Camp Crystal Lake: The Carnival

We're closing in on the end of Eric Morse's take on the Friday the 13th universe. Two published books left to go. And this one promises up a more unique setting for a story set in Camp Crystal Lake. I may not be the most well versed in Voorhees, but I don't recall any story taking place in a carnival before. So that's neat. Does it mean a good book? That answer will be revealed when we head to The Carnival.

I love this cover, even if it does feel very goofy. So, did the guy in the Jason mask what, hide behind the roller coaster car to ready his stabbing spree? It's definitely the right kind of goofy I love from teen horror covers like this. Juxtaposed with the silly faces on the two riders really makes it feel so memorable. I also really love the color popping off the rides. The bright purple roller coaster tracks and the lit up Ferris wheel. It feels so inviting for a situation so horrifying. Top marks.

While Jason Voorhees is still pretty much in Hell, or so the movie claims, his mask has been still active, finding itself new people to possess and make more dangerous and evil. First it was an unnamed hunter, then a simpleminded giant of a man named Big Red. But with each possession, it means more killings, especially when it comes to teens who find themselves at Camp Crystal Lake. First killing Boone and his friends, then Boone's sister Kelly and her friends when she sought revenge for Boone's death. But before Kelly's death, she made sure to get rid of the mask where nobody would find it. But given, you know, this book existing. That's clearly not the case.

We open the book as Vince Fantana's Fun House and Carnival is driving into Camp Crystal Lake. Despite the hoopla from the trucks honking their horns, nobody in town comes to check it out. Which, I mean, given the history, I can't imagine this being a carnival-happy town. Mitch Deever, the head repairman of the carnival, drives in with his rottweiler Stump, which I'm sure will make it out of this book just fine. We learn that Fantana's carnival has met some snags lately. Namely in that a girl fell off the Ferris wheel and broke her leg. So they had to pack up and move the carnival elsewhere. How fortuitous then that there's this old abandoned campground on Crystal Lake that would be perfect for a carnival, right? We then turn our attention to three girls from a summer school in Halloway, Massachusetts. Maxi Wagner and her friends Wendy Denberg and Katherine Carter, AKA KC, are trying to hitchhike. We learn that actually Maxi is well off as her father's president of a computer company, but despite that, she still likes to shoplift and, I dunno, stick it to the man. The girls see a poster for the carnival which will be open during Fourth of July weekend, and while Maxi isn't for the idea, that is until she learns it's being held at Camp Crystal Lake. Wendy's against it, but since Maxi is the leader of the group, tough shit, I guess.

Preparation on the carnival continues throughout the week, although it seems the longer the crew are at Camp Crystal Lake, the more angry they become, as if there's some sort of curse going around. Later that night, Maxi gets a call from her boyfriend Greg Dillon who is playing Pearl Jam very loudly because this is a book from the 90s. We learn that he's been crazy over Maxi for a while now, and that his parents died in a car crash, which given how much the book has already set up her hatred for her parents, is probably something Maxi envies. Greg tries to ask her out to the carnival, but she's going to a party with her friends, so that's not happening. She tells Greg to just give up on her, since she's a bit of a downer person, but he's more focused on trying to convince her to go to the carnival. We cut back to Camp Crystal Lake as the carnival continues development. He throws a stick out for Stump to catch before going inside and playing the knife game with his hands, only to end up stabbing himself, which is rare for him to do apparently. So add that to the bad omens list. Stump returns, but not with the stick, but a hockey mask. So if you were guessing Mitch would be our stand-in Jason, you'd be correct. 

Maxi wakes up in her dorm room only to see Jason in bed with her, who then proceeds to stab her. But that was just a dream. That was just a dream. That's me in the corner... Back at the camp, Selena Tokar the daughter of the G-word fortune teller Madame Xaviera (real name Helen), is looking around the area. She sees Stump's been locked in Mitch's van. We learn a bit that Mitch is sort of a creep, especially around Selena. So don't worry, our would-be Jason seems like enough of a piece of shit. Selena sees her mother start convulsing and puking on the ground, saying she's seen visions of this area being covered in blood, but Selena chalks it up to he heat and not any actual premonition. Mitch is awakened and tasked with checking on the big electric fence that's been set up to keep people from sneaking into the carnival. For some reason the voltage is set up way too high, but the setting still says low. Mitch then heads through the big fun house attraction, the 'A bit too on the nose given the location' House of Death. A tramcar ride through a haunted house filled with a whole bunch of wax monsters and skeletons and the like. He's tasked with also fixing the guillotine in the torture chamber area. He does so and leaves, just as the power goes out and someone in the dark sets up the guillotine.

