“Desiree Snakehands, a street performer from 1930’s Manilla, was born and raised in the city where she did most of her busking for other poor urchins, and was noted for being arrested on five separate occasions regarding the sudden disappearances of other children. Never once was enough evidence produced to convict her, but her behavior in the ramshackle wooden courts of law included eye-crossing, vivid and violent mimicry, screaming at intervals, and bouts of juggling was enough to frighten the jury. By 1941 she became ill of typhoid and was found dead on a rooftop in one of the wealthiest parts of town, above the house of a notable theater producer. It was still unknown how her act was performed at this point.”