In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction.
The Blob is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an adversary of the X-Men. A mutant originally depicted as a morbidly obese circus freak, the Blob claims to be immovable when he so desires. He possesses an extreme amount of pliable body mass, which grants him superhuman strength. Possessing the demeanor of a bully, he mostly uses his powers for petty crime on his own, and as a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants and Freedom Force.
The Jim Rose Circus is a modern-day version of a circus sideshow. It was founded in Seattle in 1991 by Jim Rose and his wife BeBe Aschard Rose. The sideshow, then called the "Jim Rose Circus Sideshow", came to prominence to an American audience as a second stage show at the 1992 Lollapalooza festival. although they had toured the Northwest and Canada and had several US TV appearances before this time. Rolling Stone magazine called the show an "absolute must-see act" and USA Today termed Rose's troupe "Lollapalooza's word-of-mouth hit attraction".
Erik Sprague, known professionally as the Lizardman, is an American freak show and sideshow performer. He is best known for his body modification, including his sharpened teeth, full-body tattoo of green scales, bifurcated tongue, subdermal implants and green-inked lips.
Horace Leonard Ridler was a professional freak show and sideshow performer, exhibited for his heavy tattoos under the stage names The Great Omi and The Zebra Man.
Danielle Stampe is a singer, dancer, set designer, and performance artist, best known for her work with Gwar as "Slymenstra Hymen." She has set records for fire breathing and voltage endurance.
Katzen the Tiger Lady, or Katzen Hobbes, is a female performance artist and tattoo artist, whose full body tattoo theme is that of a tiger. Katzen is the German word for cats.
A body suit or full body suit is an extensive tattoo, usually of a similar pattern, style or theme that covers the entire torso or the entire body. They are associated with traditional Japanese tattooing as well as with some freak show and circus performers. Such suits are of significant cultural meaning in some traditional cultures, representing a rite of passage, marriage or a social designation.
A traveling carnival, usually simply called a carnival, travelling funfair or travelling show, is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, and animal acts. A traveling carnival is not set up at a permanent location, like an amusement park or funfair, but is moved from place to place. Its roots are similar to the 19th century circus with both being fitted-up in open fields near or in town and moving to a new location after a period of time. In fact, many carnivals have circuses while others have a clown aesthetic in their decor. Unlike traditional Carnival celebrations, the North American traveling carnival is not tied to a religious observance.
"Humbug" is the twentieth episode of the second season of American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by Darin Morgan and directed by Kim Manners. Morgan had previously appeared in a guest role as the Flukeman in an earlier episode of that season called "The Host". "Humbug" aired in the United States on March 31, 1995, on the Fox network. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Humbug" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.3, being watched by 9.8 million households in its initial broadcast. The episode received generally positive reviews and critics appreciated Morgan's unique writing style.
Schlitzie, possibly born Simon Metz and legally Schlitze Surtees, was an American sideshow performer. He also appeared in a few films, and is best known for his role in the 1932 movie Freaks. His lifelong career on the outdoor entertainment circuit as a major sideshow attraction with Barnum & Bailey, among others, made him a popular cultural icon.
Geek shows were an act in traveling carnivals and circuses of early America and were often part of a larger sideshow.
A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with intersex variations, those with extraordinary diseases and conditions, and others with performances expected to be shocking to viewers. Heavily tattooed or pierced people have sometimes been seen in freak shows, as have attention-getting physical performers such as fire-eating and sword-swallowing acts.
Harry Lewiston was an American showman, freak show director, and barker. He wrote his memoirs under his stage name, published posthumously in 1968 as Freak Show Man: the Autobiography of Harry Lewiston, as told to Jerry Holtman.
Chayne Hultgren, known professionally as the Space Cowboy is a world record-holding sideshow, street, and freak show performer.
Johnny Strange, nicknamed "the man with ears of steel", is an English world record breaking performance artist, producer, street performer and bestselling author based in London, England. He is known for performing daredevil stunts with a comedic twist.
John Eckhardt Jr,, professionally billed as Johnny Eck, was an American freak show performer in sideshows and a film actor. Born with sacral agenesis, Eck is best known today for his role in Tod Browning's 1932 cult classic film Freaks and his appearances as a bird creature in several Tarzan films. He was often billed as "The Amazing Half-Boy", "King of the Freaks" and "The Most Remarkable Man Alive".
Stanislaus Berent was an American performer who performed at many freak shows, including the World Circus Sideshow in 1941 under the stage name of Sealo the Seal Boy. He was known for his seal-like arms, which were caused by a congenital medical condition known as phocomelia. In 2001, Mat Fraser's play inspired by Sealo called Sealboy: Freak debuted.
The California Institute of Abnormalarts - also written as the California Institute of Abnormal Arts and abbreviated as CIA - was a nightclub and sideshow museum located in North Hollywood, California. Owned and operated by actor-screenwriter Carl Crew and Robert Ferguson, the venue primarily hosted underground musical groups, performance art, movie screenings and sideshow acts including burlesque and freak shows. The club closed in July 2022.
