The_Resurrectionist_The_Lost_Work_of_Dr

1879–1887
THE AMERICAN CARNIVAL
I have butchered many men. All are innocent and
equaled when they are on the table. All are exquisite and grotesque.
—Dr. Spencer Black
After concluding his work on the fawn-child, Black decided to publish his findings. He
believed that publishing was the only practical, bold, and useful employment of his efforts.
Yet, he knew his unorthodox claims would be likely to doom both his future and his
reputation as a traditional physician. Despite the risk, Black submitted his findings to the Academy of
Medicine. He wrote a comprehensive article outlining his belief that the mutation present in the fawnchild
demonstrated proof that the mythological creature known as the satyr was once real, as was
evidenced in the body of the fawn-child specimen. The academy rejected his paper.
Black approached twelve other universities located in cities including Chicago, Boston, New
York, and London; all met his enthusiasm with rejection.
Within a short time, the Academy of Medicine terminated all funding to Dr. Black. It was clear to
his colleagues that Black no longer considered his previous endeavors to be important; he was
focused exclusively on his work with the fawn-child. His reputation in the scientific community was
falling quickly—he was berated in the press, heckled in the streets, and attacked in personal
correspondence.
Dr. Black’s findings are like the far-fetched and fantastic dreams of a child, not the
ideas of a modern scientist.… His claims ought to be written in a novel, where the
audience is more prone to delight in the hysterics derived from monsters.
—Dr. Joab A. Holace
The damage to Black’s reputation was irrevocable. He began accruing debts, but with no hope of
professional redemption, he continued his research. As determined as ever, he believed that he would
uncover the greatest anthropological discovery of all time.
In 1880, Black joined the American Carnival. At the time, hundreds of carnivals and circuses
traveled throughout the United States and the continent of Europe. The American Carnival was not
one of the larger traveling shows: with just fifteen horse-drawn caravans, its size was relatively
modest. Dr. Black’s Anatomical Museum would be a new addition to the carnival—an exhibit
consisting of artifacts, specimens, and information that Black had collected through the years.
Black displayed skeletons of real deformities accompanied by an analysis explaining why the
bones were malformed. Some of the specimens were laid out on tables; others were displayed in
cases, and smaller artifacts were hung from the rafters of the tent. To enhance the show’s