Mark prepared the four horror movies that he was planning to show to the Horror Film Festival while they were waiting for lunch and after lunch, he would head directly to the film fest tent site. The twins were still bummed out for not being able to join him but Milena consoled them by reminding them repeatedly that they would have their film festival tomorrow which was all about the Harry Potter world.

That perked the twins up and after they had eaten, Mark said his goodbyes, and he and Nedertu went to the film festival tent.

When he arrived at the site, Hamil greeted Mark.

“You’re here. Is that the laptop that contained the movies?”

“Yeah, I arranged it already from the first one to the last.”

Hamil then went to the projector to plug in the laptop. Mark was glad that Hamil already knew what to do so he didn’t have to bother himself in setting up the theater and they were still using the old projector and white sheet and speakers that they used in the city of Argent.

It was going to be one in the afternoon in a few minutes and Mark saw that the theater was slowly filling up until it was full.

“Once everyone is seated we will start,” Hamil told Mark.

“Will everyone interested will be able to participate?”

“Yes. There were a lot of children making tantrums though,” Hamil said then he laughed.

Mark saw that the majority of the movie watchers had prepared their snacks and he joined the elven sisters and sat beside them. He was still a bit wary of watching horror films but kept telling himself that since he was a mighty wizard and he was tackling the undead floor in the dungeon, he shouldn’t be scared of measly actors playing scary parts but sometimes logic does not apply to something like phobia. Mark thought if what he was experiencing was considered a phobia but he immediately denied it to himself since he could battle the undead in his dungeon without any problem after he got used to it. He was just being a pussy.

Hamil suddenly announced the Horror Film Festival was starting and gave a brief description of what the first film was all about based on the note that Mark gave him. Then Hamil turned off the lights. The projector screen lit up and Mark could see that everyone was shivering in combination with a little bit of fright and the cold temperature from the air conditioners.

The first film was the 1922 silent film Nosferatu. The film focuses on imagery more because of the fact that it was an old movie and a silent one at that but Mark would have to say that the film was truly terrifying and based on the screams that the audience was giving, they agree with him on how scary the movie was.

The funny part was most adults in the circus encountered a vampire in one form or another and the Nosferatu in the film was more like a monster that they had encountered as well. At first, Mark thought if the people in this world would have a very different concept of what a scary film was since they were used to encountering true monsters in real life but he just shrugged and thought as long as it’s a show, he was sure that they would be entertained.

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When the movie ended Hamil announced that there would be a five-minute break and everyone talked to each other discussing the film.

“So how do you find the film?” Mark asked the sisters.

“It was entertaining but personally it was not scary if I’m put in that situation as I am now but if you take away my powers and confront the monster as a normal being without any magic, it would probably be terrifying,” Mentorra said and her sisters agreed with her.

Mark nodded and that proved the point of what he was thinking before on how the people in this world would reach to horror films. Those who were normal humans without powers as a mage or a warrior would be scared but the majority had skills and they would have to consciously make an effort to put themselves in the protagonist's shoes which did not have powers.

He was then interested in how the people in the circus would react to the next film which was the 1978 slasher film Halloween.

After the break, Hamil gave another introduction to the next film based on Mark’s description and then they started to watch it.

Mark had fun watching how the people reacted. It was too different. The warriors in the audience wanted to surge from their seats to fight the slasher in the film which was Michael Myers. Some were screaming in fright but he could see that they were not truly scared and just going with the flow but entertained, nonetheless. When the movie ended, Hamil announced that there would be a thirty-minute break for them to eat and go to the bathroom so everyone went outside the tent to do just that.

When Mark joined the crowd, he was surprised to see that there were tables full of food that the circus prepared for them and he was touched that everyone made the effort to make the festival fun. He saw the circus kids join everyone in eating the food on the table and the twins were with them.

“Mark! The food is delicious. Taste this meat that was prepared by Halinda,” Isaac said when he saw Mark. He joined everyone in eating the delicacies that were prepared and Mark enjoyed them a lot.

“The movies weren’t that scary,” Aaron said disdainfully.

“How did you know?!” Mark said surprised at Aaron’s comment.

“Everyone sneaked at the back to watch and nobody noticed us. It was easy since we just needed to lift the tent a bit,” Isaac said proudly.

Mark just laughed and let them be. Kids will be kids and he shouldn’t take away their little adventures.

He then joined everyone back inside the tent and this time Mark made a conscious effort to check where the kids were sneaking in and saw them at the back. He saw Hamil was aware of the fact but when he saw Mark, the caravan leader just gave him a wink and Mark almost laughed out loud.

The next film was the 2002 The Ring. The film was full of tension and that was the scary part about it. Mark discovered something in himself. He wasn’t that afraid of the scary movies anymore. Maybe it was because of the crowd but more than likely, it was because of his experiences. Battling monsters and undead in the dungeon desensitized him from being afraid of the scary movies. He would still jump during jump scares but it would not affect him deeply like before being unable to sleep with the lights turned off.

The last film was the 2017 movie “It” and it was one hell of scary of a movie. It was because it was a clown and there was something unnatural about clowns but Mark could see that everyone enjoyed the film and after the showing, everyone was discussing and giving out their opinion of the movie.

The party after the film fest lasted until the wee hours of the morning and honestly, Mark enjoyed the after-party more but it was a truly fun day.