Welcome to Tales of the Weird Week on Babes in Bookland.  We're going to share the strangest, weirdest things we've ever seen.  I had to think about this long and hard.  Okay maybe I really thought about it a little and the memories were really easy, but still, I had options to consider and a choice to make.  Should I talk about the guy who used to do roof work in the Keys wearing nothing but a satin thong, work boots, belt, gold chains and suntan oil?

What about the woman I saw shopping for cosmetics at CVS with her pet rooster tucked under her arm?

Fantasy Fest in Key West?  Ohhhh, that would take wayyy more than a single blog.

Finally, I settled on a memory from teenage days on the boardwalk in the Atlantic City.  Million Dollar Pier was a big amusement pier with lots of rides, arcade games, food stands, an Italian Village and some "interesting" exhibits.  Really, what tourists wouldn't flock to see the cars from the Godfather movies -- including the one with a zillion bullet holes that was used when Sonny Corleone was shot to death at the toll booth on that causeway and the one in which Carlo Rizzi was garotted and kicked out the windshield?

Then there was the amazing ape girl.  A stentorian announcer on endless loop extolled the magical mystery.  The build-up to the exhibit was elaborate and dramatic.  It went something like this:

"Deep in the jungles of Borneo, explorers uncovered the 8th Wonder of the World... step inside and learn the secrets of a beautiful young woman who turns into a wild go-rill-a!  If you are pregnant... if you have a heart problem or nervous condition... if you are accompanied by small children, do NOT enter this exhibit!"

That was the gist, played over and over and over again to build the suspense, and the crowd's interest until you practically couldn't resist going into the dark tent.

I went once with my cousins.  We walked inside and stood there until the presentation began.  On the stage in front of us stood a  young woman in a bikini in a cage.  Next to her stood a man in a khaki safari-style outfit, complete with pith helmet, bullwhip and sidearm.  Once everyone was inside the tent, the man started his dramatic tale of the adventure to Borneo where they discovered the ape girl.

As the story spun out, the girl began to twitch and jerk, her movements increasing in frequency and severity.  The man began to look just as agitated.  Strobe lights flashed and the girl groaned and growled.  The man uncoiled his bull whip, its sharp snaps echoing in the space.  All of a sudden there was a giant flash of light and then the girl was gone.

In her place was a gorilla!

The crowd gasped.  The man unsnapped his hip holster and drew out his gun as the beast grabbed the cage bars and began to rattle them, jumping up and down and roaring with King Kongian rage.  All of a sudden, in a feat of strength, the gorilla ripped open the bars.  The man tried to shoot it to protect the audience but the beast knocked him back and burst out of the cage.

Just then they lifted the exit flap of the tent and everybody rushed out, screaming, to escape!

Now I absolutely knew that it wasn't a real gorilla, but someone dressed up in a furry monkey suit.  We knew we weren't in real danger, but that didn't stop us from screaming and running.  Such was the power of drama.  In that moment, inside that dark tent with the flashing lights and mass hysteria, we reacted!

I've seen a lot of movies and plays and television shows since that night -- all of which feature more sophisticated sets and special effects.  None of them have scared me any more than that cheap trick with the Amazing Ape Girl on Million Dollar Pier.