If you’ve ever stepped into a Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, chances are you’ve marveled at one of our infamous shrunken heads—but have you ever seen a shrunken torso ?
On display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Gatlinburg is one of the rarest artifacts in the world: a real shrunken human torso, and one of only six known to exist globally. Even more shocking? It once belonged to legendary author Ernest Hemingway.
The practice of head shrinking, known as tsantsa, originated with the Shuar people of Ecuador and Peru. These warrior tribes believed that shrinking the heads of their enemies would capture their souls and prevent them from taking revenge in the afterlife.
Far from being just morbid trophies, tsantsas were spiritual tools, meant to harness power and protect the living.
Creating a tsantsa was a highly ritualized process. Here's how the Shuar crafted their eerie keepsakes:
The skin and hair were carefully separated from the skull.
The head was simmered in a special mixture of water and oils to shrink the flesh.
Eyes were sewn shut, and lips were held closed with wooden pegs to trap the enemy’s spirit inside.
The inside of the head was packed with hot stones and sand to shrink it further and shape it.
Feathers, strings, and adornments were added to the face and ears.
Finally, the head was placed by a fire to dry and set the features.
The result? A haunting miniature head with preserved facial expressions, symbolic strength, and spiritual protection.
In the 1920s, shrunken heads became bizarrely fashionable among Western collectors, thanks in part to global explorers like Robert Ripley, who introduced these cultural artifacts to the public. Unfortunately, this demand also led to a black market of counterfeit tsantsas sold to curious tourists for hefty profits.
While shrunken heads are already a rarity, shrunken torsos are nearly unheard of. The piece featured in Ripley’s Gatlinburg is one of the only torsos of its kind in Ripley’s entire global collection and one of just six known worldwide.
Even more unbelievably, this torso once belonged to none other than Ernest Hemingway. As an avid collector of oddities and a world traveler, Hemingway's fascination with rare and unusual items made this morbid piece a prized possession.
Do YOU want to get Up Close with a shrunken torso? Visit Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Gatlinburg, Tennessee !
