gore or a special effects theme. 



Claudia Makeup Ideas

Burns all over the face covered in glitter/silver/shimmer
Inspiring word - Red Rave?
'Star Struck' - constellations/ horoscopes, tarot cards  
Acne irritated bumpy infested infected yellow burnt skin scar 
Burning Beauty

Quentin Makeup Ideas 

Inspiring word - Glass Prison 
Dark under eyes
finger marks around the neck
hollow masculine defined face
ridescent sparkles, glitter blown over the skin subtly (Edward twilight)

Real life inspirations behind AHS Freak Show

 Schlitzie The Pinhead 

Pepper AHS Freak Show
http://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/American-Horror-Story-Pepper-and-Salty.jpg

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m28tj8BaDi1rnutmx.png
http://www.thehumanmarvels.com/schlitzie-the-pinhead/

Simon Metz known as Schlitzie the Pinhead was born in September 10th 1901, Simon lived in New York City in the Bronx borough. Schlitzie was born with 'Microcephalus' this is condition where the brain is abnormally small and sometimes creates a pointed shape in the cranium. The expression 'Pinhead' was used to describe sufferers of the condition commonly, during the 1800's 'Pinheads' were often exhibited as a 'species' apart from man. Throughout Schlitzie's career he was associated as a female, this was due to his choice of clothing which was normally dresses, this was because of his incontinence. 

Schlitzie was popular with crowds and his most supportive fans were his care takers and colleagues. Simon's infectious and innocent soul inspired and influenced others and people admired and adored him immensely. Schlitzie had a long career and entertained millions of carnival goers, he was even featured in the classic cult film 'Freaks' by Tod Browning.  Remarkably Schlitzie was part of every major name in the circus and carnival business, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Clyde Beatty Circus, Tom Mix Circus, West Coast Shows, Vanteen & Lee Circus Sideshow, and the Dobritsch International Circus. Simon continued to enchant crowds and entertain others until the age of 71.

The Strongman 

A Strongman has been an important inclusion in circuses and Freak shows since the 1920's. Abnormally strong and muscly men became an essential act in the 1920's, Strong men were usually dressed in cheetah and leopard print clothing, resembling Tarzan. These acts would normally lift people, other performers and large objects above their heads to show off their strength. 

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/53/55/7a/53557a8886b4bd35d30e7ffa8b0a94e1.jpg

AHS Freak Show Dell Toledo

http://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/2014/09/22/800/n/1922283/9252a12dd38aa5ed_AHSFS_Michael_color_f_hires2fse9Ud.xxxlarge_2x/i/Dell-Toledo.jpg

Fortune Tellers 

From the 1920's Gypsies, mystic mediums and fortune tellers became a magical inclusion in circuses and Freak Shows. These magical performers would have their own special tents in their circus so that they could do palm readings, tarot card readings and crystal ball inspections in private with circus goers. 

http://in1.ccio.co/05/Y/n7/92999a7bcfbca43b5ea6e056c50e4d3c.jpg

AHS Maggie Esmerelda 

http://40.media.tumblr.com/98a6af7075447c50d800fb527c74b7cb/tumblr_nc750xSccQ1qcbk34o1_500.png

Lobster People 

'Lobster people' is an expression used to describe 'Ectrodactyly' which causes the hands to form improperly and in 'Lobster' form. In the 1900's people who had this deformity commonly joined circuses and Freak Shows to become an act as it was an easy way to make money.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/8f/89/59/8f8959bd238b05e1899a38c597056c4f.jpg

AHS Jimmy Darling

http://lovelace-media.imgix.net/uploads/365/830314c0-77a2-0132-4389-0ebc4eccb42f.jpg?w=684&h=513&fit=crop&crop=faces&auto=format&q=70

 The Bearded Lady 

The Bearded Lady was a common act in early circuses and Freak Shows, and have re appeared throughout the years in pop culture. Menopause and PCOS is the common reason for women to have extra hair and beards. 

http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/insert_main_wide_image/public/8_29.jpg

AHS Kathy Bates 

https://flavorwire.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/ethel-darling.jpg

Conjoined Twins 

Conjoined twins are one of the most fascinating and famous acts featured in a Circus/ Freak Show.

http://www.thehumanmarvels.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/hilton-conjoined-twins.jpg

AHS Freak Show Bette and Dot Tattler 

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/facebook/sections/67886/67886.jpg

Contortionists 

Contortionists are incredible performers with the ability the bend their bodies in half, balance on difficult platforms and also bend themselves into tiny/awkward boxes. You can still find these performers today in circuses such as 'Cirque du Soleil'. 

 AHS Freak Show Contortionist 

http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/mp/HLG8TBSimRCx.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/14/0e/ac/140eacaacdb541e400aeea989d293325.jpg

Maria Spelterini The Tight Rope Princess.

On July 8th 1876 Maria Spelterini tightroped across Niagara Falls, Maria performed this incredible act 4 times each time making the act more difficult by adding chains to her wrists and ankles, wearing a paper bag over her head etc. 

 Her elegance in these endeavors was described by a local paper as "traveling the gossamer web with a graceful, confident step, which soon allayed all apprehension of an impending disaster." - By Kirsty Puchko http://mentalfloss.com/article/62176/15-phenomenal-female-circus-performers

Whist researching I discovered a Newspaper article from August 29th 1989, which speaks about Maria Spelterini as a circus performer, I found this article interesting as It also spoke about how her as a female was almost challenging society and its expectations in this era as women were expected to be a housewife and always be at home. 

"Her sex and beauty, plus her acrobatic background and ability, struck a sharp note for the equality of women in an era where a woman's place was in the home, or in the background. "- (http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/show.asp?id=78888&b=1) - Maria Spelterini and her Niagara Falls adventure. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Maria_Spelterini_at_Suspension_Bridge.jpg