The next day, Maxi and KC talk, mainly about KC's crush on Graham Newton, their 26 year old English teacher. A lot of the girls are, except Maxi who claims to have never had a crush before. She suggests that maybe KC should be more flirty around Mr. Newton because what exactly are those statute of limitations for, anyway? Wendy shows up and notices that Maxi kept the poster for the carnival and reminds her that she's totally not going. Greg then shows up with flowers to apologize for the previous night. Then Mr. Newton shows up and is very much infatuated with Maxi, who is seventeen by the way, but claims it's about the term paper. After he leaves, Greg is pissed, since he can tell what kind of a creep Mr. Newton is, while KC and Wendy are both jealous at Maxi for winning the heart of their pedo teacher. Back at the carnival, Vince Fantana talks with Selena. Her mother's fine, but given that she's been having weird premonitions about the place, Selena can take over the fortune telling job when the carnival opens. Stump is locked in Mitch's truck, barking wildly as the mask glows. 

The carnival opens, but, surprise, barely anyone shows up to an event literally held in the murder capital of New Jersey. Mitch notices Stump barking at the mask. He's compelled into putting it on, to which all of the tattoos on his body seem to come to life and bite at him, which would be a pretty sick scene to see. Eventually the biting stops and the tattoos stop moving, but already the evil (or more evil) is flowing through Mitch. Some families do head to the carnival, including the Barfield family, which young son Bobby really wants to ride the merry go round. Mrs. Barfield and Bobby ride the horses which begin to go faster and faster. Way faster than it should. It eventually stops, but both Barfields are shaken and Bobby's arm is cut, which he claims came from the horse biting him. Fantana panics, especially given that this place is already a series of lawsuits waiting to happen, but more so because there's no sign of Mitch. 

Maxi, Wendy and KC are driving off from Maxi's house, having borrowed her mom's car. We get a bit more of an understanding as to why Maxi is so abrasive. Her mom's a drunk and her dad's rarely ever around. They're supposed to divorce, but neither have committed to it. But Maxi hates them both pretty much equally. So angry that she almost ends up driving into a truck. They head to the movies as the girls wonder if Maxi's attitude is period-based, to which it might not be. The movie is sold out, so they're stuck with nothing to do. Suddenly, Mr. Newton shows up again. He just happened to be there, he wasn't totally following them or anything that could be considered creepy. But their chat is interrupted by a truck for the carnival, complete with clowns advertising it and everything. I mean, clowns are great, but they should have went with balloon advertising. Wendy is still against going, given the stories of Camp Crystal Lake and all, but too bad. They have no other options to spend the night, so carnival it is. Although Graham opts out, claiming it's way too hot. For as charming and 90s Hugh Grant-ish that he is, I'm kind of waiting for him to be a corpse at this point.

Back at the carnival, two twelve to thirteen year old boys named Bernard LeBlatt and Nick Harris are sneaking around the woods, trying to find a way to get into the carnival. Bernard worries about a fence, but Nick, the leader of the duo, says that there won't be a fence. Certainly not an electrified one or anything. But they soon get caught by Mitch, now in the Jason mask. He takes a blowtorch to Bernard's face, scaring the boy, before grabbing Nick and breaking his neck. Bernard makes a run for it and finds the carnival fence. He starts to climb but because the fence is super powered, he's burned alive instantly. At the carnival, Greg goes on the Monster, the roller coaster of the attraction, which sort of gives us the cover scenario. Only he's the only one on the ride, except for Mitch who sneaks up to kill him. However, the ride seems to be going super fast, making it almost impossible to swing his ax at Greg. He fails in doing so and Greg makes it off the ride in one piece. The carny gives Greg free tickets, so he'll still be around to likely be killed later. 

Maxi, the girls and Graham, whose car just happened to be flooded at the time, drive to the carnival. Maxi tells Graham about the stories of Camp Crystal Lake, which gets us a mention of Jason. They arrive around ten, with the fireworks expected at midnight. And despite trying to haggle for half price, Graham just pays to get them all in. They arrive at the fortune teller's booth being run by Selena, who did try to leave, but was caught by Fantana, who tells her that her mother's doing just fine. He ogles the girls because every man in this book is a piece of shit. Selena pulls their tarot cards, with one of them being the death card, but given she's not going to freak out four customers, she says that the four will TOTALLY have long lives devoid of incident. She also mentions that Maxi should forgive her family, since she too has had a rough life with her father being a no-show since birth. Maxi suspects that Selena may have been lying about the "living long lives" part. Wendy plays truth or dare with Maxi, asking why she has an issue with her dad, or Maxi must strip through the carnival. She almost considers the stripping, which would be in character with the rebellious streak she has, but she says that it's plain and simple. Her dad's cheating on her mom. Maxi says that Wendy needs to reveal her crush on Graham to KC, or ride the roller coaster without using the safety bar. 

