"Where it's covered in all the colored lights
Where the runaways are runnin' the night
Impossible comes true, intoxicatin' you
Oh, this is the greatest show!"
Where the runaways are runnin' the night
Impossible comes true, intoxicatin' you
Oh, this is the greatest show!"
— The Greatest Showman, "The Greatest Show"
This is the index of all things relating to the circus.
Tropes:
Categories:
- Amusement Park of Doom: Come one, come all, to the deadliest amusement park in the world!
- Carousel Kidnapping: Child is abducted on or near a carousel.
- Cartoon Juggling: How juggling is portrayed in cartoons.
- Circus Brat: Someone raised in a circus since childhood.
- Circus Episode: Episode of a series focused on characters going to the circus.
- Circus of Fear: A circus powered by Nightmare Fuel.
- Clown Car: A tiny vehicle holds way more people than you'd give it credit for.
- Contortionist: A performer with extreme flexibility.
- Cirque du Soleil: Not a trope, but a Real Life famous contemporary circus company.
- Cirque du Soleil Index: A list of productions from said company.
- Conjoined Twins: A common sight at "freak shows", twins joined at the hip or elsewhere.
- Crappy Carnival: A cheap, decrepit carnival more likely than not run to scam people.
- Creepy Circus Music: Carnival music distorted, slowed down, or played in minor key to be creepy—or it's normal, but in circumstance, it's really, really creepy.
- Enemy Mime: A villain or threat who happens to be a mime.
- Ferris Wheel of Doom: A Ferris Wheel breaks away and rolls like a tire.
- Girls with Moustaches: Exactly What It Says on the Tin, though included here as another common "freak show" attraction.
- Human Cannonball: Though not restricted to circuses, "firing" someone out of a cannon is a usual stage act in them.
- Knife-Throwing Act: Someone either stands still or is spun on a wheel as another person throws knives at them.
- Repulsive Ringmaster: A creepy or downright villainous ringmaster.
- Stage Magician: Fake practitioners of "magic". Nine times out of ten, they were a tuxedo and top hat.
- "Test Your Strength" Game: A carnival game wherein someone strikes a button with a mallet or similar object to ring a bell at the top.
- Tightrope Walking: A performer walks across a tightrope with or without a balancing tool—and hopefully WITH a safety net.
- Win Her a Prize: Love interests go to a carnival, and the guy wants to get his date a prize. He may or may not succeed.
- World's Strongest Man: A circus staple, a man who is stronger than any other, weaker to nothing!
- You Must Be This Tall to Ride: Height requirements for certain rides prove to be a thorn in a character's side.
