The Midnight Hour: 25 Years with Midnight Syndicate

*The Midnight Hour* is a 20 minute show featuring a multimedia horror-themed concert blending live music, theater, film, lights, and sound.

## Summary

### Pre-show

The stage featured its signature cemetery ruins with two low walls in the front, with the two altars with Edward/Gavin's keyboards. Behind them is a stone wall with six broken glass-paned windows and an opening arch underneath a mausoleum entrance. The screens played images of The Midnight Hour graphic, an audience precaution with a bleeding pumpkin behind the white text, and a forest scene with a sequence of all the Midnight Syndicate album covers. The lighting for the stage is purple/blue.

### Introduction

##### The Stage Is Set-Mr. Midnight Theme

The show started with a lifeless stage and the tolling of a clock tower twelve times (which adds up to 12 o' clock, midnight), then the screens show Midnight Syndicate's typical introduction sequence with the track *The Stage Is Set.* Edward and Gavin then emerge from the crypt arch and bow as the audience claps. They then begin the overture of "Mr. Midnight's Theme". Throughout the song, blue, purple, and green lighting is used to illuminate the stage as Edward and Gavin compose the song. Glow-In-The-Dark paint is used on the sides of the theatre of the haunted house symbols, which only appear during the chorus'. On the screens we see the haunted house symbols, fog, red strobing lights, and during the quiet part of the song, Mr. Midnight appears with blue and red lighting with swirling fog around his silhouette. He then appears at the conclusion of the song at the crypt arch as there is lightning and a blackout.

### Confrontation

##### Grisly Reminder-Haunted Nursery *(Eerie Estate/Banished)*

He than appears swiftly at the center of the theatre, and we hear Mr. Midnight explain the darkness that is around us and within himself. He moves towards the stage and we meet a new character "Malorie". He is in a brown vest with a white shirt, and brown pants, with black streaks on his forehead and hands. He holds a large book which is used throughout the show. He is insane as he repeatedly laughs at numorous things without warning or reason. Him and Mr. Midnight show us the book of the history of the darkness, using it to have a couple in the back of the audience project oozing black liquid from their mouths and scream while the duo laughs maniacally. Grisly Reminder begins as Mr. Midnight then starts by vaguely explaining the evil hiding within Eerie Estate, a haunted house in Halloweekends as the lighting is low and dim, with the screens displaying the Paranormal Activity Society's security cameras around the mansion. As Grisly reminder intervenes with the next song, we then see him open a trinket box, describing it "*as if souls had been imprisoned there, struggling to get out*". He then closes the box with care and *Haunted Nursery* ends.

### The Clown

##### Goons and Greasepaint *(Fearground Freakshow)*

Malorie quotes the phrases displayed on the screens: *"All the world loves a clown.":Cole Porter "There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight":Lon Chaney,* as Mr. Midnight then says that there *is* something funny about a clown in the moonlight. He then starts to describe the many attributes to a clown as the song builds, leading for a sinister ending of the build and The Clown enters through the crypt arch. The Clown has an orange-brown coat with matching pants, a small top hat, and his face painted like a clown. He is shown to have blown a balloon and Mr. Midnight's claws pops it, making the clown laugh. The lighting goes through a spectrum of colors, mostly pink, yellow and green. The screens display clown faces and skulls, and spinning swirls. He then goes around the audience during the chorus, to then lead to a sequence of flashing lights around The Clown dancing, all the while Malorie hysterically laughs. The chorus ends the song with another blackout.

### The Witch

##### Noctem Aeternus *(Hexed: Black Magic)*

Mr. Midnight stands at the back, allowing for the focus to be on The Witch who enters through the crypt arch. Appearing in a dark black cloak, she is hunched over to resemble an old hag, who then starts to have a short monologue for the songs first notes before the verse of the song in a high childish voice: "*Darken the skies! The moon will rise! In the darkest to plunder, there, in the shadows! Midnight will come. Called down by the claps of thunder!*" She then swings hard to her left and swiftly whisks her cloak off to reveal a young woman with red hair in a small braid with side bangs, a gothic black and red dress, and a moon painted on her forehead with red face paint surrounding it. She then takes the Ankh staff that has been used by The Sorceress in past years, and uses it to ignite the first two sigils while she cackles and twitches as she sings *Noctem Aeternus*, with a deeper voice than how she spoke moments before. The red and blue lighting mix with purple as the screens depict at the beginning of the song, the title *Noctem Aeturnus,* and the rest of the song candles, dark theater curtains, and fire. As she is going to ignite the third and remaining sigil, but is signed not to by Edward, then leaving the way she came with the staff yelling and cackling, "*Not yet! Ahahaha!*"

