Meet the Whittakers: how the most famous incest family in the USA lives

Even before humanity discovered genetics, it was known that close relationships do not lead to good things. Children born as a result of incest, or scientific inbreeding, are rarely healthy. Especially if this has been practiced from generation to generation. But there are still people who ignore the laws of nature. A typical example is the American Whittaker family, which has been practicing incest for almost a century.

Since the 1930s, members of the Whittaker family from West Virginia have preferred to look for a mate among relatives. The result was quite expected - over several generations they collected all possible genetic diseases. In the small town of Odd, this family is considered a local landmark, but neither the Whittakers themselves nor their neighbors are at all happy with tourists.

American documentary photographer Mark Laita told the world about the Whittakers. In 2009, he began collecting material for a photo book, Created Equal, in which he planned to feature stories and photographs of the most unusual citizens of the United States. His heroes are secret millionaires, sectarians, people who have overcome terrible diseases, survived incredible disasters and were simply deprived of fate. Light believed that his book could show how different people live next to each other and how much they have in common, no matter what.

Someone told a journalist that in the mountain town of Odd in West Virginia lived an unusual family, the Whittakers. Laita learned that they were the most obvious example of inbreeding in the United States. Family members are walking aids, displaying genetic abnormalities typical of close relationships. The documentarian did not refuse the unique opportunity to get good material for the book and went to the “mountain state.”

Light was warned that meeting the anomalous Americans would not be easy. He was ready to meet mutants similar to the heroes of the horror film “The Hills Have Eyes.” But Mark was not afraid, because sensational material was planned that would certainly decorate his book.

Armed with a notepad, a camera and a video camera, Mark Lighta went to Odd in search of the famous Whittakers. At that time, only 799 people lived in the village, and the photographer did not expect to encounter any difficulties. He was sure that in the first house he knocked on, he would be shown the family's address. But the first resident of Odd came out to meet the stranger with a shotgun at the ready. He advised Mark to get lost and not test his patience.

Laita tried to explain that he was not a rogue, but a photojournalist. But the local resident behaved aggressively and stood his ground. Having met other townspeople, Mark was able to convince them that he had not come to mock the Whittakers or to satisfy an idle interest. Only after this was he told how to find an unusual family. It turned out that the inhabitants of Odd protect the poor fellows and try to protect them from curious and inappropriate visitors.

The Whittaker house looked like an abandoned cabin from a horror movie. The roof of the building was half collapsed, the walls were darkened with dirt and mold, and the yard resembled a landfill. Dirty and very aggressive mongrels were walking in front of the porch. But the most unpleasant surprise for Laita was the inhabitants of the house themselves. He expected to see something depressing, but still he was not ready for the meeting.

This is how Mark met the Whittakers: twins Betty, Lorraine and Ray, their brother Freddie and cousin Timmy. Of the entire group, only Timmy managed to graduate from high school. The rest had such serious health and mental problems that any education was inaccessible to them.

One of the twins, Ray, could not speak. He made sounds similar to barking, but everyone understood him perfectly. In the course of communicating with family members, Mark learned that they themselves did not know exactly what ailments incest had given them. The Whittakers do not believe in modern medicine and turn to doctors only in exceptional cases.

Laita discovered that the family's history of incest began in the 1930s with twin brothers Henry and John. Henry had 6 children, John had 9. John's daughter married Henry's son and things went from there. Since 1937, the couple had one child per year. In total, the brother and sister had 15 children, many of whom had congenital diseases.

Some of the children, relatively healthy, gave birth to a new generation of Whittakers. True, they did not enter into contact with each other and found life partners outside the family. The people the documentarian met were precisely their descendants. Mark Laita talked with the future heroes of his book, took photos and made a video, and then left.

He returned to Odd again after 10 years in 2020. By this time, one of the family members, Freddie, had died of a heart attack. The rest were in an even more terrible state than at the first meeting. Their house almost collapsed, the yard turned into a swamp, and the Whittakers themselves walked in rags and were malnourished.

Laita made several videos from the life of the family and posted them on YouTube. He decided to attract the attention of Internet users to these people and raise money for a new home for them. The next time Mark visited the Whittakers was in 2022. Unfortunately, fundraising progressed slowly, and it was not possible to collect the required amount. But the donations were enough to fix the roof of the house, buy a refrigerator and a new bed with a spring mattress.

The documentarian had a good impression of the Whittaker family. Despite the fact that they look like caricatured rednecks, they are kind and hard-working guys. They take care of each other, hunt deer, pick mushrooms and berries in the forest, and even help their neighbors do some work.

New Whittakers have recently been born. The children look quite healthy, but it is possible that problems will appear later. But the family hopes for the best and looks forward to the future.