Doktor Haze

John Hayes Mabley (22 December 1956 – 15 April 2023), better known by his stage name Doktor Haze, was a British circus owner and performer, singer-songwriter, director, and author.

In the late 1970s, Haze formed his first rock band Flash Harry.

Then during the 1980s, he performed with his band Haze Vs The X Factor, which incorporated elements of circus and horror into their performances.

They often performed at Marquee Club in London and Haze created the title Circus of Horrors for one of their acts.

In 1994, Haze met circus owner Gerry Cottle at a funeral and discussed ideas for a new brand of circus.

He was the owner, ringmaster and director of The Circus of Horrors, in which he co-founded with Gerry Cottle in 1995, which has become Britain's longest-running alternative circus.

Haze was born and raised in Preston, Lancashire and his parents were circus performers.

At age 12, he performed with his father as a fire eater for a circus in Ireland.

At age 16, he was influenced by Marc Bolan and T. Rex and learned to play the guitar and began songwriting.

With help from Cottle and Archaos’ creator Pierrot Bidon, Haze created The Circus of Horrors which debuted at the Glastonbury Festival in the summer of 1995.

The Circus of Horrors was a blend of circus, cabaret and horror, all performed to Haze’s original rock score.

He was the ringmaster of The Circus of Horrors until 2021.

In 2011, he released his autobiography book Dr Haze: Mud, Blood and Glitter. Haze was the company director for Moscow State Circus, Carters Steam Fair and Psycho Management, and was also the co-owner of Circus Extreme, Circus Ukraine, and Continental Circus Berlin.

In 2017, he stood as an independent candidate for Brighton Kemptown.

Haze died from oesophageal cancer on 15 April 2023, at the age of 66.