https://www.chloelavada.com/blog daily 0.75 2025-04-04 https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/sideshow-royalty-find monthly 0.5 2024-07-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/5dc9733e-6b48-4c8f-9326-391c7fff2ad7/20240708_171353.jpg Blog - Sideshow Royalty Find I first saw Tod Browning’s 1932 film “FREAKS” when I was very young - maybe four or five, too young to understand what an impact it would have on me. I believe it was on TCM, a station I always tuned into late at night in the hopes of catching some of the classic Universal Studios Monsters movies, or a Joan Crawford picture. The film instantly pulled me in: the captivating cliff-hanger of an opening, the sideshow setting, the colorful cast of characters. Even as a child, the background performer who I was drawn to the most was the half man/half woman, Josephine-Joseph; I found myself transfixed every time they were on camera! Being a young child who already had a firm sense of my identity, the androgynous blurring of masculinity and femininity spoke to me in ways that I had never encountered before. As I grew older and watched the movie time and again, I began to understand it in new ways and found myself fascinated by the subversion of expectations that the film delivers: the true villains of the piece are the scheming Cleopatra and Hercules, so-called “normal” people with dark ambitions hiding behind their physical beauty. And yet, their mistreatment of those who are different results in brutal consequences exacted by the very people they humiliated and ridiculed, showing that the capacity for twisted deeds can be found within us all if the right motivations are appealed to. In my early teen years, I began writing a novel set in a sideshow with a half-and-half narrator - what would eventually become Sprezzatura: The Rise & Fall of Venus Moonchild. For reference material, I rewatched “FREAKS” and found that Josephine-Joseph fascinated me now more than ever; I saw them as a mirror representing my own gender dysphoria, and began to expand upon that in my own work using my protagonist as a proxy for my own complicated feelings of identity. Over the years, I have done a great deal of research on sideshow performers, with a special focus on half-and-halfs. The library I have amassed is considerable, but my favorite items are the half-and-half memorabilia pieces I have collected, spanning from the 1920s to the 1960s. Most are pitch cards or cabinet portraits of different performers, and I always love seeing how gender diversity has been depicted through the sideshow lens throughout the years: these performers have a sense of glamour, power, and dignity about them in their images that I hope they were able to manifest in real life during a time when trans and queer awareness was painfully low. Since most half-and-half performers were either trans women or female illusionists, examining these depictions provides insight into the evolution of queer representation during the last century. However, Josephine-Joseph was likely a cisgender woman, making her even more unique among her peers and to me. While there have been several half-and-halfs I have become enamored with over the years (particularly Paul-Pauline LaPage, whose pitch card that I discovered as an early teen inspired Venus Moonchild and all of Sprezzatura), Josephine-Joseph has remained a constant inspiration for me since childhood, having been my introduction to this staple of sideshow history. Whenever I scour the internet for sideshow memorabilia, I try to find something related to them. Up until recently, I had been completely unsuccessful. Although I did find an incredibly well-researched website dedicated to uncovering details about their life, including a scandalous court case where they were prosecuted for faking their act, actual ephemera from their reign as sideshow royalty evaded me until last week when a random impulse told me to check the pages of sideshow memorabilia vendors that I follow. There, waiting for me on the first results page, was a genuine pamphlet sold at Josephine-Joseph’s shows in the 1920s (above image), before her appearance in “FREAKS” ever happened. You can imagine my shock! I snatched it immediately, and it arrived yesterday in remarkable condition for a century-old piece of paper. Some people truly do not know what they are selling! After so many years of searching, it feels like an amazing connection to finally have something that at one point belonged to someone who has ultimately been lost to history, but who has been