History YMMV / Carnevil

* OlderThanTheyThink: The baby boss became memorable, but ''VideoGame/ZombiesAteMyNeighbors'' beat the game to the punch by 5 years by having a giant baby as a level boss

* FanficFuel: You'd be suprised how many fanfics there are about characters from other works of fiction causing the carnival to rise up from the ground.

** Just before you fight Junior, Umlaut taunts you with "Don't wake the baby!" Years later, that phrase would become associated with LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}}, becoming a catchphrase of his while playing [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2 another horror game]].

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: No, not the residents of [=CarnEvil=] or Betty. [[spoiler: The player character. Are they an idiot for putting the token into the gravestone again and starting the whole thing over, or are they a BloodKnight who wants one more round with the haunted carnival? Alternatively, recall that the legend says [=CarnEvil=] can only appear at night on full moons and that it is clearly daytime when they put it back in. Could they be putting the token back in to ensure it can never rise again?]]

* CommonKnowledge: It is often incorrectly believed that the first player is named Jacob and the 2nd player Lisa. There are no sources for these names.

* {{Fanon}}: Even though both players are male (if there was [[SchrodingersPlayerCharacter ever a second player at all]]), fans tend to call the protagonist Jacob, and the player 2 character Lisa. The official website [[http://web.archive.org/web/20010405123820/http://www.carnevil.com/main.html never named them]], and no names are given [[http://www.arcade-museum.com/manuals-videogames/C/CarnEvil_2Player_Dedicated_25in_1640069101_Nov_1998.pdf in the manual either]]. It appears that the names came about when someone added them to the Wikipedia page in July 2007, and the fandom ran with them.

* {{Awesome}}/VideoGameLevels: Those who believe EvilIsCool will ''love'' the intro to the Haunted House level. After Umlaut finishes his pre-level rhyme, you get a great shot of the house's dark and creepy exterior. As Umlaut does his whooping EvilLaugh, lightning flashes with some immensely satisfying DramaticThunder. And the OminousPipeOrgan music starts up too. You only get a brief second before the game starts thrusting enemies at you (while Umlaut continues laughing), but it's all still ''deliciously'' creepy.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeVideoGameLevels: Those who believe EvilIsCool will ''love'' the intro to the Haunted House level. After Umlaut finishes his pre-level rhyme, you get a great shot of the house's dark and creepy exterior. As Umlaut does his whooping EvilLaugh, lightning flashes with some immensely satisfying DramaticThunder. And the OminousPipeOrgan music starts up too. You only get a brief second before the game starts thrusting enemies at you (while Umlaut continues laughing), but it's all still ''deliciously'' creepy.

* SugarWiki/BestLevelEver: Those who believe EvilIsCool will ''love'' the intro to the Haunted House level. After Umlaut finishes his pre-level rhyme, you get a great shot of the house's dark and creepy exterior. As Umlaut does his whooping EvilLaugh, lightning flashes with some immensely satisfying DramaticThunder. And the OminousPipeOrgan music starts up too. You only get a brief second before the game starts thrusting enemies at you (while Umlaut continues laughing), but it's all still ''deliciously'' creepy.

* SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Those who believe EvilIsCool will ''love'' the intro to the Haunted House level. After Umlaut finishes his pre-level rhyme, you get a great shot of the house's dark and creepy exterior. As Umlaut does his whooping EvilLaugh, lightning flashes with some immensely satisfying DramaticThunder. And the OminousPipeOrgan music starts up too. You only get a brief second before the game starts thrusting enemies at you (while Umlaut continues laughing), but it's all still ''deliciously'' creepy.

* TheWoobie: Chester and Lester Turvey, who were turned into the "Flapjack" man.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Most of the music, but the "Bunyan Ride" jingle is catchy as hell.

* CrossesTheLineTwice: The fast-paced gameplay, cartoony ([[{{Gorn}} if garishly so]]) art-style, and catchy ([[LyricalDissonance if stealthily creepy]]) songs can do wonders to combat the worst of the NightmareFuel the rest of the game has in spades. The fact the game seems to be an AffectionateParody of [[NarmCharm lovably]] SoBadItsGood [[SlasherFilm Slasher Films]] (up to a [[WhatAnIdiot head-slappingly stupid]] "TheEndOrIsIt" ending [[spoiler: where our hero apparently had [[BloodKnight so much fun barely escaping CarnEvil the first time]] that he goes ''[[OhNoNotAgain for a second round!!!]]'']]) only adds to the demented fun.

