1930s version of the Human Centipede

The vomitous Human Centipede movie was predated by a mail order Masonic hazing prop of the same name, which delivered electrical shocks to the groins of its hapless riders.

Update: Eric Reynolds of Fantagraphics informs me that this page is from their book, Burlesque Paraphernalia. Here's info:

Do you wish to separate the jolly good fellows from the dour sour pusses from those who seek to ASCEND TO THEIR SIDE DEGREES – but you suffer from lack of imagination when it comes to constructing elaborate hazing rituals and DEVICES? Does fake vomit, joy buzzers and a party pack of fake moustaches only produce yawns, rather than giggles, among your once-merry members? Well, look no further than Catalog No. 439: Burlesque Paraphernalia and Side Degree Specialties and Costumes, in which the manufacturers De Moulin Bros. & Co. from Greenville, Ill. feature the finest electro-dropo benches, goat-shaped tricycles, electric branding irons (and much much more)!

Not only does this 1930 catalog, reproduced with marvelous 21st century machinery, provide tightly rendered pen-and-ink period illustrations and detailed product descriptions, it also has helpful how-tos and scripts to aid in the pulling of these pranks on initiates!

(WARNING: Fantagraphics Books is in no way responsible for any resultant maiming, crippling, immolation, or disfigurement resulting from the construction and/or use of devices pictured in this catalogue. At least, we don’t think so.)

Today, DeMoulin Bros. & Co. is one of the largest suppliers of costumes for marching bands in the United States. But in 1930 the company produced an amazing array of props and devices created specifically to be used in minor “hazing” of candidates in the side degrees of various fraternal organizations. The great 1930 DeMoulin Bros. & Company Fraternal Supply Catalog No. 439 is truly a holy grail for the prankster, arm-chair sadist and those interested in the some of the zanier historic arcana lurking behind that neighborhood odd-fellows lodge.

This is the ultimate desert-island book for pranksters looking for something edgy and new to dream about, Rube Goldberg-like devices created to instill terror and bemused respect, before the candidate ascends to receive a more sublime form of illumination. All in good fun, it is – or was – the American way!

Here's more about the book.

1930s version of the Human Centipede (Via Tony Moore)

• [Antinous / Moderator]

  The vomitous Human Centipede movie

  Correct me if I’m wrong, but the human centipede wasn’t really constructed for efficient vomiting. The flow seems very much front to back.

• [bob_calder]

  Strictly speaking, I’m not sure the Shrine should be considered main line Masonic. But hazing is not part of the first 32 degrees. After that, you can join the fun guys that don’t do anything but raise money for charity and have fun doing it. The Shriners. Yes, they have funny initiation rites. Funny on purpose because they’re Shriners and proud of driving miniature cars, dressing up in clown suits, getting potted and marching through town.

• [revnoah]

  Thanks for the support, Art. And you’re right, this centipede is hilarious, it just bothers me that it is being incorrectly associated with Freemasonry. It looks like something out of the Church of the SubGenius (which I also belong to, as well as many other Freemasons).

• [Anonymous]

  The third one looks like hitler

• [Rose]

  Ugh. Every time the human centipede idea is brought up, I get nauseated and don’t sleep well for several nights.

• [mst3kmoxie]

  Oh, those crazy Masons!

• [sbarnes2]

  Sounds like a new kink. Porn producers should get on this-literally!

• [Thad E Ginataom]

  is that “predated” as in came before, or as in predator?

• [agonist]

  $52 in 1930′s money seems like a lot for what must essentially be a long pillow with suspenders and joke buzzers.

• [artaxerxes]

  That thing looks brilliant. “Attendance at our meetings has increased!” “[T]hey always know there is a good time in Edgewood when we have a meeting.” Whoo-hoo!

  Knowing a bit about Thos. Edison’s personality, I could see him taking a personal interest in the development of the gadget.

  I just read “War and Peace”. Tolstoy did a good job of describing the basic Masonic initiation rituals. Hilarious. I knew the Masonic rituals were pretty silly and loopy but I had no idea of the degree of puerility. No wonder people were into that shit. It sure sounds like it beat playing whist night after night. But then again, it got boring over time. Enter the Human Centipede.

  I’m having a really great time imagining “War and Peace” with the Human Centipede included at Pierre’s meetings. Oh but for a few decades…

• [Anonymous]

  when I became a mason all the old guys would say things like “ready to ride the centipede?” or “you are gonna ride the goat” I had no idea what that meant until now!

• [bsdnazz]

  That human centipede is Hallucigenia.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucigenia

• [Anonymous]

  i definitely vomited when seeing the film Human Centipede!

• [revnoah]

  Nothing in the ad even remotely suggests any Masonic ties. This is more likely targeted toward the Greek fraternities, whose rituals tend to be more about humiliation than building moral character.

  Masonic initiation centres around the allegorical story about building King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. Initiates are taught that charity, equality and truth are some of the most important elements to building moral character. Every single thing in Freemasonry has a symbolic moral lesson. If a lodge tried to use something like this in their ritual, their charter would be revoked and the members kicked out of the fraternity.

  I have been a Freemason for about three and a half years. There is nothing even remotely Masonic about this bizarre contraption. When I was initiated, I expected weird things like a big goats head or hazing and encountered nothing of the sort. What I found instead was a greater sense of civic responsibility, more confidence in myself and a stronger appreciation for other cultures.

• [BadIdeaSociety]

  Men’s Clubs: Unconvincingly Disguising Closeted Homosexual and Masochistic Tendencies for Centuries.

  • [Anonymous]

    Not that there’s anything wrong with those things… ;-)

• [Art]

  I’m a 24 year Freemason and twice Past Master (for credentials).

  I got such a kick out of this post!
  And yes, I agree with Bro. Revnoa #14 on all points. Well said.

  This paraphernalia is as strange and as spooky to me as it is to everyone else. It’s also as funny as can be :)

  Thanks!

• [kip w]

  Does anybody here know of a book, which I seem to remember as being by an author named Darwin A. Hinman (or perhaps there was another d in the name)? The title consisted of some number, like 1,000 or so, followed by something like “tricks, snares, and stunts” (I’m pretty sure “snares” was one of them).

  This book was an impressive aggregation of things to do to other people, ranging from the barely mean (“‘Oh Wah, Ta Goo, Siam!’ … Hey, WAIT A MINUTE!”) to the inventive (“Knight of the Blanket,” where a blanket is extended across two chairs with a chair-sized gap between, and the victim is induced to sit on the middle one) to some really nasty stuff I seem to have forgotten.

  I can’t seem to get enough of the title right to find a used copy of this book. Or maybe they’ve all been bought up and destroyed by some military wing of the US government. Anybody know the one I mean?

• [robulus]

  Hi there, gentle reader.

  Wondering what this “Human Centipede” malarky is? Tempted to click on the link to find out?

  PLEASE GOD STOP NOW! DON’T DO IT! WALK AWAY! ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR LIFE IN PEACE! NO, REALLY! STOP!

• [Dave Hustava]

  My boss is a Mason. This may explain more than a few things.

  Although – The creepiest fact is that the damn thing appears to originate in my Mom’s home town. Which may explain even MORE things.