#circusisintown

[queenofblending]

I was voted class clown in jr. high. I wonder if my old classmates are aware they were experts in foreshadowing. If they’re out there reading this- thanks for your votes of confidence. Hope I’ve done you proud! 💖🌈 🌟wig- @wigsandgrace 🌈Dress- @fashionnova 💖 Coverup - @beabimbo 🌟shoes - @dollskill 🎪🎟🍿🎈🎪🎟🍿🎈 #pcsalumni #circusisintown #partyentertainer #classclown #proudclown #wigsandgrace #fashionnova #beabimo #dollskill #ootdfashion #ootd #queenofblending (at Toluca Lake, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5s6jqjn12L/?igshid=kek5z171welu

[generallygothic]

"In the spring of 1835, Barnum bought the rights to exhibit a frail enslaved African-American woman named Joice Heth. He plastered New York with posters advertising the old woman as George Washington's 161-year-old nursemaid. Though Heth had little choice in the matter, she played the part and the rouse worked. Barnum hoodwinked the press and thousands of others who paid 25¢ to see her." - 'Circus', S1E1, Netflix, 2018. By the time he reached New England, interest was dwindling, so Barnum made the radical decision to publically accuse himself of fraud through anonymous newspaper notices. These new adverts claimed Heth to an automaton composed of Indian rubber & mechanical springs... In other words, a robot. The genius of this trademark strategy was that Barnum now had cause to invite the public to the attraction in order to make up their own minds! 📆: Each Friday whilst the 🎪Circus of Horrors🎪 is here throughout June, a different historical 'Freak Show' performer will be profiled. As the first of her kind, Joice is not subject to these constraints... 📸: Poster, c.1835, via Wiki Commons. . #generallygothic #gothic #circusofhorrors #circus #thecircusisintown #circusisintown #bigtop #carnival #gothiccircus #circushistory #sideshow #circusperformers #circushistory #history #socialhistory #freaks #freakshow #joiceheth #publicitystunt #marketing #automaton #vintageposter #ptbarnum #barnumandbailey #barnumandbaileycircus #barnumsfreaks #robot #exploitation #circusdocumentary #netflix https://www.instagram.com/p/ByoyZ0jgMeB/?igshid=xo0i1airz96h

[pareshelton]

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Brings you back to your childhood #circus #humancannonball #circusisintown #acrobats #chimelong (at Chimelong Circus) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwgYqDKFKUw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ugh4r7vhqgs7

[theyenner]

Twisted …Oct 21 #follow #spotify #twitter #apple #deezer #soundcloud #newrelease #housemusic #dj #djlife #belfast #music #newtrack #halloween #october #2021 #instamusic #instagram #yenner #artists #musicians #comingsoon #comment #share #reels #circusisintown #apocolypse #newalbum https://www.instagram.com/p/CUYAw7nMNYy/?utm_medium=tumblr

[whirledinc-blog]

#quitclowninaround #getyourshittogether #circusisintown #organist #clownsightings #it #pennywisetheclown #spooky #stevefogle WHIRLEDINC.COM

[smirkyface]

Anytime is a good time for a "selfie". #houseofsmirk #montco #pa #norristown #cosbytrial #billcosby #selfietime #circusisintown #sharpdressedman (at Montgomery County Courthouse)

[generallygothic]

The carnivalesque is a literary mode first observed by Russian philosopher and literary critic, Mikhail Bakhtin (1895 - 1975). Along with the grotesque body, subversion and chaos are at its core - in style & content - allowing otherwise marginalised voices to speak up & claim power. All of this is apparent in the frenzied atmosphere under the circus' big top; the assumed power of the ring master, the mocking commentary of the clown, the popularity of the Freak Show. Bakhtin offers French author François Rebelais' (1494 - 1553) 'Gargantua and Pantagruel' (1693) as a perfect example of the carnivalesque. In the novel, a transgressive subculture threatens to disrupt a structured society from behind the façade of which it flourishes. Born in the black shadow of the Second World War, Bakhtin's literary theory is commonly read in two ways. Firstly, as a utopian response to wartime oppression & a celebration of revolution. And secondly, because the circus is its expected playground, as nothing more than a representation of transgression; it is merely the replacement of one façade for another. 📸: 'Two Fools of Carnival' print by Hendrik Hondius I of Pieter Bruegel The Elder's original 1642 engraving, via Wiki Commons. . #generallygothic #gothic #circusofhorrors #circus #thecircusisintown #circusisintown #bigtop #carnival #gothiccircus #circushistory #circushistory #history #socialhistory #carnivalesque #literarymode #literarygenre #literarytheory #linguistics #literarycriticism #bakhtin #mikhailbakhtin #russianliterature #frenchliterature #academic #scholarly #gothicliterature #booknerd #bookworm #books #literature https://www.instagram.com/p/Byd1bQNgr7E/?igshid=gq0p7w1t8n66

