According to Dictionary.com the word “freak” is defined as “a person or animal on exhibition as an example of a strange deviation from nature; monster”. The word that stands out the most is “monster”. Monster is a term one would associate with a dark, evil creature that lives under beds. In Robert Bogdan’s book “Freak Show”, his point of view of the term “freak” is however somewhat different: “”Freak” is a frame set of mind, a set of practices, a way of thinking about and presenting people. It is the enactment of a tradition, the performance of a stylized presentation”(3). Bogdan takes readers on an adventure into a world not seen or understood today, a world that maybe only “freaks” could understand. The “freaks” presented in Bogdan’s book were not born with “freak” across their foreheads. The term “freak” was a socially constructed, displayed, and accepted label to categorize people who did not fit social norms. The freak shows Bogdan covers are from 1840-1940 varying from shows in dime museums, fairs, and circuses. The role of the “freak” was to put on a show and entertain, and the exhibits played along. To begin, he introduces the reader to the different varieties of freaks that were once presented: “born freaks, made freaks, novelty freaks, [and] gaffed freaks” (8). Each typed had its own presenting style. For example, a famous “made freak” was Prince Costentenus whom was “[A] large, bearlike man covered from head to toe with elaborate tattoos” and presented with an unbelievable background of fighting on pirate ships and tattoo torture (243). Just like actors on the big screen, freaks were given a role to play and were directed by showmen. Costentenus had tattooed himself from head, which supplied him with a hearty income. Their acts attracted many ginormous crowds and made large sums of money. Bogdan goes on further to explain how many exhibits become wealthy, retired people who settle down just like they would with a normal job. The only reason normal people with a few differences were labeled freaks is because that is the way they were presented. It was like a costume that consumes their actually identity. "Our reaction to freaks is not a function of some deep-seated fear or some "energy" that they give off; it is, rather the result of our socialization, and of the way our social instituti