* WhatAnIdiot: The ending: The player destroys [=CarnEvil=] and escapes... [[spoiler:and immediately decides to put the token back into the gravestone, while Betty begs him not to, presumably starting the whole thing over.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: No, not the residents of [=CarnEvil=] or Betty. [[spoiler: The player character. Are they an idiot for putting the token into the gravestone again and starting the whole thing over, or are they a BloodKnight who wants one more round with the haunted carnival? Alternatively, recall that the legend says [=CarnEvil=] can only appear at night on full moons and that it is morning when they put it back in. Could they be putting the token back in to ensure it can never rise again?]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: No, not the residents of [=CarnEvil=] or Betty. [[spoiler: The player character. Are they an idiot for putting the token into the gravestone again and starting the whole thing over, or are they a BloodKnight who wants one more round with the haunted carnival? Alternatively, recall that the legend says [=CarnEvil=] can only appear at night on full moons and that it is morning when they put back in. Could they be putting the token back in to ensure it can never rise again?]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: No, not the residents of [=CarnEvil=] or Betty. [[spoiler: The player character. Are they an idiot for putting the token into the gravestone again and starting the whole thing over, or are they a BloodKnight who wants one more round with the haunted carnival? Alternatively, recall that the legend says [=CarnEvil=] can only appear on full moons. Could they be putting the token back in to ensure it can never rise again?]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: No, not the residents of [=CarnEvil=] or Betty. [[spoiler: The player character. Are they an idiot for putting the token into the gravestone again and starting the whole thing over, or are they a BloodKnight who wants one more round with the haunted carnival?]]

** The Freak Show's main theme is very similar to the opening theme from the horror-comedy classic, ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}''.

** The Freak Show's main theme is very similar to the opening theme from the film Film/Beetlejuice.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: One of the AttractMode reels uses a song almost-but-not-quite identical to the Music/RobZombie song "Superbeast".

* OvershadowedByControversy: ''[=CarnEvil=]'' is considered a classic of the RailShooter genre and as such is able to stand on its own merits among fans of rail shooters, but otherwise the game is best known for one of its bosses being a twenty-foot-tall undead ''baby'', which caused the game to be banned from numerous arcades the nation over despite the developers including an optional switch to turn the boss into a teddy bear, knowing that players could feel uncomfortable shooting an undead baby. Outside of fans of rail shooter games, good luck finding somebody who knows ''[=CarnEvil=]'' as anything more than "that game where you fight a giant zombie baby".

* UnpopularPopularCharacter: Despite him being ridiculed in-game as a "kiss-ass", Umlaut seems to be the most popular character with the fandom, receiving more fanart than anyone else. It helps that Umlaut gets the most screentime of any other character, and as such gets a little more characterization than the others.

* CompleteMonster: [[RepulsiveRingmaster Professor Ludwig von Tökkentäkker]] is the leader of the titular [=CarnEvil=], a carnival [[AmusementParkOfDoom filled with monsters]]. When the unnamed PlayerCharacter summons his carnival, Tökkentäkker greets him and forces him and another girl named Betty to fight through the carnival's three main attractions. Throughout the game, the player can see the skeletons and mutilated corpses of the other unfortunate people the carnival has claimed. After the player survives the main attractions, Tökkentäkker greets him at the big top, and orders an army of surgeon clowns to cut out his brain and place it into the body of a gorilla. When the player successfully kills them, Tökkentäkker traps him in a cage and brings him to his airship. There, he and his army of skeletons try to kill the Player and Betty. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20000303074957/http://www.carnevil.com:80/main.html The website]] reveals more of Tökkentäkker's crimes, such as his manipulation, lobotomization, and mutilation of two circus performers; and his desire to TakeOverTheWorld with an army of giant freaks.

* CompleteMonster: [[RepulsiveRingmaster Ludwig Von Tokkentakker]] is the leader of the titular [=CarnEvil=], a carnival [[AmusementParkOfDoom filled with monsters]]. When the unnamed PlayerCharacter summons his carnival, Ludwig greets him and forces him and another girl named Betty to fight through the carnival's three main attractions. Throughout the game, the player can see the skeletons and mutilated corpses of the other unfortunate people the carnival has claimed. After the player survives the main attractions, Ludwig greets him at the big top, and orders an army of surgeon clowns to cut out his brain and place it into the body of a gorilla. When the player successfully kills them, Ludwig traps him in a cage and brings him to his airship. There, he and his army of skeletons try to kill the Player and Betty. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20000303074957/http://www.carnevil.com:80/main.html The website]] reveals more of his crimes, such as his manipulation, lobotomization, and mutilation of two circus performers; and his desire to TakeOverTheWorld with an army of giant freaks.

* CompleteMonster: [[RepulsiveRingmaster Ludwig Von Tokkentakker]], is the leader of the titular [=CarnEvil=], a carnival [[AmusementParkOfDoom filled with monsters]]. When the unnamed PlayerCharacter summons his carnival, Ludwig greets him and forces him and another girl named Betty to fight through the carnival's three main attractions. Throughout the game, the player can see the skeletons and mutilated corpses of the other unfortunate people the carnival has claimed. After the player survives the main attractions, Ludwig greets him at the big top, and orders an army of surgeon clowns to cut out his brain and place it into the body of a gorilla. When the player successfully kills them, Ludwig traps him in a cage and brings him to his airship. There, he and his army of skeletons try to kill the Player and Betty. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20000303074957/http://www.carnevil.com:80/main.html The website]] reveals more of his crimes, such as his manipulation, lobotomization, and mutilation of two circus performers; and his desire to TakeOverTheWorld with an army of giant freaks.

* CommonKnowledge: It is often incorrectly believed that the first player is named Zeke and the 2nd player Julie. There are no sources for these names.

* WhatAnIdiot: The ending: The player destroys [=CarnEvil=] and escapes... [[spoiler:and immediately decides to put the token back into the gravestone, while Betty begs him not to, presumably starting the whole thing over.]]