a huge influence to my creative life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/1720545264059-FEFAWPP9UBGDDXSNED9A/cwsd+%282%29.jpg Blog - Sideshow Royalty Find https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/1720545264913-6K8AIGWIRHC6WZAQXDDO/josephinead1927pennsylvania.jpg Blog - Sideshow Royalty Find https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/1720545254335-ELWCEHVXYMN3N9OM4R9U/josiebare+%281%29.png Blog - Sideshow Royalty Find https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/1720545337666-AZM9LWEWSRFFBDAPJ4OY/30789947674%2B%25281%2529.jpg Blog - Sideshow Royalty Find https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/yvl1usqzg815gjjcupuso7lfepgqth monthly 0.5 2024-07-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/1720196254285-GIZY06E71L1TPM9EUVU1/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Uncharted Mag: 1st Place Contest Winner - Regarding the recent Horror/Thriller Writing Contest held by Uncharted Magazine… In April of 2022, I was scrolling Instagram when I came across a post by Uncharted Mag advertising a Horror/Thriller/Crime/Mystery First Chapter writing contest. Having never heard of Uncharted Mag, I visited the website, read a few stories that had been published, and reviewed the contest criteria, which specified that submitted work must be the opening chapter of a horror, thriller, or crime/mystery piece. I initially did what I always do when I see writing contests: I considered all of my in-progress and completed projects, did a quick mental inventory of which ones may be fit the specifications, and then ultimately decided against submitting at all out of some deep-rooted feelings of inadequacy. However, the ad continued to appear in my news feed throughout the month, whispering words of encouragement. Around this time, I also picked back up on the most recent draft of my sideshow novel, Sprezzatura. While rereading the prologue I had written, it occurred to me just how well it met the requirements for the contest: not only was it the first chapter in a larger work, but that larger work contained elements of crime, mystery, thriller, and horror. The prologue alone, set in an asylum in the early 60s and featuring an introduction to a femme fatale murderess, had been heavily inspired by my love of film noir and true crime. I began to fine-tune the prologue and, when the deadline rolled around, I sent it off to Submittable without much hope. I began writing Sprezzatura when I was an early teen. It has evolved immensely over the years. I really became serious about working on it during my college years, when the need to explore my identity through art and writing became the most intense. My under-grad education focused on Creative Writing, and I attended one of the best conservatories for such studies in the United States. However, throughout my time there, I regularly received convoluted feedback about the excerpts of Sprezzatura that I presented for classroom critique: while many found the characters, settings, and events to be compelling and unique, others found the material too niche and questioned who my target audience was. But I always knew my target audience: I wanted to use my story about a transgender sideshow performer’s journey of self-discovery to reach any and every reader who had ever felt ostracized, alienated, under-represented, or categorized as a freak because of their looks, identity, orientation, or gender expression. Having grown up with almost no stories about trans people, I wanted to heal that childhood wound of not feeling present in literature by erecting a glittering Big Top and populating it with a bizarre cast of characters with whom we could all relate in some way. However, because I had heard that this specific piece was not accessible enough for the general audience, I had next to no expectations regarding it being selected for publication. In May 2022, I heard back from Uncharted Mag and was pleasantly surprised to be told that my piece had been selected for the long-list out of numerous submissions, which meant that it would be moving on to the next stage of the contest. While excited, I still had no illusions of being selected as one of the top three winners - until July rolled around and I learned that I had also been selected for the short-list! As one of around 15 other competitors, I finally began to see the reality in my chances of placing. The next few months were grueling as I began to second-guess myself. However, in the first week of December, I received the long-awaited email