I’m a big fan of american horror story. I spend a ridiculous amount of time obsessively debating every aspect of the show with my friends, and after every episode I search online for fan theories (especially the bustle ones, but that doesn’t exactly surprise you, does it?). i worship at the altar of jessica lange, and i have made my boyfriend look at a lot of pictures of evan peters while i tell him how hot he is. I get really weird with ahs.
It’s true that I’ve been feeling a bit dubious about this season. I’ve been a little disappointed in the lack of action on the show, and I’d like to see great actors like Angela Basset and Denis O’Hare having a little more to do. but i also fell madly in love with dandy the psycho, so there have definitely been some high points.
You are reading: Books about freak shows
despite my complaints, the freak show concept is really cool and has made me a much bigger fan of freak shows and circuses than before this season started. so, being both an avid ahs fan and a voracious reader, I decided the only logical thing to do was to find as many books as possible about freak shows. Believe it or not, there is a lot out there. Whether you’re a freak show superfan or a skeptic, these books are a great companion for this season of ahs:
cirque du freakby darren shan
if you’re a fan of your own, monster shows and vampires, this is the series for you. A boy gets more than he bargains for when he steals a spider from a traveling freak show. Moral of the story? don’t steal giant spiders to keep them as pets. first, it’s weird, and second, you’ll probably end up becoming a vampire.
the night circusby erin morgenstern
never in a million years would i join elsa’s traveling show. but given the change of joining the circus at night? Sign me up. This beautiful tale of hapless illusionists is a couple steps above Elsa’s crumbling monster show, but still has all the magic, wacky characters, and danger of ahs.
thatof stephen king
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Stand aside, sinuous. pennywise was making scary clowns long before he was cool. and this guy doesn’t have any kind of sad story to explain why he kills: he does it because he likes the taste of children’s fears. apparently fear makes children tender, who would say? oh yeah, he’s also some kind of crazy metaphysical god at war with a cosmic turtle. even ryan murphy couldn’t make it up.
water for elephantsby sara gruen
forbidden love! circuses! elephants! For those of you who like a little romance in your circus novel, water for elephants is the perfect post-ahs read. Plus, Robert Pattinson was in the movie version, so enjoy picturing him throughout the book.
geek love by katherine dunn
what do you do when you can’t get monsters for your freak show? you make them, of course. when business takes a turn for the worse for a traveling show-owning couple, they use drugs and radioactive materials to turn their children into monsters. one becomes a cult leader who encourages his followers to disfigure themselves, while another must try to prevent her daughter from having her own special “weird” body part removed. now that sounds good as ryan murphy’s ally.
robert bogdan’s freak show
Let’s take a break from fiction for a second and look at the real history of freak shows. Bogdan examines turn-of-the-century American freak show culture, looking at how the freaks themselves played an active role in their own careers. he focuses on freak shows from a social perspective and provides many interesting facts about famous freak show performers. definitely a great read for those interested in a “behind the scenes” perspective.
the terrible sufferings of the mind-reading monster barefoot hercules: his wonderful love and his terrible hate by carl-johan vallgren
The mute, telepathic Hercules goes from a brothel to an insane asylum to a monastery, only to end up in a traveling show. this one is a bit grittier than the others, perfect for those who like the darker, nastier side of ahs.
lemony snicket’s carnivorous carnival
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I’m not the only one who was completely obsessed with a series of unfortunate events, am I? so take your love for the baudelaire orphans, your love for ahs and mash them up to get the carnivorous carnival. The Baudelaires must dress up as monsters at a carnival to escape the clutches of the cowardly Count Olaf and try to gather information about their potentially living father.
miss peregrine’s home for peculiar children by ransom riggs
Maybe this is a little more x-men than ahs, but I’m still counting it. A young boy stumbles upon a 1940s orphanage that houses a group of children with some pretty incredible gifts. so it may not be phenomena per se, but it’s still a story about the strange and the unusual.
something wicked comes this wayby ray bradbury
Sure, freak show has a tattooed man, but does he tattoo the faces of his victims on his hands? Ray Bradbury’s classic about a killer carnival is equal parts scary, whimsical, and even has a healthy touch of all-conquering love. which is great, if you’re into that sort of thing. I’m not, so I’d rather focus on the age-manipulating carousel, the creepy dust witch, and the enlightened man who turns anyone who gets in his way into circus freaks.
half lifeof shelley jackson
we all agree that there wasn’t enough of sarah paulson on freak show, right? I mean, having two heads, you would have thought she would see a little more action. so think of half life as the bette and dot spin-off novel. Nora and Blanche are conjoined twins, the latter of whom has been asleep for 20 years. Nora goes on a mission to get rid of her sleeping sister (sound familiar?).
image: michele k. short/fx (4); fx
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