An alligator boy (or girl, man, woman, as appropriate) was a common freak show and dime museum exhibit. While the act was traditionally performed by people with ichthyosis, sideshows sometimes substituted workers whose skin was covered in cracked glue,1 optionally supplemented with food dye and sand.2 As another alternative, taxidermist Julius S. Hansen advertised stuffed alligator boys for sale in 1887.3
Like other freakshow performers, alligator boys were often depicted in banners and advertisements as half-human, half-animal hybrids. Their acts sometimes featured interactions with actual reptiles.2
Alligator-skinned performers included:
References
References
- Stencell, A. W. (2010). Circus and carnival ballyhoo: sideshow freaks, jaggers and blade box queens. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 185. ISBN 9781550228809.
- Nickell, Joe (9 September 2005). Secrets of the Sideshows. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 141–144, 197–198. ISBN 978-0-8131-2358-5. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- Stencell, A. W. (2002). Seeing Is Believing: America's Side Shows. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 37. ISBN 1550225294.
- Hartzman, Marc (2006). American Sideshow. East Rutherford: Penguin Publishing Group. pp. 122–123. ISBN 1585425303.
- Mannix, Daniel P. (1990). Freaks: we who are not as others. San Francisco, CA: Re/Search Publications. pp. 13, 152, 155. ISBN 0940642204.