which told me I had been selected as the first-place winner in the contest. I was ecstatic and felt a profound sense of confidence in my work for the first time in a long while. The voices telling me it was too niche, too inaccessible, and too uncategorizable began to fall away as I saw, for the first time, that there was an audience for Sprezzatura, if I was only able to finish the story! My piece, Prologue - or, the Carny Incarcerated, introduces readers to Venus Moonchild, a fame-hungry performer on a quest for self-reinvention that takes her from dusty freakshow tents to velveteen burlesque halls, seedy peepshows to sterile hospital rooms in a cross-country odyssey for love, acceptance, and stardom. Venus is the most “me” character I have written to-date, and I am so happy to finally be sharing her with the world. The literary agent who selected the winners of the contest had this to say about my piece: “This story takes a former dream and the glory of being in the dazzling spotlight, and twists it into something invasive and nightmarish. With beautiful prose and a voice so raw with emotion, it’s hard to not catch the irony in how the protagonist is so explicitly human, yet is regarded as a spectacle. Horror can take many forms, and here the sense of sadness will grip you by the throat.” To read Prologue - or, the Carny Incarcerated, please visit Uncharted Mag here. https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/sad-doll-disease monthly 0.5 2024-07-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/4f735464-eed8-4afd-b200-d7712f576c67/Horror+Book+Cover+Behind+The+Door+%281%29.png Blog - Sad Doll Disease Sad Doll Disease is a fascinating phenomenon - a terminal doll “illness” which leads to acute creepiness in dolls made of early hard plastics. The “disease” is the result of a chemical reaction between the cellulose acetate “skin” of the dolls, and the iron pins holding in their eyes. Infected dolls can transmit the disease to other dolls within their vicinity, making it a contagious condition. Dolls afflicted with SDD suffer from four main symptoms: Crying. Dolls will weep oozing, viscous tears that can be red, brown, or black in color. Cracking. Their heads will chip, crack, flake, or break open entirely. Warping. The limbs may warp, twist, or distort. Smell. Dolls with SDD will emit a strong vinegar stench. Sounds charming, doesn’t it - truly the stuff of horror movie backgrounds and haunted house set decoration. It is also the title of my spooky new poetry project, which I am hoping to have completed in time for the Halloween 2025 season! https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/tag/new+projects monthly 0.5 https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/tag/sprezzatura monthly 0.5 https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/tag/freaks monthly 0.5 https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/tag/venus+moonchild monthly 0.5 https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/tag/publication monthly 0.5 https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/tag/half+and+half monthly 0.5 https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/tag/uncharted+mag monthly 0.5 https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/tag/sad+doll+disease monthly 0.5 https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/tag/published monthly 0.5 https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/tag/sideshow monthly 0.5 https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/tag/josephine+joseph monthly 0.5 https://www.chloelavada.com/blog/tag/poetry monthly 0.5 https://www.chloelavada.com/dispatches daily 0.75 2021-04-14 https://www.chloelavada.com/dispatches/thread monthly 0.5 2021-04-14 https://www.chloelavada.com/dispatches/breadcrumbs monthly 0.5 2021-04-14 https://www.chloelavada.com/dispatches/castle monthly 0.5 2021-04-13 https://www.chloelavada.com/dispatches/lagoon monthly 0.5 2021-04-13 https://www.chloelavada.com/dispatches/rapunzel monthly 0.5 2021-04-20 https://www.chloelavada.com/about daily 0.75 2026-07-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/036795d2-66f1-4c6f-8dec-1013fd5aa0fb/1000031954.jpg About - Chloe Crawford La Vada is a multi-disciplinary writer, artist, and educator currently living in Brooklyn, New York. Her work primarily focuses on the dark side of human identity, psyche, and experience. A staunch advocate for transgender rights and mental health awareness, Chloe was the recipient of the 2016 Edgar Richards Scholar Award for LGBT Students, and served as