Carny Folk: The World's Weirdest Sideshow Acts

A clean, unmarked book with a tight binding. Smudge on top page ends. 225 pages.

From Publisher:

Here spectators will see Atasha the Gorilla Girl, Combustible Kira, Lionel the Lion-Faced Man, Otis the Frog Boy, Serpentina the Snake Girl, and more than forty other legendary sideshow acts. From P.T. Barnum's albinos and "Siamese" twins, to the traveling oddity museums linked to circuses and carnivals, to a whole new generation of "carny kids," Carny Folk reveals the strange, fantastic, and misunderstood world of the side show attraction. This captivating anthology pulls back the curtain on fifty of the most famous side show celebrities of all time, revealing the astounding, the curious, and the little-known facts behind such subjects as:
- Joseph Carey Merrick: "The Elephant Man" claimed that his deformities were caused by the shock his pregnant mother experienced when she was crushed under the feet of an elephant.
- Melvin Burkhart: The "father" of "human blockhead" acts, he could actually drive a spike or an ice pick into his head without flinching.
- Bettie Lou Williams: Born with two bodies--one head, four legs, and three arms--she made her debut in Robert Ripley's first "Believe-It-Or-Not" Odditorium at the 1934 World's Fair in Chicago.
- Tom Thumb: Discovered by P.T. Barnum in 1842, the singing, dancing sensation stood 25 inches tall and weighed a mere 15 pounds.

Product Info

ISBN: 0806526610

ISBN-13: 9780806526614

Publisher: Citadel

Year: 2004

Type: Used

Binding: Softcover

Seller Info

PistilBooksOnline

Address: 1122 E. Pike St. #1469 Seattle, Washington

Website: https://www.pistilbooks.net

Country: United States