The 9 Greatest X-Files

Humbug

Often referred to by fans as the ‘Fiji Mermaid’ case, this investigation is actually the heart-rending tale of dysfunctional conjoined twins. Episode 20 of season two sees Agents Mulder and Scully arrive in Gibsontown, Florida, to investigate the murder of Jerald Glazebrook (John Payne), the ‘Alligator Man.’ His demise matches the deaths of several other people – all of whom were killed by a single ‘burrowing’ wound to the side of the torso. Gibsontown is notable as a ‘circus’ town – home to a community of sideshow performers – and the agents must work their way through assumptions and Barnum lore in order to find the extraordinary and fascinating truth.

While questioning various local residents – including ‘body manipulator’ Dr. Blockhead (Jim Rose), his associate The Conundrum (The Enigma), local artist Hepcat Helm (Gordon Tipple), and trailer park owner Mr. Nutt (Michael J. Anderson) – Mulder and Scully continually find themselves returning to the mythology of the Fiji Mermaid. Known to have been a part of the collection of P.T Barnum, the Mermaid is revealed to be a creature – part simian, part fish – whose origin cannot be determined as being either real or fake.

Tracks and blood smears at a number of crime scenes lead the agents to believe that they are hunting something along the lines of the ‘Fiji Mermaid,’ but it is not until the arrest of former sideshow performer Lanny (Vincent Schiavelli) that Agent Scully is able to put all the pieces together and solve the case. It becomes clear that the small, under-developed conjoined twin of Lanny is able to detach from his brother and head off into the community at will.

The gentle Lanny ultimately confesses his brother’s betrayal, as he laments the idea that his twin – whom he has spent a lifetime nurturing – wishes to abandon him for another. His heart is broken by the fact that his sibling is so desperate to attach himself to anyone else, that he has inadvertently become a serial killer.

The agents are once again left without a perpetrator, however, when the killer twin is apparently eaten by The Conundrum.