Guest Speaker at the 2017 New Rochelle Unraveling Gender Festival, as well as acting as the Keynote Speaker for the 2017 GLSEN Hudson Valley Leadership Awards and the Student Speaker for the 2017 SUNY Purchase Commencement Ceremony. Nowadays, Chloe works as an educational administrator in New York City, where she continues developing inclusive, safe spaces for creative self-expression. Chloe’s writing has appeared in a variety of publications, including MONSTER’S iNK, Not Quite Right Literary, Bloodlust Magazine, Persephone Literary, Uncharted Magazine, and ArtTour International. She is currently finishing work on her debut chapbook, a rural gothic exploration of trans womanhood in America. Check back for updates! https://www.chloelavada.com/contact daily 0.75 2025-02-03 https://www.chloelavada.com/home daily 1.0 2026-07-22 https://www.chloelavada.com/sideshow-skin daily 0.75 2026-04-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/1595269034103-5WGK1KT9NO5EB971R0TY/09d-091-008.jpg Sideshow Skin - C O N T E N T S - electro-dysphoric circus - the circus is in town (a) - fairgrounds - midway - ballyhoo - ten-in-one 1. conjoined twins 2. bearded lady 3. giantess 4. wolf-girl 5. living skeleton 6. lady clown 7. tattooed woman 8. he/she 9. pepper’s ghost 10. geek - annex / blow-off - hooch-cooch - the show suite freakshow spookshow sideshow - kissing booth - tunnel of love - disappearing act - fortune teller’s caravan - the circus is in town (b) https://www.chloelavada.com/sprezzatura daily 0.75 2026-03-02 https://www.chloelavada.com/art-commissions daily 0.75 2025-02-03 https://www.chloelavada.com/shop daily 0.75 2025-02-03 https://www.chloelavada.com/shop/books monthly 0.5 2021-04-14 https://www.chloelavada.com/portfolios daily 0.75 2025-09-26 https://www.chloelavada.com/portfolios/skindeep monthly 0.5 2025-09-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/71fb22ee-e330-469e-90a0-85e4441cf2b1/SKM_C450i24102907400.jpg Portfolios - Skin-Deep Skin suit designs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/6d067ad0-7db2-475a-8b0a-372915f96139/SKM_C450i24111308240.jpg Portfolios - Skin-Deep Additional skin suit looks. https://www.chloelavada.com/portfolios/commissions monthly 0.5 2025-09-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/6304000c-c44a-4d01-8136-7c3f427aa223/SKM_C450i24070309370.jpg Portfolios - Commissions Bi-HEX-ual Pride Collection. A quartet of punk-rock witchy looks using bi flag colors and inspired by Vampira, Elvira, Joan Jett, David Bowie, Siouxsie Sioux. https://www.chloelavada.com/portfolios/musical-theatre monthly 0.5 2025-09-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/3745650b-65e6-4faa-9c9c-838065366c32/SKM_C450i24111808280.jpg Portfolios - Musical Theatre Hedwig & the Angry Inch redesigns for "Tear Me Down," "Wicked Little Town," "Angry Inch," and "Hedwig's Lament." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/2f272917-f8cc-4b7d-ab87-082c1f544b53/SKM_C450i24120207570.jpg Portfolios - Musical Theatre Some Elphaba redesigns for "Wicked." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/6a5fbe9e-6ecb-48b3-a9da-e8c96ffb42d7/SKM_C450i25020410160.jpg Portfolios - Musical Theatre Norma Desmond from SUNSET BLVD designs: "Surrender / With One Look," "As If We Never Said Goodbye," "Completion of the Script," and "Finale" (as Salome). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/1cd6064b-79d4-47e2-815c-503edb7d42ee/SKM_C450i24121708230.jpg Portfolios - Musical Theatre Additional Wicked Witch of the West looks for "Wicked." https://www.chloelavada.com/portfolios/sprezzatura monthly 0.5 2025-09-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/c3999068-04d2-4902-9043-8a74c3d7b0a3/SKM_C450i24070315110.jpg Portfolios - Sprezzatura Venus Moonchild's asylum looks: Lobotomy, Shock Treatment, Solitary Confinement, Interrogation. Each design incorporates restraints, chains, a straitjacket, belts, shackles, or hobbles to represent Venus' imprisonment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/4940cc3f-d6a6-47a9-8510-7cc3a355ade5/SKM_C450i24070315130.jpg Portfolios - Sprezzatura Venus Moonchild designs: Clown, Birth of Venus, Sideshow Starlet, Half & Half. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/515bcf2d-c261-442d-a0f9-cc61fa52bed5/SKM_C450i24070315120.jpg Portfolios - Sprezzatura Venus Moonchild designs: French Maid, Press Event, Halloween Half & Half, Peepshow Girl. