Peter Hauntz was the stage name of James H. Sharp, a Civil War veteran from Clinton County who rose to prominence during the latter half of the 19th century as a master puppeteer, ventriloquist, magician and stage performer. Trained in the German tradition of the famed Eisenstadt Puppet Theatre by Professor de Rotschkoff-- a man who believed the key to making realistic puppets was by using real human blood-- Sharp's performances included a variety of characters so realistic that, to this day, some aren't sure whether they were wooden puppets, or living, breathing human beings.
One such character was Herodia, a young gypsy ballerina who Sharp claimed had climbed into his wagon to hide from her evil parents one night in 1873. Herodia performed with the Peter Hauntz show for four years-- before disappearing as mysteriously as she had arrived.
