CHARLOTTE, Mich. (WLNS) — Spook season is right around the corner, and to kick off all the frightening sights to come, organizers in Charlotte hosted the annual Festival of Oddities.
Thousands of people were in downtown Charlotte Saturday for a chance to see all things odd–anything from a cosplayer playing Jason to paranormal investigators giving us the scoop on haunted mid-Michigan locations.
“It makes me feel good that the kids aren’t scared of it. Back in the day, kids would be scared, but now you’ve got two, three, four-year-olds wanting pictures with me,” said Rob Dowell, the (Friday the 13th) Jason of St. Johns, Michigan.
Kyle Brooky is the director of Ruin Road, a group of “adventurers exploring abandoned, haunted and terrifyingly fun places in the U.S.”
“The biggest one is [Dansville’s] Seven Gables Road. Lot of legends behind it. Some are true; some are not,” said Brooky. “I think [Laingsburg’s] Blood Cemetery is also really interesting, another one that has some truths to to the story and sometimes stuff has been added over the years.”
And a favorite for many at the festival: the circus.
“Our collective is called The Motley Misfits. I am primarily a serial performer, fire performer, and today we are doing aerial chains,” said Alison Ottjep.
The Festival of Oddities was created in 2019 and has slowly become one of the biggest events in mid-Michigan, bringing in thousands to the small town of Charlotte.
“It’s a super fun day. There is just a lot of fun people here,” said Yvonne Denman. “So far, I feel like this is the coolest festival I’ve been to. I like to go to the hippie festivals and I really enjoy those, but this has been a real something different and really fun.”
The festival is open again Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
