Antiquated brain science, less macabre than you would expect

By Sarah Pope

You don’t hear too much about phrenology, the long-debunked science of studying bumps on a skull to ‘read the brain’, unless it’s in a spooky podcast or hunt for a killer set in the Victorian era. But in the 1830s, when phrenology was first introduced by a divinity student from Amherst College named Orson Fowler, it was considered by some to be at the forefront of science.

It is unlikely that there is a greater student of Orson Fowler living in South Kansas City today than retired computer programmer Steve Hall, whose fascination with Fowler has led him to collect a great deal of historical materials published by the man considered to be the godfather of phrenology. Hall is less a phrenologist than a living history buff. He was participating in a Civil War re-enactment in the late 1980s when he first learned about Fowler and he hasn’t stopped researching him yet.

“My interest in it has not waned,” Hill said. “I still enjoy when I’m at a living history event giving a sample reading.”

A sample “reading” involves the phrenologist (or living history re-enactor) feeling the scalp of the “patient” and studying 40 different areas of the skull above the ears that correspond to the regions of the brain. The phrenologist uses this information to define the individual moral and intellectual character of the person under observation. Examples of distinct traits include philoprogenitiveness—parental love, fondness for pets; inhabitiveness—love of home, desire to live permanently in one place; veneration—devotion, adoration of a supreme being, reverence for religion; and eventuality—memory of events and facts, love of history and anecdotes.

“I want to be clear that I do not actually believe in phrenology,” Hall said. “But I’m good enough at it that I’ve had people tell me I could be a real phrenologist.”

Fowler kept a collection of human skulls that he used for research, likely collected from nearby prisons following executions. Phrenologists believe that bumps behind the ears correlate to regions of the brain governing combative and destructive behaviors. 

“So they could say, ‘This is why so-and-so was a criminal,’” Hall said. 

Unlike Fowler, Hall does not keep a collection of human skulls. He has one plastic replica he will use from time to time as a prop. Only once did he use a real human skull at a demonstration after borrowing it from a friend who taught mortuary science at a local college. 

“It was too creepy to use,” Hall said, adding that he quickly returned it. “A fake one is okay.”

Hall limits his Fowler re-enactments to living history events, such as the Good Ol’ Days festival in Fort Scott, Kan., which he has only missed a few times in the past 30 years. He dresses the part of a 19th century doctor and hangs up a shingle at his booth. He charges $1 per reading. 

“I could probably go to a psychic fair, but I only want to do this as a living history presentation—not in the modern day,” he said. “One time I was at a work party and I did a reading but it was not the same.” 

In addition to sharing his love of history at fairs and festivals, Hall has also self-published several books about phrenology through Amazon.com. His longest book “American Phrenological Journal, And Other Related Publications,” is a collection of articles and essays published in the American Phrenology Journal between 1853-1857 and other related publications from the era. Most recently, Hall wrote a mystery novel called “Murder on the ‘503’ Flyer,” which imagines Fowler traveling by train and solving a crime using his phrenological methods. Hall has more ideas for future books and he will continue learning about history to share it with others.

“Living history is all about teaching history,” Hall said. “You can do it in a classroom or in a re-enactment. It’s fun to talk about. I could talk about it for hours.”