[generallygothic]

As voted for by 80% of you, the star of this week's 'Freakshow Friday' is 'The Skeleton Man'. Also known professionally as 'The Thin Man' & 'The Living Skelton', Isaac W. Sprague was born without fanfare in MA, USA, in 1841. The onset of his illness was marked with a complaint of cramp following a swim, aged 12. Despite maintaining an enormous appetite, Sprague continued to inexplicably lose weight from this moment onwards. In his early 20s, with both parents dead & illness making past employment impossible, Sprague joined the circus in 1865 & Barnum's American Museum the following year. Soon later, the original 'Thin Man' left Barnum to marry, & father 3 healthy sons. With a gambling habit & decling health, the reluctant performer returned to the circus. Unable to find his riches there, by 1882 he'd received a diagnosis ("extreme, progressive muscular dystrophy"), donated his body to Harvard Medical School for $1000, divorced his wife, & begun a doubleact with a new unsuccessful beauty pageant contestant wife. A gambling man to the end, some sources claim he wagered during his final show on a Monday that he'd not survive til the following Saturday. In this story, luck was unkind to him, even in death; he lost the $250 bet & died weighing just 43lbs/19.5kg the following Tuesday. The New York Times, however, reported on Friday the 6th of January, 1887, that Sprague died the day before - on a Thursday. (Swipe!) 👉: Head to stories & vote for the performer you'd like to read about in the final 'Freakshow Friday' of 🎪Circus of Horrors🎪 next week. 📸: Original 1870s carte de visite photograph of Sprague, 1st wife & family, via historical eBay auction, presumably now in someone's personal collection. . #generallygothic #gothic #circusofhorrors #circus #circusisintown #thecircusisintown #circusfreaks #freaks #circusperformer #disability #exploitation #profile #sideshow #freakshow #blackandwhitephotography #poverty #circushistory #bigtop #academic #cartedevisite #cdv #isaacwsprague #skeletonman #originalthinman #livingskeleton #progressivemusculardistrophy #barnumsamericanmuseum #harvardmedicalschool #theskeletonman #ptbarnum https://www.instagram.com/p/BzAF-IjgCtg/?igshid=xm1zvak8vfue

[generallygothic]

Born fused together at the pelvis in Brighton, England, in 1908, Daisy and Violet Hilton were the first documented conjoined twins to survive beyond a few weeks (in the UK). Raised by their single mother's abusive employer, Mary Hilton, they began touring and performing aged 3. On Mary's death, the sisters were passed into the care of the former's own daughter, who continued her family's tradition of exploitation and abuse, now in the USA. In 1931 Daisy and Violet finally gained their freedom, entertaining in first vaudeville then burlesque circuits, and eventually becoming two-time stars of the silver screen ('Freaks', 1931 and 'Chained for Life', 1952). Over the decades, interest dried up until eventually their tour manager abandoned them, penniless, following their final performance at a North Carolina drive-in cinema in 1961. With no choice but to remain in North Carolina, the Hilton sisters lived out their days as a greengrocer's assistants. 8 years after their last public appearance, the twins were found dead in their home having failed to show up for work. Daisy is believed to have succumbed to the Hong Kong flu first, following by Violet up to 4 days later. Last week, 100% of you voted for the sisters to be featured on Generally Gothic today - through this profile their legacy continues. 📆: Each Friday whilst the 🎪Circus of Horrors🎪 is here throughout June, a different historical 'Freak Show' performer will be profiled. 👉: Head to stories to vote for who you'd like to read about next Friday. 📸: Daisy and Violet Hilton, via Wiki Commons. . #generallygothic #gothic #circusofhorrors #circus #circusisintown #thecircusisintown #daisyandviolet #daisyandviolethilton #thehiltonsisters #conjoinedtwins #siamesetwins #circusfreaks #freaks #freaks1931 #circusperformer #disability #abuse #exploitation #profile #chainedforlife #vaudeville #burlesque #sideshow #freakshow #blackandwhitephotography #northcarolina #poverty #circushistory #bigtop #academic https://www.instagram.com/p/Byt45W9ACM8/?igshid=1th3cjl1v80d3

