Midway of the Bizarre (group)

Image from the Halloween Horror Nights: Sweet 16 website

The **Midway of the Bizarre** is a recurring fictional group from *Halloween Horror Nights*, associated with the *Midway of the Bizarre* scarezone and with the *Festival of the Dead Parade*.

## Description

The Midway of the Bizarre is a mysterious travelling carnival which will sporadically appear and disappear over the decades. Every time the Midway of the Bizarre appears, one of the carnival's guests mysteriously disappear. The Midway consists of various killer clowns, crazed sideshow performers. The nature, purpose or leadership of the Midway of the Bizarre is unknown. At least one iteration of the Midway of the Bizarre and its Festival of the Dead Parade appear to have been tied to the God of Fear, while he was imprisoned within his lantern.

#### The Festival of the Dead Parade

In order to lure victims into the Midway of the Bizarre, the carnival uses a hypnotic celebration called the "Festival of the Dead Parade". At some point, the Crypt-Keeper appeared to serve as " The Grand Marshal of the Underworld" over the Festival of the Dead Parade. The demonic *Lord of Darkness* and his two minions have also made several appearances at the parade, and seem to have been photographed there. The Festival of the Dead Parade has been known to toss out novelty items like skull beads, or coins with the eyeball-sucking demon "Eyegore" on them.

Other characters who seem to have had a presence in the *Festival of the Dead Parade* have included Jack the Clown, and Chucky.

## History

### Background

#### Midway of The Bizarre: Profiles in Seduction

In 2003, a woman named Kelly Bernard investigated accounts of the *Midway of the Bizarre* to document in her book, "Midway of the Bizarre (Profiles in Seduction)" for *Scriber Harbrace Publishing*. The deadline for Kelly was October 31, though she missed this deadline after visiting the midway for herself (presumably being the next victim to disappear).

In the October of 2004, the Midway of the Bizarre visited Orlando, Florida.

#### Later history

In 2007, undead serial-killer "Jack the Clown" took over Doctor Oddfellow's circus to turn it into "Jack's Carnival of Carnage". The Carnival of Carnage included its own "Midway of the Bizarre", and included the Lord of Darkness' minions. It is unknown if this was of any relation to the mysterious travelling carnival.

In the year 2010, a trusted cell director of paranormal-investigation organization *Legendary Truth: The Collective* was fired and then disappeared. While performing an, "intellectual sanitization" of the cell director's office, members of Legendary Truth: The Collective discovered a printed out email from contacts at Universal Studios' art department which included mysterious symbols burned into photographs relating to past, "Halloween Horror Nights" events as part of a puzzle. One of these photographs depicted the *Midway of the Bizarre* while another depicted the *Festival of the Dead Parade*. When the puzzle was solved, it resulted in the God of Fear being freed from his lantern prison to celebrate his, "Twentieth Cycle".

## Appearances

### Halloween Horror Nights

A park-wide version of the Midway of the Bizarre appeared in Halloween Horror Nights II and Halloween Horror Nights III. The Midway of the Bizarre appeared in the *Amity* section of Universal during *Halloween Horror Nights V, Halloween Horror Nights VI, Halloween Horror Nights VII, Halloween Horror Nights VIII, Halloween Horror Nights IX* and *Halloween Horror Nights XI.*

The Festival of the Dead Parade first appeared at Halloween Horror Nights VI as "The Crypt Keeper's Festival of the Dead Parade", tying into the character of the Crypt Keeper from *Tales from the Crypt* who was icon of the previous year. The Lord of Darkness from *Legend* (1985) also appeared in this parade and would remain a recurring element of the parade. The Festival of the Dead Parade proceeded to appear at *Halloween Horror Nights VII, Halloween Horror Nights VIII, Halloween Horror Nights IX, Halloween Horror Nights X and Halloween Horror Nights XIV.*

#### Halloween Horror Nights XIV

In 2004's *Halloween Horror Nights XIV*, a version of the Midway of the Bizarre was housed in the Boneyard and given an expanded backstory, tying into the *Festival of the Dead Parade*.

## Trivia

* It is unknown if there is any relation between the Festival of the Dead Parade, and the *Festival of the Deadliest* associated with the characters *Blood* and *Bone*.
* At HHN 16, a bloody note left by the Storyteller over a photograph of the Lord of Darkness at the Festival of the Dead Parade said "Of all creatures great and small this is my favourite".
* Advertisements for performers of the original Midway of the Bizarre appeared in the 2020 Halloween Horror Nights Tribute Store.
* The 2004 Midway of the Bizarre had a large sculpture of Jack the Clown's head.