Theme: Circuses

Circuses and carnivals are real world phenomena. They are travelling companies that move from place to place and put on performances consisting of acrobats, clowns, trapeze artists, fortune-tellers, trained animals and other acts, along with novelty attractions, rides like Ferris wheels and dodgem cars, and arcades where one can win prizes. They are pockets where one can step out of the real world and into one of novelty, amazement and make-believe magic.

Circuses have had some fascination in genre cinema. One of the recurrent themes is the belief that there is a real magic beneath the make-believe showmanship, which can be either sinister or transformative. The circus is often seen as housing real monsters and fantastical creatures, or else is a welcoming refuge for such creatures.

Of fascination in the horror genre is the house of horrors attraction, which is often seen to house real horrors, while the circus is also frequently home to the trope of the Killer Clown. Another fascination that often features in horror films is the freakshow, a nowadays defunct part of the circus that would display real human Deformities and Disfigurements.