Stoney Knows How is a half-hour film by Alan Govenar and Bruce “Pacho” Lane that portrays Leonard "Stoney" St. Clair, tattoo artist and former sideshow performer. Affected with rheumatoid arthritis when he was four, and with stunted growth, Stoney left Appalachia at fifteen to join the circus as a sword swallower and learned to tattoo soon after. The film is about as safe for work as a 1970s tattoo parlor, which is to say, not very.
posted by hydrophonic
on Dec 5, 2009 -
12 comments
J. Tithonus Pednaud herein presents for your edification and enlightenment a
curious collection of human marvels. You may call them oddities, freaks or monstrosities—whatever you will—but I call them incredible, persevering, resourceful and marvelous human beings. I chronicle their inspirational stories of triumph over nature, fate and the judgment of man.
[Previously seen here. See also.]
posted by parudox
on Jan 3, 2009 -
9 comments
The Greatest Sideshow Video Ever Made. "The Greatest Sideshow Video Ever Made was shot at the Moore theater in Seattle in 1992. The oddball cousin of Seattle's grunge music scene, the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow mixed vintage sideshow acts with novel stunts never before seen. Previously available only on VHS tape or DVD, this mind-blowing collection of feats of human daring is now available online in six parts for your viewing pleasure:
1 2 3 4 5 6 As an added bonus, watch as
Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam participates." [via
mefi projects]
[more inside]
posted by stet
on Jul 13, 2008 -
21 comments
Tod Browning's 1932 cinematic masterpiece
Freaks tells the story of a close-knit group of circus sideshow workers who are wronged and take revenge. The film's use of
real-life freaks so disturbed audiences that some ran screaming from theaters, distributors refused to handle the film, and it was banned in Britain for over 30 years.
[more inside]
posted by flug
on Jul 8, 2008 -
22 comments
Virtual Tour of Steve's Weird House. "Stephen resides in a Victorian home that is a cluttered combination of museum, library and art gallery, decorated with that old-world Addam's Family charm. Not only is every inch of every wall covered with art, but all the ceilings are also decorated." (
Via.)
posted by Astro Zombie
on Dec 23, 2007 -
23 comments
Sword swallowing uncertainties The sword passes within millimetres of the heart, aorta, and other vitals but, surprisingly, few deaths related to sword swallowing have been described. A Canadian sword swallower did die, but that was after swallowing an umbrella.
posted by hank
on Nov 4, 2005 -
21 comments
Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Step right up and see the
Sideshow. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we have something here for everyone. See the
freaks of nature, the
mutants, the
human oddities, the
sword swallowers, the
dime museum, a special exhibit of
sideshow banners from the past, and yes, we even have, live before your very eyes, direct from the 21st century, special acts from the
Coney Island Sideshow. And for a small extra charge, a
special section of premier performers including
exhibitions of pugilism, as well as an exhibit of posters from Tod Browning's movie,
Freaks. The circus starts in a little over an hour and a half, so you have plenty of time to see these astounding wonders of the world.
posted by mischief
on Oct 26, 2005 -
22 comments
LA-DEEEES AND GENTLEMEN! STEP RIGHT UP! THE SHOW IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! The Strange and Unusual, the Freaks of Nature, the Shocking and the Bizarre! YOU won't BELiEVE your EYES!
posted by crunchland
on Oct 26, 2005 -
7 comments
Area residents speak of hearing their cries late in the night, a hellish screeching and squealing. Some even have seen them personally, appearing from nowhere in the dark hours... then scattering...
Police came through, but now they're gone /
In other words, the sideshow's on. A peek into the infamous Oakland sideshow.
(Quicktime videos
1,
2,
3)
posted by eddydamascene
on Mar 15, 2003 -
25 comments
So you want to join the circus. Well, it helps to have a speciality. Learn how to
swallow swords, twist
balloon animals, crack a
bullwhip, ride a
unicycle, spin
plates, breathe
fire, go to
circus school, throw
knives, or get started by
street performing. You may make it to the
big time, but beware of the
consequences, and careers gone
awry.
posted by Stan Chin
on Oct 6, 2002 -
10 comments
The
Hottentot Venus is
going home. An African woman named Saarjite Baartman, apparently EXTREMELY overendowed in the buttock/labia department (second floor, next to men's shoes, watch the doors), she did the freakshow thing in Europe for five years in the early 19th c., was edited down at death to her relevant bits and pickled for posterity. Ever been to an actual state-fair freakshow? I saw the alligator lady in the late 70s somewhere in Kentucky. A morally complicated experience.
posted by luser
on Feb 21, 2002 -
19 comments
