trepanning

[Ken Jones]

> This reminds me of a novel my mother wrote me, titled "Freak Show" I 
> 
> .... err, mother recommended to me ......^^^^
> 
> think (I'll ask tomorrow), where the owner of a travelling freak show keeps 
> exposing his wife to hard radiation to while pregnant to ensure a 
> supply a freaks.  Eventually, one of them starts a religion based on 
> self mutilation, the holiest followers being thosed who have removed 
> the most limbs and sensory organs. I'll find more information tomorrow.
> 
> george

Sounds like "Geek Love" by Katherine Dunn (available in paperback).

KJ