The Iron Kingdom Ralph Mitchell on "Demagogue"

I think this is your darkest cd so far.

Nightmare City Halloween Stevo in yr Stereo on "Demagogue"

I am quite impressed with your new album and find it to be your strongest recording to date. Great production and well crafted. It was easy to imagine I was listening to a film score! Very dramatic and I particularly love the organ work.

RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE July/Aug 2002-Greg Chant

Subtitled "Music and Sound Effects for a Gothic Halloween," CLIVE MANOR lives up to the promise to actually frighten listeners. The album was recorded specifically for the haunted attraction industry, which means they couldn't afford not to have pure horror oozing from every one of these twelve tracks. Points of influence include DARK SHADOWS, CASTLEVANIA and RESIDENT EVIL, with results that are mostly slow and apprehensive in a classical style. Mainly realized on keyboards and recorded noises, CLIVE MANOR manages to frighten by insinuating more than simply stating the obvious. In other words, they let your imagination fill in the dark spots and, believe it, there are plenty here. We'll put our name on it, if your flesh isn't goosed by the second track, you're already dead. Rating-5 of 5 Skulls.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN MAGAZINE 13th issue-Rochelle Santopoalo

A refreshing new addition to the Halloween music scene, Midnight Circus and Clive Manor offer fans a whimsical yet macabre soundtrack to accompany their festivities. Each CD entrenches the listener into a fantasy soundscape. If gothic is your preference, Clive Manor takes you on an auditory tour of a haunting residence guaranteed to elicit and heighten a variety of emotions. Should the merriment of a circus tickle your fancy, Midnight Circus will introduce you to the hypnotic underside that lures many an innocent creature into its' arena.

HAUNTED ATTRACTION MAGAZINE Issue #28-DJ. DK

Staying with the circus theme, let's move on to the Michael Hedstrom CD Midnight Circus. This one is more consistently devoted to the "dark carnival" setting than our previous "clown'de hauntue." Most of these tracks are devotedly injected into the circus vein, and their more restrained use of extraneous sound FX and vocals will make this CD much easier for most Haunts to use. The first track, Clown Alley, sounds so much like the theme from the movie 'Beetlejuice' that it could easily be mistaken for that soundtrack (or a number of others by Danny Elfman for that matter). That said, if your Haunt has a "funny bone," there are numerous musical (de)compositions here that will perfectly capture a wacky, off-kilter mood without the use of specific movie scores. Arrangement and production of the music is quite accomplished, offering some of the most professional sounding and complex melodies you're likely to find on a Halloween CD. If you plan on doing scenes that involve clowns, freaks, humorous ghosts or other tongue-in-cheek terrors, you'll find that the thoughtfully designed and impressively recorded Midnight Circus is a useful collection of tunes with a morbidly funny edge. The 11th and final track of the CD is a teaser for Hedstroms' next album: Clive Manor.

UNDERGROUND ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE Issue 16-Jim O'Rear

Midnight Circus and Clive Manor are two haunted attraction CDs from Michael Hedstrom (Hedstorm Productions) that really grabbed my attention. They are very different in their individual approach but equally effective in the medium and style are directed.
Midnight Circus is based on, as you can probably guess, carnival and circus themes, using all of the classic sounds and instruments you'd expect from Ringling Brothers and dementing them. What I love about this CD are the apparent and obvious influences of composer Danny Elfman. I'm a fan of Elfman soundtracks and Midnight Circus could fit right in with the best of them. The first track, titled Clown Alley, could have been taken directly out of the film BEETLEJUICE. You'll also hear a lot of musical phrasing throughout the album that could fit in with several episodes of TALES FROM THE CRYPT.
Other track titles include The Dancing Firebeasts, Museum of Oddities, The Tunnel of Fun (a track of music and a seperate track of sound effects), Midnight Midway, and more. This CD is a lot of fun and it is very entertaining. Anyone who plans on using clowns, circus themes, 3-D, etceteras in their attraction needs to pick up a copy of Midnight Circus.
Clive Manor hits the other end of the soundscape spectrum. This CD combines music and sound effects to support and promote a gothic atmosphere. Tracks on this album include Forest, Hidden Passage, Dungeon, Big Game Trophies (very adventuristic), Hall of Portraits and more. To give you an idea of the sounds on this disc I'd have to refer back to Elfman, again. Some of the tracks on this CD could be compared to those found on Elfman's original BATMAN soundtrack. This is another very entertaining product from Hedstorm Productions.
Michael Hedstrom has done an excellent job putting these albums together. They are very slick, professional productions from the quality of the recordings to the first rate packaging. Make sure you add these to your Halloween collection!

