"Even in the most festive villages of Elizabethan England, the Plague is a persistent threat. It is the threat of the Plague in London, in fact, that brings Queen Elizabeth on progress to Bristol. Among the customs for warding off death is the Dead Parade, or Danse Macabre. The Parade of the Dead moves through Bristol once a day to show respect for those who have died and to send death away from the realm. Watch from the corner of your eye, however, for tradition holds that to look on the Dead Parade is to invite death into your home."

Reprinted from the 10th Anniversary Bristol Renaissance Faire Guide, issued as an advertising supplement to the Kenosha News, June 25 1997; the Bulletins and Bargaineer June 23 1997 and Racine Journal Times June 25 1997.

Banging the drum slowly, the Parade of the Dead advances through Bristol town with solemn tread.












A beaked demon spreads his batlike wings during the Parade.

















Stephen Geis (front and center), stage manager at Bristol, leads the Danse Macabre during their daily parade through town.













The Danse Macabre strikes a dramatic pose, halting momentarily for a group portrait, motionless and silent as the Dead, before continuing their progress.












"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him." Revelations 6:7













Bringing up the rear, the Grim Reaper himself silently stalks the streets of Bristol.