Friday the 13th: Carnival of Maniacs
Friday the 13th: Carnival of Maniacs is a horror novel from 2006 authored by Stephen Hand and published by Black Flame. This book represents the fifth and concluding entry in a sequence of five Friday the 13th novels connected to the American horror film series. The narrative revolves around the undead slasher Jason Voorhees, who is captured and exhibited as a carnival sideshow attraction by Doktor Geistmann's Carnival of Terror.
Plot
Following his encounter with the supernatural murderer Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees slips into a coma and is discovered by the Grissoms, a family of inbred cannibals residing near Crystal Lake. Concurrently, three goth teenagers stumble upon Jason’s deserted cabin, where they find the severed head of his mother, Pamela Voorhees. Pamela’s spirit possesses one of the teens, Gloria Sowici, unintentionally reviving Jason. Jason then kills the Grissoms and two of the goth friends but reverts to a coma state when Gloria protects Pamela’s head from moonlight after crashing into an RV owned by Doktor Geistmann's Carnival of Terror. Mistaken for deceased, Jason becomes the carnival’s main attraction under proprietors George Arthur Witney and his daughter Alice Jane Witney.
Gloria tries to end her life to stop Pamela but fails; Pamela fully inhabits her body to track down Jason. Her goal is to heal Jason by enabling him to commit murders on Friday the 13th. FBI agent and paranormal investigator Michelle Kyler, driven by a desire for justice over her mother’s murder—blamed on Jason—receives assistance from wealthy Jason fan Nathaniel Morgas in locating him. During Jason’s debut at the carnival, Pamela exposes his head to moonlight, awakening him and sparking a massacre that results in George’s death. Jason kills Pamela—unaware she is within Gloria—and then becomes inert once more. Alice auctions Jason online; a bidding contest erupts between Morgas and shock rocker Ross Feratu, who ultimately wins by using an illegal bid blocker and intends to feature Jason in a televised Friday the 13th event.
Kyler obtains Pamela's head and negotiates with her but is betrayed by her partner Cory Tolleson, who delivers her to Morgas. While torturing Kyler for information about Pamela and Jason, Tolleson exposes Pamela’s head to moonlight during Ross's show, awakening Jason again. Now free from Pamela’s control, Jason kills everyone present. Pamela reveals that Kyler’s mother was actually murdered by the Grissoms, not Jason. As Kyler dies, she allows Pamela to possess her body and eliminate Morgas and Tolleson. Subsequently, Jason and Pamela return to Crystal Lake while Alice enjoys five million dollars received from Ross in the Caribbean.
Reception
Don D'Ammassa, writing for Chronicle, characterized Carnival of Maniacs as an "extension of the series not entirely serious" featuring a "wry sense of humor." Rod Lott from Bookgasm described it as a "lovably excessive gorefest" which, although not frightening, is "immune to criticism" and designed specifically for devoted F13 enthusiasts who will appreciate it.