Lobster Boy

The shocking exposé of a carny’s murder arranged by his wife—and the daughter who threatened the author to keep the truth from getting out.

In his account of the sensational life and murder of Grady Stiles Jr., also known as the legendary carnival “freak” Lobster Boy, author Fred Rosen explains how Stiles’s death was engineered by his wife, Mary Teresa, the carny known as the Electrified Girl. Rosen describes how Mary Teresa arranged for her husband’s murder after years of physical and emotional abuse. The narrative is full of appearances from the couple’s colorful acquaintances, including the World’s Only Living Half Girl, Midget Man, and the Human Blockhead.

During Mary Teresa’s dramatic trial, Rosen becomes a character in his own book. When both he and the prosecution are threatened by Mary Teresa’s daughter, who Rosen believes was a co-conspirator although she was never indicted, the writer risks his life in pursuit of the truth and the evidence that leads to Mary Teresa’s conviction.