Buckland, Massachusetts, USA
1866 - A FEROCIOUS MANIAC
[Yes, this sad story was actually in the newspaper in 1866 - unbelievable!]
There is a maniac now living in Buckland, Mass, named Josiah Spaulding, who, the Springfield Republican says, has been confined in an iron cage for over fifty years, and for more than thirty years has not stood erect. He has become so deformed that it is impossible to straighten his limbs by natural force. he refuses to be clothed, and will not suffer anything to remain on him, and is only kept warm in winter by warming the room in which his cage is place. He is the son of Rev. Josiah Spaulding. When he first became insane he endeavored to murder his father, mother and sister, and it became necessary to confine him so that he could not harm any one.
Albany Evening Journal
Albany, New York
September 24, 1866
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