Shocked and Amazed

Shocked and Amazed #9

sofcover 128 pages $20.00 post paid in the USA

Finally, Zamora The Torture King aka Tim Cridland makes the cover of James Taylor's Shocked and Amazed, the only magazine devote to sideshow and other strange variety entertainment.

The interview they did with me is the longest ever published in the histroy of the magazine. If you want to know my history and inspirations it is all in here, plus a lot more. Here is Taylor's description of the contents:

■Tim “Zamora the Torture King” Cridland interview

■Manuel King (once billed as the World’s Youngest Animal Trainer when he was 10yrs. old back in the ’30s) interview

■Excerpt from RATTLING YOURS – THE STORY OF SNAKE KING (the man who supplied pretty much all the carnival shows with the bulk of their exotic animals, especially reptiles, in the first half of the 20th century)
■Excerpt from John Strausbaugh’s BLACK LIKE YOU on the historical origins of minstrelsy Medicine shows!

■Next installment of “The Strand,” on variety entertainment at the turn of the century

■Next installment of Walt Hudson’s “Coney Island Baby”

■History of Ken Harck’s Bros. Grim Sideshow photo essay

■Joseph Pujol (yeah, Le Petomane) and our discovery that, in spite of the urban myth to the contrary, he really existed (as opposed to: he was a hoax) and farted for a living

■“Carny Lingo”

■Mark Frierson cover art

■… AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!
“Great fxxxing mag!”
Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller
All copies will be signed by Zamora The Torture King
To order click of the button below:

Circus of the Scars

Circus of The Scars

$30.00 post paid in the USA

Hardbound, 450 pages, 32 pages of Photos, Over 100 illustrations, full index
What is it like to be a part of a modern day sideshow? How did the whole thing start? This is the full behind the scenes account of the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow. From the beginnings in Seattle, WA, the quick rise to fame on the Lollapalooza Festival, the tours, the road, the glory and the grind. This is the "warts and all" story as told by the road manager and one of the founding members of the show. The revelations in this book are so brutal and clear that one of it's subjects called up the Ripley's TV show and begged them not to mention the title on the air. We have not been sued... yet. Buy your copy while you still can. This book is especially informative if you plan on doing a show of your own.

The most imaginative casting agent couldn't have chosen the original troupe with more flair.

The Amazing Mister Lifto; The Torture King; The Enigma; Matt The Tube Crowley with Dolly the Doll Lady

They were led by the maniacal hype-master himself, Jim Rose, who was assisted by Bebe the Circus Queen.

These Human Marvels came together to revive the ancient art of Sideshow . . . which had been nearly lost . . . but not forgotten.

Before rock-and-roll there was Sideshow, which also captivated, mystified and enraged audiences for over a hundred years. But by the end of the 20th century, you could count remaining sideshows on one hand. Entertainment had become sanitized and corporatized for mass consumption; lukewarm safe with no sharp edges.

There was a whole new generation that had been born and raised on rock-and-roll. Sideshow virgins who knew absolutely nothing about the eyeball-bulging, faint-inducing antics of the Human Marvels of Yesteryear. That is, until a modern sideshow came to town.

The contemporary tale--as told by tour manager Jan T. Gregor and original member Tim Cridland a/k/a The Torture King--is one of bannings, sex, drugs, fame, lust, longing, camaraderie and betrayal. Intertwined into the present-day story is an equally compelling historical voice: the intimate passages from a long-lost and only recently discovered 142-year-old diary.

The average person, inherently curious, has always been both fascinated and repulsed by Human Oddities and their unusual feats. Circus of the Scars is the ultimate rollercoaster ride, careening through two years of Sideshow present while simultaneously barreling down 150 years of Sideshow past. Circus of the Scars takes you on a bizarre odyssey around the globe with a Sideshow troupe that truly was live, real, raw and dangerous. Learn the hidden secrets behind one of the most emotion-inducing acts of the 20th Century.

"Entertaining from start to finish, an interesting look at an unforgettable piece of '90s pop culture."
-- Joe Garden, The Onion

"Genuinely affecting . . . notable for the detail it brings to the experience . . . offers more straight dope than any freakshow junkie could ever hope to metabolize."
-- Marc Savlov-Austin Chronicle

"Winner of the Best Oddity in International Publishing award . . . Look no further than Circus of the Scars, a remarkable achievement by any standard, a work very much equal of its subject . . . presented in one of the most impressive packages you'll see this or any other year."
-- Alan Kellogg, Edmonton Journal

$30.00 Post Paid in the USA (Canadian and overseas: email ZamoraKing@aol.com for postage costs).