In 1958, Al W. Stencell, age 12, was hired by a traveling carnival. Since then, Stencell founded several circuses of his own and become a leading historian of his field. His most recent book — Circus and Carnival Ballyhoo: Sideshow Freaks, Jabbers and Blade Box Queens
— is a history of North American sideshows, from the grifters and rubes to the talkers and acts. Fortean Times profiles Sideshow Al in the latest issue:
The little heists and stunts Al’s team used to pull at each town bear more than a little resemblance to those of the world of advertising – just reflected in a warped carnival mirror. Every aspect of the sideshow experience was designed to part punters from their cash. And as well as the efforts of the shills and barkers to get patrons into the shows, I’m amazed to hear about the professional brokering that went on behind the scenes with the local law enforcement.
“The big carnivals all had professional “patches”, as we called them, and they squared the police so that crooked games could work. They would tell the game operators and fortune-tellers what they could do and what they couldn’t do.
“You could maybe only take the mark for 20, maybe 30 bucks during the week, but then on the last night of the fair, the getaway night, there were usually no limits.
“If the town was solidly squared you could work strong all week, but if it wasn’t there would be certain levels you could work, and certain days you couldn’t. On kids’ day, for example, they would tone it all down because the state fairs were the lifeblood of the carnival. They had to go back and re-sign them for next year, so they didn’t want too much heat.”
Palmists were amongst the craftiest and boldest tricksters. ‘Screamers’ would offer a young man a private reading, then threaten to scream for help once they were alone. Al doesn’t seem to pay much attention to the claims of psychic or other paranormal abilities in any sideshow he has seen.
“They would promise you anything,” he laughs. “Many of those readers would say, ‘Well for an extra two dollars I’ll show you my privates’, and then they would lift their skirt and there would be a cat tattooed onto the side of their knee or something.”
“Sideshow Al” (Fortean Times)
Circus and Carnival Ballyhoo: Sideshow Freaks, Jabbers and Blade Box Queens (Amazon)