Mitch spots Maxi and is ready to kill her, before she suddenly runs off in a panic, having spotted someone. And not just a carny in a Sonic the Hedgehog costume which even for 1994 is a nice reference. She finds KC and tells her that she spotted her father and Beverly, the woman he's been having an affair with. In the panic, she also gets grabbed by Greg, who is still alive. He's mad that Graham's there and trying to win Maxi a stuffed bear, so they compete, while KC is pissed at Maxi because the perverted English professor is more interested in Maxi than her. So maybe going to the carnival was a bad idea. But then again, we wouldn't have a book. KC enters the House of Death, which is apropos as not only does one boy go flying out of the cars and onto the pavement, but KC ends up being decapitated by Mitch. Maxi watches as the boys continue to compete for her, with Graham winning her a Snoopy doll. Greg then dares her to go into the tunnel of love with him, which she ultimately agrees to. Meanwhile, Wendy enters the freak show, choosing to see the fat lady. Instead she sees a large tattooed man in a hockey mask brandishing a hacksaw. 

Selena leaves the fortune teller booth and learns from another carny that Fantana was lying to her about her mother being okay. She's comatose in the hospital. She tries to leave, but the entrance of the carnival is locked. A man tries to escape, only to also burn to a crisp like Bernard from earlier. In the tunnel of love, Greg apologizes for his actions and he and Maxi kiss. Meanwhile, Mitch already killed Graham in the car behind them, which oh come on book, the one guy I wanted killed and it's an offscreen? Suddenly, Maxi sees her father and makes a run for it. Before Greg can even react, his throat is also slit. Maxi continues to spy on her dad and Beverly, and given she had actually taken Wendy's camera from the car, she decides that snapping photos to show her mom might at least dig that knife in a bit deeper. She follows them to the scrambler, but before she can take a photo, her dad's car slams into the electric fence, killing both him and Bev in an instant. So, yeah. I guess Maxi got what she wanted, even if she feels guilty for ever wanting it. Maxi makes a run for it, but finds herself at the control room of the ride, where she finds the operator killed, with his "Fantana's Fun House" shirt slashed up so only the letter FATE are visible. Props to Mitch. He's a creepy murdering pervert, but he's creative.

Suddenly, Mitch shows up and grabs Maxi. She manages to escape him and tries to scare off the other patrons that there's a killer on the loose. Vince Fantana finds her and slaps her, saying she's ruined his carnival. He goes to slap her again, when Mitch, holding a mallet from the test of strength game, smashes him over the head, crushing his skull. Well, I guess if the gentleman pervert gets killed offscreen, at least the carnival owner pervert gets a brutal death. Selena grabs Maxi and tries to help her avoid Mitch. She tells her that a lot of people have tried the fence and have died from that, and the rides are falling apart, with pretty much anyone on them also dying. And there's still no way out with the front gate locked. They enter the fun house ride and after being scared by everything, arrive in the torture chamber. Where Mitch is waiting. He attacks the two girls with stiff blows and a freaking cat-o'-nine-tails. He horrifically whips Selena until she's a bloody mess, then drags her to the guillotine. He drops the blade, but it jams. As he tries to fix it, Maxi grabs his ax and drives it into his skull. The blade almost falls on Selena, but Maxi saves her in time. The two calm down, only for Maxi to see KC's head in the guillotine basket. Again, he's creative, I'll give him that.

And then things get kind of weird. I mean, more weird than it already is. The figures from the torture chamber come to life. Marie Antoinette, the Boston Stranger and his victim. The strangler strangles Maxi, but not before getting hit by a tramcar. The girls are in the middle of the carnival, as everything is on fire. Maxi panics, now realizing her friends are dead. Selena apologizes, saying she knew this was going to happen with the prediction. Suddenly, Stump shows up and tears Maxi apart. Like, super fucking quick. Selena panics, then realizes her only chance is to throw one of Maxi's arms at the fence and hope the dog will fetch it. The dog does and explodes in the fence. The entire area begins to rumble and collapse, but Selena manages to escape in time, climbing the water slide and jumping out to the nearby tree. Inside the fun house, the figures try to bring Mitch back to life, but it's too late as the entire park explodes. The mask flies off of Mitch's head and into an old oak tree where I'm sure it'll never be found... oh you know how this works already. See you in book four.