[generallygothic]

Stephanie Garber's 'Caraval' (2016) series is described as a YA version of Erin Morgenstern's celebrated debut, 'The Night Circus' (2011), which will be given due attention later this month. As a fan of neither YA or novels in series, 'Caraval' has not made it onto Generally Gothic bookshelves. Have you read it/them? What's your opinion - is it a mistake to avoid it? 📸: 'Carussel I', by Chantal Olivia (2013) via Flickr. . #generallygothic #gothic #circusofhorrors #circus #thecircusisintown #circusisintown #bigtop #carnival #gothiccircus #circushistory #circusperformers #caraval #carousel #carussel #chantalolivia #flikr #photography #ya #yafiction #stephaniegarber #thenightcircus #erinmorgenstern #romance #gothicromance #bookstagram #books #bookworm #reading #readersofinstragram #readinglist https://www.instagram.com/p/Byjl2cygmqC/?igshid=46q8a5w0adyc

[generallygothic]

With an impressive 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (dir. Robert Wiene, 1920) is a silent masterpiece of German expressionism. Influential upon later works of American horror and film noir, it is named "the first true horror film" by film critic Roger Ebert. The story begins with two male friends, playfully competing for the affection of a young woman, & planning a trip to the fair. Once at the fair, they encounter Dr. Caligari. The Dr.'s show consists of a sonambulist, Cesare, awaking from a coffin to answer the audience's personal questions, like a fortune teller. A large portion of the action exists as a flashback, and the ending involves an unexpected twist - entirely so to contemporary audiences who had never seen this plot device onscreen before. Combining the madness of the carnival with the carnival of the madhouse, 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' is the epitome of the 🎪Circus of Horrors 🎪 on film. 📸:'Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari' film poster, Atelier Ledl Bernhard (1920). . #generallygothic #gothic #circusofhorrors #circus #thecircusisintown #circusisintown #bigtop #carnival #gothiccircus #filmposter #movieposter #fortuneteller #carnivalesque #academic #scholarly #rottentomatoes #thecabinetofdrcaligari #horror #filmnoir #germanexpressionism #filmhistory #filmcritic #filmtheory #horrormovie #robertwiene #blackandwhite #drcaligari #fair #horrorfilm #rottentomatoes https://www.instagram.com/p/BygppK0ggCs/?igshid=s2jw7duewcm8

[generallygothic]

Becoming America's most famous bearded lady during her adulthood, Annie Jones (1865 - 1902) was thrust into the circus life before she was even a year old. An almost life-long member of P. T. Barnum's travelling circus, Jones' performed as one of the showman's 'Freaks'. Aware that she was being unfairly represented, Jones took issue with the title 'Freak' and, as acting spokesperson for her likewise-labelled peers, advocated for the abolition of the word. Popular in royal courts, taverns, and fairgrounds, 'Freak Shows' have been popular since the 16th century; whilst Barnum was innocent of coining the derogatory term, Jones' efforts, however, did little to discourage his use of it. ... ⏳: The rest of Jones' story will be coming soon... 📆: Each Friday whilst the 🎪Circus of Horrors🎪 is here throughout June, a different historical 'Freak Show' performer will be profiled. 👉: Head to stories to vote for who you'd like to read about next Friday. 📸: Annie Jones, photographed by Charles Eisenmann, date unknown, via Wiki Commons. . #generallygothic #gothic #circusofhorrors #circus #thecircusisintown #circusisintown #bigtop #carnival #gothiccircus #circushistory #sideshow #circusperformers #circushistory #history #socialhistory #freaks #freakshow #disability #medicalhistory #hirsutism #bearedlady #anniejones #anniejonesbeardedlady #tuberculosis #ptbarnum #barnumandbailey #barnumandbaileycircus #barnumsfreaks #geneticdisorder #exploitation https://www.instagram.com/p/BybYgGSAtad/?igshid=1rreh96sgqk5v