Dark Carnival

The Dark Carnival, as visualized by artist Tom Wood.

The Dark Carnival is the fictional mythology of the concept album series used in much of Insane Clown Posse's discography. It is a concept of the afterlife in which souls are sent to a form of limbo while waiting to be sent to Shangri-La or Hell's Pit based on their individual actions. These concepts are related by Insane Clown Posse in a series of albums called the six Joker's Cards. Other artists within the Psychopathic Records label have also contributed to the mythology through various songs and albums.

Creation

The concept of the Dark Carnival was inspired by a dream Violent J had after the foundation of Insane Clown Posse, in which spirits in a traveling carnival appeared to him. The group decided to incorporate the dream into their newly created persona. The spirits, they decided, would be revealed in a series of albums called the six Joker's Cards, each relaying a message or moral story. In 2009, the character Bang! Pow! Boom! was created as an entity separate from the Joker's Cards. The group discussed the character's creation and relation to the Dark Carnival with Jumpsteady before its release.

Overview

"The way I see the Dark Carnival is it's a place where you have all the evil souls that are going to be going to hell. Some of them may ride the "Murder Go Round" [or] the "Tilt A Whirl." Some of them may ride the "Terror Wheel" [or] the "Tunnel of Love." There are all different shows and rides at the Dark Carnival which will take you to hell." —Violent J

J describes the Dark Carnival as "a place where you have all the evil souls that are going to be going to hell." It features multiple rides and attractions which assist in this purpose, which are the focus balls of multiple albums and songs within the group's discography. Each of the six Joker's Cards relate to a specific character — an entity of the Dark Carnival — that tries to "save the human soul" by showing the wicked inside of one's self. Bang! Pow! Boom! was introduced in 2009 as a rarely used entity, seperate from the six Joker's Cards. It is a continuous explosion used to clear the carnival grounds when they become too crowded with evil souls. Subsequently, Bang! Pow! Boom was announced to be the first in a second deck of 6 more Joker's Cards.

Themes

The Dark Carnival represents the inner struggle one takes with their life. Their choices of right and wrong, good and evil. It denounces actions that J and Shaggy 2 Dope stand against: child abuse, racism, bigotry, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. The themes of the Dark Carnival focus on death, morality, heaven, and hell.

According to J, the reason that Insane Clown Posse's lyrics featured profanity and references to violence and sex was because "That's the stuff that people are talking about on the streets. [...] You have to interest them, gain their trust, talk to them and show you're one of them. You're a person from the street and speak of your experiences. Then at the end you can tell them God has helped me out like this and it might transfer over instead of just come straight out and just speak straight out of religion."

J also states that "The ending of the Joker Cards, the way we looked at it, was death. Heaven and hell. That's up to each and every Juggalo [to decide]. We're not an ultra religious group. I don't go to church or anything. I like to believe in God."