History Trivia / CarnivalOfSouls

* MoneyDearBoy: Candace Hilligoss (a [[MethodActing Lee Strasberg-trained]], New York-based actress) says this is why she did the film, but she only ended up making $2,000 from it.

* NoBudget: Made for $30,000 ($250,000 in today's money), but since the creative team had lots of experience making low-budget industrial and educational films, they knew how to shoot resourcefully and the film is quite professionally done.

* FollowTheLeader: Many films have borrowed the same plot (i.e. twist ending) from ''Carnival of Souls'' including 2001's ''Soul Survivors'' (which was literally just [[RecycledInSpace ''Carnival of Souls...in College!'']]) and the 2005 psychological thriller ''Stay''.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Averted. Set in Kansas and Utah, and filmed in those places (though Lawrence, Kansas doubles for Salt Lake City in a couple scenes). In fact, the run-down amusement park in the middle of nowhere inspired Herk Harvey to write the script with it as a centerpiece.

* FollowTheLeader: Many films have borrowed the same plot (i.e. twist ending) from ''Carnival of Souls'' including 2001's ''Soul Survivors'' (which was literally just [[RecycledInSpace ''Carnival of Souls...in College!'']]) and the 2005 psycholigical thriller ''Stay''.

* FollowTheLeader: Many films have borrowed the same plot (i.e. twist ending) from ''Carnival of Souls'' including 2001's ''Soul Survivors'' (which was literally just [[RecycledInSpace ''Carnival of Souls...in College!]]) and the 2005 psycholigical thriller ''Stay''.

* ExecutiveMeddling: The distributor cut 5 minutes from the original print to fit advertising - then [[CorruptCorporateExecutive ran off with the profits from the film]].

* NeverRecycleABuilding: The AmusementParkOfDoom from the climax was the RealLife abandoned ruin Saltair, a former Mormon dance hall and bathing pier; Herk Harvey happened to run across it while driving across Utah, derelict and decrepit but yet never torn down or sold, and was so inspired by its creepiness as to film it as the centerpiece.

* OneBookAuthor: Herk Harvey never directed another feature (although he did helm many educational shorts). His one other mainstream acting credit was as a post-apocalyptic farmer in the TV movie ''Film/TheDayAfter.''

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The Utah-filmed scenes act as a time capsule, because the locations have changed so much since the early 60s. Saltair burned down in 1970 (a new, somewhat similar pavilion was built nearby about a decade later and is used as a concert venue now). The places in downtown Salt Lake City used in the film [[https://catalystmagazine.net/carnival-of-souls/ look quite different now]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** About eight minutes of footage belonging to a sequence set just before the final ''danse macabre'' was lost in processing when the film was overexposed. It would've shown the ghouls appearing from behind the dock pylons at the edge of the water, making their way to the pavilion.
** Candace Hilligoss (who played Mary in the original) had been in talks to greenlight a sequel, and had even written a treatment and screenplay. For good or ill, the deal fell through. Her claim was that Peter Soby feigned an interest in her script just to get his foot in the door with Harvey and get the film rights to do a remake. In acquiring these rights, Hilligoss wound up being written out of the deal and Soby went on to produce the 1998 remake (which had nothing to do with Hilligoss's script).
** Hilligoss was asked to make a cameo in the remake, but turned it down out of feelings of betrayal and disrespect due to the above reasons.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Averted. Set in Kansas and Utah, and filmed in those places (though Lawrence, Kansas doubles for Salt Lake City in a couple scenes).

* PlayingAgainstType: Comedian Creator/LarryMiller is the downright menacing BigBad in the remake.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The Utah-filmed scenes act as a time capsule, because the locations have changed so much since the early 60s. Saltair burned down in 1970 (a near-replica of the pavilion was built nearby about a decade later and is used as a concert venue now). The places in downtown Salt Lake City used in the film [[https://catalystmagazine.net/carnival-of-souls/ look quite different now]].

* PlayingAgainstType: Comedian Larry Miller is the downright menacing BigBad in the remake.

* OneBookAuthor: Herk Harvey never directed another feature (although he did helm many educational shorts).

* HeAlsoDid: Sidney Berger (John Linden) went on to become the [[https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2013/february/0215Berger.php longtime chair of the drama department at the University of Houston]], training many notable actors, including Creator/DennisQuaid, Creator/BrentSpiner and Creator/JimParsons. By all accounts, he was a RealLife case of MeanCharacterNiceActor.

* HeAlsoDid: Sidney Berger (John Linden) went on to become the [[https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2013/february/0215Berger.php longtime chair of the drama department at the University of Houston]], training many notable actors, including Creator/DennisQuaid and Creator/JimParsons.

** Hilligoss was asked to make a cameo in the remake, but turned it down do to feelings of betrayal and disrespect due to the above reasons.

* VindicatedByCable: Joe Bob Briggs and other B-movie aficionados. The documentary ''Schlock!'' notes that had ''Carnival of Souls'' been a foreign film, it would have been hailed as a TrueArtIsAngsty masterpiece.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The Utah-filmed scenes act as a time capsule, because the locations have changed so much since the early 60s. Saltair burned down in 1970 (a near-replica of the pavilion was built about a decade later and is used as a concert venue now). The places in downtown Salt Lake City used in the film [[https://catalystmagazine.net/carnival-of-souls/ look quite different now]].

** Hilligoss was asked to make a cameo in the remake, but turned it down do to feelings of betrayal and disrespect due to the above reasons.

* CreatorCameo: The Man is played by director Herk Harvey.