After the Dances we headed under the barn for a hidden stage. The morbid youth promised a tale of macabre realities and warned that children might not appreciate the spectacle. The Call of Ctulhu promised to expose the dark secrets of Vermont.

Although both shows (the Dances and this) were explicitly described as not child-friendly, I noticed that many people in the audience (including myself) brought along children. Of course, in attachment-parenting situations where do you leave your child? Yet, I noticed how, regardless of age, these children knew perfectly well that this was “play” and trusted their parents, confident in that they would not be exposed to real danger. The children caught on the humour and I heard their astute comments on the allegorical nature of the “horror” show. “It’s the adults who are really scared, because they do get scared so much more easily”. And they are right. Perhaps it is the knowledge of our guilt, where often times we feel overcome by the reality our fellow humans have come to create and in which we, regardless of our intention to resist, succumb in participation. Probably, that is our true horror. But kids; they’re not fully in it yet. Liouba ran off with other children – away from parents to occupy the first row.

The beginning of the tale

The audience

Ctulhu

The narrator

The Victim

The Dance

What now?

The Ctulhu Feast!

Bravo!