A pleasant trip to the macabre, February 2, 2002
By Dana Paull "teagal" (Reno, NV USA)
When I first heard this cd, I was blown away at the professional quality of the sound. This cd is an atmospheric experience that you will not quickly forget. Being a fan of Midnight Syndicate, a friend recommended I try this album, and I actually like it better as an overall piece of work. With each track, you walk through the different rooms of the manor, and each piece has its own unique chill to it. If you are a fan of the macabre, even if just for a temporary escape, this cd is for you. I will add any new cd this artist puts out into my collection without even an advance listen.

Reminds me of Castlevania., December 26, 2005
By Jonathon Taylor
Brings back memories of walking through the cursed passages of Count Dracula's castle with the legendary whip of the Belmont clan.

Customer Reviews-Midnight Circus

author: Adam
This is just what I was looking for! The songs set the perfect atmosphere for any kind of halloween party or set up.

This CD is exactly what I need.
author: Li'l Bentley's Carnival of Horrors
The theme for my family's Halloween Party this year is "circus sideshow" with evil clowns and human oddities. I was concerned about finding the appropriate music, but, alas, my worries are over. This CD is exactly what I need for an atmosphere of madness in the midway.

This Cd captures the dark mood of the after hours circus
author: Merlin
Midnight circus is definitly in my top 3 evil circus music collection! Dance of the firebeasts has a unique dark organ sound.This cd should be in any serious haunters circus music collection.Michael Hedstrom definitly hit the perverbial nail-on-the-head with this collection of after hours circus music.Would love to see more of this in an even more evil twisteder version....Thanx

Creepalicious!
author: Ellen
Brilliant - perfect for our evil circus haunted house this year - songs are dark and moody, with the ever-present but not too overdone carnival theme. Love it!

author: Nick
Sounds like he took the best parts out of Danny Elfman's Big Top Peewee and Beetlejuice soundtracks and made them even more goofy and spooky. If you like weird melodies and minor chords you should check this out. The packaging looks good too.

Perfectly creepy!
author: Ericka
We needed creepy circus music for our haunted carnival this year, and Hedstrom's "Midnight Circus" fit the bill perfectly.

Hats Off to Midnight Circus! I can't wait to try other CDs from Michael Hedstrom
author: Linda@mlhauntedforest.com
Hats Off to Michael Hedstrom & Midnight Circus! It was the perfect addition to our clown house this year. I am very much looking forward to other CDs from Mr. Hedstrom!

Halloween junkies need this one
author: Stephanie
I have a neighborhood Halloween Party every year. This years theme is Carnevil. The music from this album will be playing during my party. I think it has that great kreepy Karnival sound that puts the chill in the Halloween air.been looking for great creepy music and I like this one a lot.

Circusy goodness!
author: Lord Tici Taci
The music is all good and the songs aren't too simaler.My favourites are Clown Alley for tune,Tunnel of Fun for creepiness and Midnight Midway for the classic Circus sound.

Midnight Circus - Perfect for Halloween or Performing!, October 6, 2004
By D. Meyer "Sword Swallower" (Nashville, TN USA)
After searching through dozens of CDs to find just the right music for my act, I finally came across Michael Hedstrom's "Midnight Circus" and have fallen in love with it. Hedstrom's music is the perfect blend of circus/carnival with an eerie haunted house and quirky "Munsters" or "Addams Family" feel to it. As a sideshow performer, I find that it works great as background music for acts like fire-eating, the human blockhead and sword swallowing. If you are a performer or are looking for some great music for your haunted house this Halloween, I would highly recommend giving this one a spin!

Gaming Music?, June 13, 2005
By TammyJo Eckhart "TammyJo Eckhart" (Bloomington, Indiana United States)
I'll be running a World of Darkness game in the "Midnight Circus" setting and needed some good music to help me out. I think several of these pieces will work well for the game, very moody and creepy but still the standard circus themes can be found adding to the creepiness. The Midway selection is the most genericly useful I think while the others conjure more specific images in my mind when I listen.

Copyright 2008 Hedstorm Productions