shrunken head

3 Stories

Shrunken Head Used as Movie Prop Was the Real Thing

It was borrowed from university for John Huston's dark 1979 comedy 'Wise Blood'

(Newser) - A shrunken head used as a prop in a 1970s movie was made of real human skin, researchers have discovered. The head, known as a "tsantsa," was attached to a fake shrunken body in John Huston's dark 1979 comedy Wise Blood, People reports. Tsantas, talismans made of...

After Nearly 100 Years, Vatican Returns Shrunken Head

The 'tsantsa' was brought to the Vatican from Ecuador by a missionary in 1925

(Newser) - For nearly a century, the Vatican has been in possession of a shrunken head the size of a fist that once belonged to the Shuar, an indigenous people of Ecuador. In an unlikely move Saturday, the Vatican returned it, AFP reports. It's "very rare" for the Vatican museums...

Ripley's Runs Low on Oddities
 Ripley's Runs Low on Oddities 

Ripley's Runs Low on Oddities

(Newser) - They just don’t make shrunken heads the way they used to. In fact, no one makes them at all, which is a big problem for Ripley’s Believe It or Not! The chain of “odditoriums” has expanded so far and so fast that its collection is stretched to...

3 Stories
Most Read on Newser