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/bd36bd61-519a-4c1d-9770-1391163cc7a9/SKM_C450i25022813480.jpg Portfolios - Sprezzatura More Venus Moonchild asylum looks. https://www.chloelavada.com/portfolios/miscellaneous monthly 0.5 2025-09-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/1d813c31-3386-4937-a1a6-0fea67463882/SKM_C450i25091514000.jpg Portfolios - Miscellaneous Designs for the evolution of the main character's persona throughout my project, Sad Doll Disease: the Babydoll, the Mortician's Girl, the Lunatic Bride, and the Widow. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/c514d7b5-d001-491a-9c1e-166d10e50672/SKM_C450i24070315111.jpg Portfolios - Miscellaneous Designs for the Pukel Witch, a sorceress in a fantasy piece I am working on. Each is a new take on the traditional black witch frock, incorporating various textures, silhouettes, and organic elements: quills, feathers, bones, cobwebs, fur, sticks, and leaves. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/869861ae-4a74-4b4b-93b7-763eebb431e0/SKM_C450i24122308171.jpg Portfolios - Miscellaneous The four Spirits from A Christmas Carol: a horrorpunk Jacob Marley, a New Romantics Ghost of Christmas Past, a jazzy Christmas Present, and goth Christmas Yet to Come. https://www.chloelavada.com/portfolios/disney-villains monthly 0.5 2025-09-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/4cfe91ba-c526-42f0-ab36-329d8aab53dc/SKM_C450i25012708080.jpg Portfolios - Disney Villains Cruella de Vil resdesigns: "Coat of Dreams" (1920s), "The Devil Wears de Vil" (1950s), "Seeing Spots" (1980s), "Puppy Love" (modern). https://www.chloelavada.com/portfolios/icons monthly 0.5 2025-09-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/22167137-42c6-43e4-aaea-eae12719a382/SKM_C450i25021907500.jpg Portfolios - Icons Looks inspired by trans legends Lili Elbe, Christine Jorgensen, Marsha P Johnson, and Candy Darling. https://www.chloelavada.com/portfolios/project-one-ephnc-nb3a6 monthly 0.5 2025-09-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/1720033769201-KPCR59EUKDSPTJ3TMWCB/1720033598773-f08c385c-9e03-4b82-991f-10d14574b6b8_1.jpg Portfolios - Gotham City Sirens Poison Ivy redesigns, inspired by various fashion eras: 1920s, 1950s, 1980s, and modern. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/dfbd06a7-e590-49f3-9d94-6ed28b54c7ed/CAT+%281%29.jpg Portfolios - Gotham City Sirens Catwoman redesigns inspired by various fashion eras: 1920s, 1940s, 1980s, and modern. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/01109db6-cab9-4780-8186-8d5c95510c4b/SKM_C450i24070314130_pages-to-jpg-0001.jpg Portfolios - Gotham City Sirens Harley Quinn redesigns, inspired by various fashion eras: Rococo, 1970s, 1990s, and modern. https://www.chloelavada.com/portfolios/glamour-ghouls monthly 0.5 2025-09-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/1758891913459-1B4PBYPYXRR9J6TC08Y9/SKM_C450i25092513441%2B%25281%2529.jpg Portfolios - Glamour Ghouls Silver Screen Sirens: a grunge Bride, a rockabilly She-Wolf, a pop-rock Phantom, and a goth Vamp. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/2c29800d-2ce4-4db1-abb1-40835e6a4ab6/SKM_C450i25012108371.jpg Portfolios - Glamour Ghouls Vampy vixen designs inspired by Count Orlok, Lucy Westenra, Barnabas Collins, and Miriam Blaylock. https://www.chloelavada.com/published daily 0.75 2026-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/99f2f5a3-9057-4962-876d-1a25a7adbd2e/Untitled+design+%284%29.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/427d1593-b494-4fef-9743-bec281e9e63b/Untitled+design+%282%29.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/69e78958-8972-406e-ba1a-48dcec8ad278/Untitled+design.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/53e19495-346f-4f53-b2cc-fd95ced9b389/Untitled+design+%284%29.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/63c1715c-84a6-40f3-a5c3-32cfb468a30b/1.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/29f28d99-02ef-451b-8186-f1538f3f9308/2.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/c0d30b03-4265-493b-bff5-fc9b62711657/3.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/24a27156-58ac-4473-a2f3-74d460677edb/6.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/ba99e77f-7b45-49f8-b55d-ecfbe9935da9/4.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/55bdad9f-18ea-4c7f-945d-e955d7af7d95/5.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/8e82c7bc-299f-4316-9a5a-02bc42abeba6/Untitled+design+%284%29.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/ea3c0255-fffa-437c-a417-d974ed72c21f/Untitled+design+%285%29.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5dd3fbc76082224b870471db/c393aa48-5f51-4015-9f23-126e90a6af73/7.png