Alexander Perkins lost his legs after being hit by a train when he was 8. He describes himself, using expletives, as “a 260-pound black guy with a don’t-mess-with-me face.”

He is also a Juggalo.

This week, Mr. Perkins, 31, known to friends as Less Legs, and thousands of other Juggalos and Juggalettes have made the pilgrimage to Thornville, Ohio, to take part in the 17th Annual Gathering of the Juggalos. The nicknames, claimed by fans of the rap duo Insane Clown Posse, come from the group’s 1992 track “The Juggla.”

After arriving, many of the Juggalos paint their faces with heavy clown makeup, indulge in drugs and alcohol, attend concerts of Insane Clown Posse acolytes and hop on amusement park rides. The retreat started at 7 a.m. on Wednesday and will end Saturday night.

“It’s like a psycho-porn theme park,” says Camille Dodero, a journalist who attended four consecutive gatherings starting in 2010 and is attending this year. “It’s an intense sensory overload.”