There is plenty of horror to be had at Halloween Horror Nights 22 at Universal Studios.  From flesh-eating “walkers” from “The Walking Dead” haunted house to an alternate dimension of terror in the “Silent Hill” haunted house, the demented nightmare of Alice Cooper and plenty of vampires, beasts, prisoners and more roaming the streets for blood. And while all of that gore is going on there is a little comic relief at the show 20 Penny Circus.

The show opens with a man who looks like a mime, taking umbrellas out of a brown box sitting on stage. After he’s removed all of the umbrellas from the box he opens it up and another man who also looks like he’s a mime stands up and they introduce themselves as the 20 Penny Circus who “specializes in entertainment for people with questionable taste.” And they make it clear that your “puzzles will not be solved and you will see things you will not believe much like jackolopes, the moon landing and economic recovery.” See? It is funny!

Their first act involves walking on glass as one of the men takes off his shoes and socks and continues to step on shards of broken beer bottles. An audience member is then asked to shout out a number and the man must jump on the glass for as many times as the number announced. And that’s not even the craziest part of the act. In the show we saw, a woman from the audience is brought on stage and instructed to step on the man’s head as it rests in the glass. It was hard to watch as his head sunk into the sharp glass but he came out unscathed and with a huge applause from the audience.

The men continue to wow and shock the unsuspecting audience with some pretty funny dialogue and some pretty disturbing magic tricks like when one of them pushes a nail all the way into his nose and then picks it back out. There is also an act that involves swallowing a coin and then pulling it out of his nose with a pair of scissors, Russian roulette with staple guns and much more.

20 Penny Circus is definitely a freakish side show act and one you should definitely try and fit in between haunted houses and scare zones. It’s not the scariest thing you’ll see all night but some of the acts are definitely haunting! But hurry you only have two weeks left to see 20 Penny Circus and the rest of Halloween Horror Nights 22 horror. You can find discounted Halloween Horror Nights tickets right here on Best of Orlando.

Check out our Facebook page for a discussion and more photos of this risqué Halloween Horror Nights show.

For more tips on HHN 22, check out our Behind the Scene look and Guide to Halloween Horror Nights, where you can learn about all the houses and scare zones, time management tips, and loads more!   
 
 
Orlando, FL 10/22/12