Jaded Easter pageant viewers require more fake blood

You’d think the gore of Halloween, with its vampires, monsters and horror-film killers, would mean October is high season for fake blood.

But at Performance Studios costuming shop in Nashville, high season for fake blood is now, and the biggest buyers are churches.

“At Halloween, we sell blood by the ounce. At Easter, we sell blood by the gallon,” owner Gary Broadrick says.

Churches that do Passion plays depicting Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection come in search of biblical attire and stage makeup, including plenty of stage blood. The blood is necessary to bring home the message of Jesus’ sacrifice, church officials say.

“To see that blood makes it very real,” said Sheri Simpson, drama ministry coordinator at Two Rivers Baptist Church.”It wasn’t just a small slap on the hand. He was really tortured.”

Play producers are faced with grabbing an audience that may attend church only twice a year in a culture that has become inured to – sometimes even expectant of – blood and gore. “It’s almost like drug use,” said Paul Prill, a professor at Lipscomb University. “After a while, it doesn’t affect us as much anymore.”