These Eerie Photos From German Carnival Celebrations Will Haunt You

Good luck going to the carnival next year.

Photographer Axel Hoedt's new book Dusk chronicles the revelry, and occasional abnormality, of carnival culture throughout southwestern Germany and parts of Austria and Switzerland.

His eerie images counter the "traditional (and often clichéd) representations of carnival," a description of the project reads. "Here are no paraders somersaulting before the crowds, no embarrassing scenes of drunken debauchery."

Carnival culture is far different in parts of Europe from the roving theme park familiar to many Americans. The celebratory season, called Karneval or Fasching in Germany, traditionally begins Nov. 11 at 11:11 a.m., though the parties, festivals and parades ramp up in early January. It runs until Ash Wednesday. Hoedt's photos capture the essence of modern revelers to "reminds us of what carnival once used to be: a final celebration before the dawning of hard times."

Take a look at some of the stunning images, all of which are featured in Dusk, below.