“Is it real?” Sword swallowers have probably been asked that question more than any other type of performer. The answer is undeniably yes.
Courtesy of Dan MeyerAn X-ray of sword swallower Dan Meyer with a sword down his throat.
The history of sword swallowing, however, is a little less certain. No one knows who exactly first decided that shoving a long piece of metal down their throat would be a good idea — or how many people failed before that first sword swallower succeeded.
However, it’s believed that sword swallowing dates back nearly 4,000 years to the fakirs and shaman priests of ancient India. Swallowing a blade demonstrated invulnerability, power, and a connection with their gods.
Over the centuries, sword swallowing spread across the continents, from ancient Rome and Greece to medieval Europe. The art form remains a popular circus act even today — despite the dangers it poses.
Inside The Lethal History Of Sword Swallowing
Sword swallowing seemingly originated in India around 4,000 years ago, and by the first century C.E., it had spread to Greece and Rome.
A late second-century reference to the stunt as entertainment was made by Roman writer and philosopher Apuleius in Metamorphoses, also called The Golden Ass. The novel’s narrator tells of a performer he saw in Athens who “swallowed up a two hand sword with a very keen edge” and “a chasing spear with the point downward.”
By the eighth century, sword swallowing had become a popular act in sangaku, a Japanese acrobatic street theater that also featured juggling, tightrope walking, contortion, and other feats. Similarly, the art form was adopted by European jongleurs — wandering entertainers who traveled from place to place to perform — during the Middle Ages.
In the early 1800s, an Indian troupe starring Ramo Samee wowed audiences in London. In 1813, The Times marveled that “the swallowing of the sword, and the novelty of the other performances, have attracted the attention of the public beyond any thing that has appeared in the metropolis for many years past.”
Another Indian performer, Sena Sama, may have been among the first to bring sword swallowing to America in 1817, first performing in New York and then along the East Coast. The art then spread slowly but steadily over the decades as dime museums and various circuses sprouted across the country.
Sword Swallowers Take The Modern Stage
One of the most notable sword swallowers from this time was Fred McLone, better known as Chevalier Cliquot. In addition to reportedly swallowing up to 14 swords at once, he also amazed audiences by partially swallowing a bayonet sword weighed down with two 18-pound dumbbells. To make things just a little more dangerous, he’d allow the rest of the blade to be shot down his throat by the recoil of a fired rifle, as reported in an 1896 issue of The Strand Magazine.
Collection of Dan MeyerChevalier Cliquot stands with his magnificent sword board.
Cliquot’s apprentice, Delno Fritz, performed a similar bayonet act and was known to swallow a dozen swords at a time. However, his daring feats weren’t limited to blades — he also swallowed watches attached to chains that witnesses could hear ticking inside him. On one occasion, however, as he was pulling the chain from his throat, it broke, leaving the watch lodged in his esophagus. Fortunately, a physician in the crowd rushed forward, pulled a set of forceps from his pocket, and safely extracted the watch before Fritz’s time ran out.
While Fritz survived his mishap, his sword-swallowing wife, Maud D’Auldin, wasn’t as fortunate after an accident with a nicked blade. The couple was performing for King George V and Queen Mary when an audience member accidentally damaged the sword during a typical crowd inspection of the steel. The tiny flaw proved fatal. When D’Auldin was withdrawing the swallowed blade, it hooked her esophagus, leading to her death.
Courtesy of Robert Way and Scott BellingerDelno Fritz with a mouthful of swords and plenty more waiting on his board.
Despite the tragedy, Fritz soon trained a new partner: his niece, Edna Price. The two performed together with the Ringling Brothers and the Barnum & Bailey Circus in the early 1920s. Price went on to build a career spanning nearly 20 years as a star in various circuses and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Odditoriums. Robert Ripley himself called her the “Queen of Sword Swallowers” — a deserving title for her ability to swallow up to 12 swords at a time. Price was also one of the first women to swallow a neon tube that illuminated her throat from within.
Other sword swallowers continued shocking audiences with daring feats, often going beyond swords to prove their stunts were real. For example, John “Lucky” Ball swallowed a corkscrew-shaped sword, Mimi Garneau downed a hand saw, and Captain Don Leslie gulped screwdrivers and oil dipsticks.
Photo by Echo Roo McNeillGigi DeLuxe swallows the 20-inch blade of a giant pair of shears.
Sword swallowing has continued to be a popular form of entertainment into the 20th and 21st centuries. Red Stuart has been swallowing a Ford Model A car axle for more than 50 years, and Gigi DeLuxe adds giant shears to her repertoire. Dan Meyer, the president of the Sword Swallowers Association International, has even pulled a car by a swallowed sword, shoved a blade heated to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit down his gullet, and downed a 30-inch sword in an aquarium surrounded by 88 sharks.
However, sword swallowing isn’t something the average person should try at home.
The Dangers Of This Deadly Art Form
These stories and more than 100 others are featured in the new book To the Hilt: A Sword Swallower’s History of Sword Swallowing (Schiffer Publishing), co-written by me and aforementioned sword swallower Dan Meyer. We hope the book fascinates you but doesn’t inspire you. After all, swallowing a sword is not only 100 percent real — it’s 100 percent dangerous.
Schiffer PublishingCo-author Dan Meyer is seen on the cover of To the Hilt: A Sword Swallower’s History of Sword Swallowing. The book features more than 80 historical bios and photos and dozens of remarkable tales from modern-day performers.
Sword swallowing takes complete mental dedication and intense physical training. Performers must learn to suppress their gag reflex, navigate a 90-degree turn down the pharynx, align the blade into the esophagus, slide it through the upper esophageal sphincter, flip open the epiglottis, nudge the beating heart aside, work past the breastbone, liver, and kidneys, and overcome the retch reflex before finally reaching the bottom of the stomach.
Then, of course, they need to safely remove the blade — or their career could abruptly come to a tragic end. That’s why any aspiring sword swallower should learn from an experienced mentor. After all, the art only stays alive if the performers do, too.
After reading about the history of sword swallowing, go inside the tragic stories of nine “freak show” performers. Then, look through 44 vintage photos of other circus “freaks” throughout history.
