Tag Archives: Fun

Step Right Up…Carnivals And Freak Shows

Events

What is it about those nostalgic traveling circuses and carnivals of the mid 19th to mid 20th centuries that spark my curiosity and imagination. Perhaps it is the man at the booth that draws attention from the crowd by promising to show the most bizarre biological rarities ever seen. Yes, I’m talking about the freak show. These shows would put a group of people or animals on display that had bizarre and very rare physical conditions. If you want to see for yourself, check out Tod Browning’s iconic horror film from 1928, “Freaks”. Of course in today’s world, it’s offensive to label someone a “freak”. And so as public opinion changed on the topic, these sideshows became an element of the past. However, the freak show has become popular once again. Not with the mainstream, but with a new subculture of people who are carrying on the tradition. For example, in California you can visit the Venice Beach Freakshow. The place is small, but it’s packed with cool stuff to look at. It mostly features animals with more than the usual number of body parts… like lizards with two tales, or a turtle with two heads. There is a guy who can swallow swords, balloons, and I don’t want to know what else. There are also a few traveling sideshows such as The FreakShow Deluxe a carnival style sideshow. These guys have it all…magicians, sword swallowers, knife-throwers, fire-dancers, burlesque performers, and of course human anomalies! The FreakShow Deluxe will be performing at 10am October 30th at the OC Marketplace in California.

My 2011 Halloween Events Wishlist

Events,

Every year, I make big plans to try to attend as many Halloween related events as I can. But after I factor in all the days I work, blog, and attend to normal chores and family responsibilities, it really leaves me little time to do anything else. Notice how I conveniently didn’t mention that I waste most of my free time watching stupid Jersey-Shore-esqe television or playing games on Xbox 360. Okay, I’m guilty! I can certainly spend my time a little bit better. So I’m planning the month out early and creating my Halloween Events Wishlist for 2011. I will try my darndest to get to as many of these events and throw a blog in about how they turned out. That’s if I can put down the Xbox controller, of course! Continue reading →

Bizarre Behaviors: Horsemaning The New Fad

Games

I’ll admit, this really has nothing to do with Halloween, but it is seriously one of the creepiest things I’ve seen recently. You may have heard of planking, (photographing and posting a picture of yourself laying face-down like a stiff board in unusual locations). You might also have heard of the more bizarre version of this “game” called owling (a variation of “planking” where someone squats like an owl.) But now there is another strange fad called Horsemaning. Sources claim this fad actually started in the 1920’s, hence the creepy beheaded girl picture above, but I’m sure if I asked my grandmother (if she were still alive), she would have said your crazy…no one did this except maybe a few morbidly weird kids with too much time and rich parents. In any case, “horsemaning” is making a comeback as the latest internet fad. You know what? I think this one is actually pretty cool. WHAT IF YOU MIXED THIS WITH ZOMBIE MAKEUP??? Just a thought… Continue reading →

Favorite Ghost – Madame Leota

Costumes, Decorations,

“Serpents and spiders, tail of a rat. Call in the spirits, wherever they’re at!” I’d have to say, one of my favorite Disney characters is Madame Leota, the fortune telling woman whose head is projected in the crystal ball in Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion attraction. In my recent trip to Disneyland, I noticed the woman looked different than the woman I remembered as a child. Did Disney update the ride some time ago and replace the original Madame Leota with a new actor? I decided to investigate and was quite pleased with what I found. The original voice of Madame Leota was Eleanor Audley. The original actor for Madame Leota was a well respected Walt Disney Imagineer named Leota Toombs Thomas. Leota began working for WED (Walt Elias Disney) from a very young age and became a talented model builder, character artist and costumer for the company. She worked on several projects throughout her careeer including The Enchanted Tiki Room, The Hall of Presidents, The Haunted Mansion, and The Jungle Cruise. Her first husband, Harvey Toombs, was a Disney animator. She met her second husband, Hugh Thomas, while inspecting the banks of The Jungle Cruise ride in Florida. (There’s that Disney magic!). People who knew her and had a chance to work with her said that she was a gifted and extremely dedicated hard worker, and was an extremely nice and generous person. Continue reading →