Random History about Gibsonton, Florida, Where Is Full Of Circus Freaks (11 items)

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  (#3) Circus Performers Still Spend The Winter Here

  Sideshow acts are now a relic, a throwback to another time and place. There are many reasons for this, ranging from the declining popularity of circus acts in general to the more widespread acceptance of people with disabilities, deformities, and other challenges. But small, dying towns are still towns, and there are still circus performers who have made their homes in Gibsonton. And the residents, many of whom are descendants of Gibsonton's original freaks show performers, embrace the town's legacy. One local bartender described her job like this: "It's not a job, it’s a lifestyle."
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  (#4) There Is A Retirement Village For Aging Circus Performers

  Since some Gibsonton residents are aging or retired circus performers, the town offers housing especially for them. There is a retirement village that, perhaps ironically, "looks like an empty fairground." The International Independent Showmen’s Association, which runs the local circus museum, pays for the housing costs of the members who live in the retirement community. The money comes from the dues all Association members pay. Each unit is a self-contained apartment with a small front porch and a little barbecue grill. It's like The Golden Girls, but with circus freaks.
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  (#10) Gibsonton Inspired The Fourth Season Of American Horror Story

  The fourth season of Ryan Murphy's hit FX anthology series, American Horror Story, was called Freak Show, and it took much of its inspiration directly from Gibsonton. The town of Jupiter, Florida, was modeled after Gibsonton, and some of the town's famous former residents were fictionalized in the season's storylines. Lobster Boy, for example, was surely memorialized in the character of Jimmy Darling. The show was set during the 1950s, an era when freak shows were on the decline. This infuses much of American Horror Story's drama with a sense of desperation, painting a bleak and terrifying portrait of a community with little, if anything, left to lose.
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  (#7) Special Zoning Laws Allowed Residents To Keep Exotic Pets

  Once upon a time, when Gibsonton was its height of sideshow-performer-popularity, special zoning laws had to be introduced. Many residents kept exotic pets, which were often part of their acts or part of another circus performance. Elephants, tigers, and monkeys were just a few of the animals residents were permitted to keep in their yards. Zoning also allowed carnival rides on personal property, and some, in the crumbling final stages of decay, are still on display. And rumor has it that at least one Gibsontonian still keeps elephants.
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  (#9) As Sideshows Have Declined, So Too Has Gibsonton

  Sadly, American small towns are a dying way of life. A lack of jobs, little opportunity, limited access to resources, and few cultural and social outlets are making small-town living a thing of the past. Gibsonton is no exception. Sideshows went out of fashion once the idea of "human freaks" became distasteful to the American public; the popularity of television also played a big role. As time has gone on, fewer and fewer sideshow personnel have meant a declining "freak show" population in Gibsonton.
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  (#11) An X-Files Episode Was Set In Gibsonton

  Gibsonton was the setting for a famous X-Files episode. Season 2's 12th episode, "Humbug," unravels the story of a serial killer who is preying upon a community of sideshow performers. The episode was not shot in Gibsonton, but in Vancouver. While "Humbug" dealt with some serious themes and the usual science fictiony territory of The X-Files, it was actually more of a comedy than anything else. Also, there are logistical inaccuracies in the episode; for example, railroad cars uncommon in Florida but prevalent in Vancouver are spotted in the show.

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