The Odd Couple

Ripley’s Ask:

Husband and wife team Hannibal Helmurto and Anastasia IV
have performed together in the incredible Circus of Horrors show since 2005.

Where did you meet each other?

Anastasia:

We met in our local pub in Camden Town, London. I spotted Hannibal from across the room, came over, asked if I could stroke his ears, and six years later we are still stroking ears.

Explain your acts to us.

Hannibal:

One of the things I do is I swallow a long sword, and then take a bow forward with the sword inside me. It’s very important that you keep your posture quite straight otherwise you can easily cut yourself and I don’t intend to do that.

Anastasia:

Hair hanging comes from China, and was originally done by Chinese men. It is a dying art because it is so unpleasant and hurts so much. It takes a lot of training and a lot of willpower. The hair takes about 45 minutes to tie. You have to plait it like you plait a rope, and obviously there is a risk that it will come undone. We both do fire eating. It was one of the first things I learned to do, and it is still very popular.

Do you have any rituals?

Anastasia:

We always try to have 5 seconds for a cuddle before we go on.

When you watch your partner perform, are you ever worried about the risks?

Anastasia:

We are always a bit worried, because the acts we do in the Circus of Horrors always contain a high element of danger. Everything we do has a calculated risk—we have to know our anatomy, and how far we can push each other so we are always looking out for each other. But when I decided to marry Hannibal, I married him the way he is and I wouldn’t like to change him for the world.

Check out the NEW 2013 ANNUAL – Download The Weird!

Download The Weird features incredible people such as The Odd Couple and their incredibly crazy stunts, a special pull-out section about weird Titanic facts, and the incredible real-life story of the Elephant Man.

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