### The Gunslinger

##### Morbid Fascination (Tombstone Terror-Tory)

Mr. Midnight then informs us that as towns sprigged up from the dust and the dirt in the West, men began to gain a reputation of being dangerous thieves, one of then being The Gunslinger. He is a tall man with a brown trench coat, brown pants and a cowboy hat. He holds only a gun and an Ace of Spades playing card. He goes around the audience scaring them as the song continues. He then shoots a man on the screen who looks at him. The man walks over and shows The Gunslinger another ace of spades, but with a shot hole in it. The Gunslinger then takes out his ace of spades, but with the shot hole. He then pleads to live, as the lighting changes from red/orange to blue with the windows still red as his face shows a skull painted that is visible by the change of lighting. the blue light fades as the song concludes and The Gunslinger leaves.

### The Vampyre

##### Nightstalker (Blood Bath)

The only light in this first scene is behind the windows and mausoleum. We then hear screeching bat noises as Malorie yells that there are hundreds, thousands, millions, and each one is alive. Mr. Midnight then reenters through a coffin on stage right. He yet again describes the corresponding monster, this time being a vampire. He says how they have the sweetest singing he has ever heard, with a feeling like drowning in ice. As Malorie then begins to laugh, the song starts and the lighting changes back to the greens/blues. The screens show pictures of vampires, moons, fog, and at the beginning of the song, a quote by Bram Stoker: *"The children of the night. What music they make!"* During the breakdown of the song, the lighting changes to red and blue as the Vampyre emerges from the mausoleum. She is dressed in a black corset with chains similar to ribcages, black/white hair, a bird skull crown, feathers on her shoulders, and black fishnet leggings. She holds the candelabra that has been used by The Sorceress in past years. The Vampyre sings the song, and as it ends, she hisses, and leaves through the coffin.

### Something From The Vault

##### Unrest In The East Wing

A clocks bell toll is heard signaling the Midnight Hour, and Mr. Midnight asks the question at how much horror can the human mind overcome while being able to remain sane. He then allows Edward and Gavin to begin the final song. The lighting is their signature green/blue mixture while the screens show various images and clips from previous shows, and the final remaining sigil. The Witch reappears and begins to sing for the final moments of the song, walking out to the audience and ignites the third and final sigil, using the Ankh staff. The lighting changes to red as Mr. Midnight then begins to appear onscreen behind Sarah Douglas, who screams, and then Mr. Midnight appears onstage, pointing his hands horizontally in the shape of a T, along with Edward and Gavin making the same motion right before the blackout, and they cannot play the music while making this motion, so the song ends.

We hear different ghostly voices as all the monsters appear onstage with Mr. Midnight who laughs during this, red lighting and fog is used to illuminate this sequence, with Edward and Gavin noticeably not present. Another blackout occurs, as the monster run and scare the audience as flashing red lights and fog is yet again used. Mr. Midnight's voice is distorted while saying "I am every nightmare you have ever had, and your worst nightmares come true! I am everything you have ever feared, and I will always be here, in the dark!" We hear another fateful bell toll, the end of the show. As the audience exits the theatre we see blue lighting with Malorie in a fetal position muttering to himself in fear, slowly growing even more deranged from the events of the show.

## Haunted House Symbols

The symbol representing the scare zone BanishedThe symbol representing the scare zone Blood on the BayouThe symbol representing the haunted house Blood BathThe symbol representing the scare zone CornstalkersThe symbol representing the scare zone Cut Throat CoveThe symbol representing the haunted house Eerie EstateThe symbol representing the haunted house Fearground FreakshowThe symbol representing the scare zone Harvest FearThe symbol representing the haunted house Hexed: Black MagicThe symbol representing the haunted house Slaughter HouseThe symbol representing the scare zone Tombstone Terror-Tory
## Gallery

CD Album CoverShow Graphic ImageThe incomplete list of the haunted houses at HalloWeekendsChris as Mr. MidnightMr. Midnight during the song "Grisly Reminder"Mr. Midnight during the confrontation sceneThe haunted house symbols during "Mr. Midnight's Theme"Mr. Midnight at the end of "Haunted Nursery'The teaser for The Midnight HourMalorie during "Grisly Reminder"The Witch at the end of "Noctem Aeturnus"The Witch in Noctem AeternusThe Gunslinger in "Morbid Fascination"The Witch in "Unrest In The East Wing"The stage before the show