The Carnival is interesting. In terms of horror, it takes a while to build up, but when it starts, it's some pretty good horror. And probably one of the highest kill counts in any piece of Friday the 13th media that I'm aware of. Granted, like maybe 67% of them are "burned by electric fence" so it's not exactly the most creative list of deaths. And while there are some confusing elements, namely the wax figures in the torture chamber being alive, it can again easily be chalked down to the curse of Camp Crystal Lake and the evil spirit from the last two books continuing to try to inflict as much evil as possible. Although the last time it was as the spirit of a girl's dead brother. This time it's more just evil wax figures and thus it's not as horrific in terms of implications. I can also say I figured Maxi would die but holy shit I wasn't expecting it like that. I should have, given the book sort of set up Stump to matter, but still. It's a strong final beat, especially given that Mitch is rather quickly defeated. 

Maxi is a decent protagonist. Frustrating, but that's also the point. She's seen her family fall apart, and her father being the one to destroy it. Her hatred for him being the reason she lashes out like she does and seems to live in a very "who cares" mentality. But the book does make her somewhat likeable and that for as much as she hates her father, she didn't want him to die, especially as gruesomely as he did. So yeah, her being torn to shreds at the end really sucks. I didn't harp on it, but I did find her weird gimmick of saying things like the "Insert Letter-word" to describe things was a bit goofy. KC and Wendy mostly exist, Wendy more so. Neither are Superfluous Clay, but Wendy is mainly here to be against going to the carnival, and what do you know, she was right on the money. While KC is described as the super nice girl who has an unhealthy crush on her teacher. Greg is the standard boyfriend who gets jealous quick. Graham Newton sucks. He's the overly charming English teacher who hits on barely to not close to legal girls. So him being more quickly killed off sucks, especially when a more straightforward death would have been far more satisfying.

After a more interesting villain last book in Big Red, Mitch is a definite step down. Though at least he has more character than the hunter did, so that's a point there. If you want a creepy villain who you don't want to root for except to see him die, then he does the trick. Granted, it does feel like for all the stuff that goes down, he's very easily killed. I don't know if Pattison preferred the idea of the living figures more and just stopped cold on Mitch, but it is very much a letdown, again after such a far better climax last book with Big Red. Selena being our survivor is an interesting swerve. Given her mother's premonition and how she hid the truth of the fate of Maxi and the others, it makes sense I guess that the only one who seems to know something's up from the jump is the survivor in the end. Although I do wonder if the idea was the character more pure of heart should survive over someone like Maxi who already lost everything and whose actions led her to her fate. Falls a bit on the Pike-ish "impure girls get what they deserve" mentality I got from some of those books. But it could have been more thought as a cool swerve and nothing more.

I will say I felt a bit more skeezy with this book than the previous ones. Be it the multiple lecherous characters, or the multiple scenes of Maxi being naked or in her underwear. I get it, it's Friday the 13th and this stuff is par for the course, but here it felt a bit grosser than usual. More exploitive than even the movies do it. But that stuff does vanish the further the book goes and the more the book seems to focus on Maxi's character outside of just having her character be all "I'm edgy, let's get naked and do drugs and all the bad girl things to piss off my daddy" like the book begins her as. The pacing of the book is fine and does help that character growth at least have time to work through. It does feel a bit slow as we set a lot of stuff up back and forth from Maxi and her friends to the carnival and Mitch's change into Jason. But the second half, once the kills begin (sort of shockingly with two children being murdered) the book gets far more fun to read through.

So, overall this book is good. Not perfect, but in using a different concept for a horror story set in Camp Crystal Lake, the book manages to feel fresh with the source material. Maybe too fresh, maybe feeling like more a story of a haunted carnival that just happens to have Friday the 13th references in it, but it still manages to balance being fresh and being a piece of Friday the 13th media just fine enough to make for a decent 180+ page book that I do feel is worth recommending. We still have one more published book to go. Can William Pattison, AKA Eric Morse, stick the landing? We'll see soon enough. But for now, The Carnival gets a B+. 

IT WAS ACCEPTABLE IN THE 90S: Woolworth's, Maybelline, "Gag me with a spoon", Pearl Jam, "Go", Sonic the Hedgehog, Snoopy