Haunted Pamlico’s: 5th Carnival of Darkness

Save the date! We are thrilled to be apart of Haunted Pamlico’s Carnival of Darkness for another year.

Carnival of Darkness: The Haunted Pamlico Film Festival was founded by independent horror filmmakers for independent sci-fi, horror, and suspense filmmakers and their fans. The festival runs Sept. 22-23, 2023.

Live events, including craft vendors, music, dancing, the “Horror Show III” production by the Haunted Pamlico family, and concessions, will run from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. Sept. 22 at Raised in a Barn Farm, 2100 N.C. Highway 33, Chocowinity, N.C.

Our screenings, awards ceremony, ghost tours of the Turnage Theater, and Filmmakers Forum with film-industry professionals will be held from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Turnage Theater, 150 W. Main St., Washington, N.C.

Tickets will be available at the door or gate, or through Arts of the Pamlico, our local arts council, housed within the Historic Turnage Theatre. Advance tickets go on sale June 1.

Ticket prices will be as follows:

— $10 each for the opening evening on Sept. 22 at Raised in a Barn Farm.
— $17 each for screenings and other events on Sept. 23 at the Turnage Theater.
— $25 each for an all-access pass to both days of the festival.

Special guest artists/speakers and filmmakers whose work is selected for the festival will receive two free passes each. Our pending nonprofit will share 50 percent of the proceeds from ticket sales with AOP to help restore the vaudeville theater on the second floor of the Turnage building.

This year’s event is set to include artisans, cosplayers, a music festival, a filmmaking conference, a paranormal-experience tour, and much more. Guests to date include actor Ron Fazio, writer-producer Al Julian, filmmakers Todd Bagley and Justin Oakley, horror host Scary Gary, emcee Malina Macabre, film historian Micah Harris, director Keith Carter, producer Evelyn Putnam and her filmmaking team, intuitives Beth Moulton and Catherine Ward plus other renowned ghost hunters, emcee Russ Woolard, the Honey Jacks band, and others to be announced.

Our partners include the Turnage Theater, Rock the Pamlico, Raised in a Barn Farm, and the Pamlico Writers Group.

We’re building the schedule for the festival now. Please keep checking this page and hauntedpamlico.com, and follow Haunted Pamlico on TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook for updates.

The festival organizers wish to honor the most artful sci-fi, horror, and suspense films and the people who make them. Our festival is sponsored by many entities, including Haunted Pamlico/Alternative Stage, a developing nonprofit based in Washington, N.C.; McCabe’s Costumes of Winterville, N.C.; Nights of Fright, a haunted attraction in Chocowinity, N.C.; and Raised in a Barn Farm, the property on which Nights of Fright is located; and is supported through marketing by Arts of the Pamlico, our local arts council. Other sponsors include Ken and Marj Harrington, Russ and Robin Woolard, Pamela Anderson, and anonymous contributors. The Haunted Pamlico team behind this event has made dozens of short films, some of which have enjoyed viral success online, and have been featured at festivals from Canada to North Carolina.

Our panel of judges includes artists with skills in sound design, special effects, cinematography, screenwriting, film and stage direction, and many more areas of interest. For more information, email hauntedpamlico1@gmail.com, follow us on social media, or see our festival page at hauntedpamlico.com.

Here are some statistics from our 2022 festival:

• $300 raised for Ruth’s House, a shelter for victims of domestic violence.
• 133 film entries from 28 nations.
• 22 films selected.
• 275 patrons in attendance, plus many new followers from the online community.
• 41 actors, authors, directors, and other artists in attendance.
• 10 vendors and an auto show.
• More than a dozen sponsors.