If you watch the show American Horror Story, you may be familiar with the character who was inspired by Grady Stiles, a Pittsburgh native commonly known on stage and in the media as "Lobster Boy." Born in 1937, he toured and terrorized and left a legacy that is remembered to this day.

Stiles suffered from a condition known as Ectrodactyly, or cleft hand; he was born with his fingers fused together, causing his hands to resemble claws. The condition usually affects the feet also; in Stiles' case, the condition was so severe that he was unable to walk. Instead, he developed fantastic upper-body strength to move around.

It's weird to think that not so long ago, exhibitionism in the form of freak shows was common, but that's just how Stiles and his family made a living; see, the condition is genetic and so five generations of Stiles' family before him suffered from ectrodactyly. Lobster Boy of Pennsylvania began performing with his father at a young age.

Grady's unique deformity and his career as a sideshow performer are not the most fascinating things about his story, however - far from it. Stiles was a notoriously angry man who was famous for drinking heavily, smoking 60 Pall Mall cigarettes a day, and beating his family. He took advantage of his incredible strength to choke them with his claw-like hands when they dared to disobey him. Stiles was married to two different women and had four children, two of whom inherited his condition. His violence knew no bounds; in 1979, he murdered his daughter's fiancé the night before their wedding. He got away with the murder, though it was in cold blood, with no punishment but parole because prisons weren't equipped to care for him.

Stiles eventually became so abusive that his wife feared for her life and those of her children. In 1992, she hired a teenage sideshow performer by the name of Chris Wyatt to kill her husband. She paid Wyatt $1,500 to shoot him three times in the head with a shotgun. Wyatt served 27 years in prison, Stiles' wife served 12 years in prison, and her son served life in prison for masterminding the operation. It seems that only the law was upset about the murder; Stiles was so disliked in his community that no one would be the pallbearer at his funeral.

Stiles' wife, Mary, said that she doesn't regret her part in killing her husband; she firmly believes that she saved the lives of herself and her children.

To this day, Stiles' descendants are afflicted with ectrodactyly, and some of them are famous performers and actresses; though all of them are more well-liked in their communities than Grady Stiles was in his. Interesting. Have you heard this story before? It's certainly one of those weird things that happened in Pennsylvania that could keep you up at night.

You can also check out this video on Grady Stiles by @RobGavagan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGBoVZCdFXk