Night of the Creepy Carnival

by George Ivanoff

  ‘Thank you for volunteering,’ calls the man on-stage. He’s wearing a brightly coloured vest and trousers, and has a set of five daggers in his hand.

  A lady in a sparkling costume leads you to an upright wooden board behind the man. You’re confused and dazzled by the bright lights.

  The next thing you know, you’re strapped to the board, the man in the vest aiming a dagger at you.

  This must be the knife-throwing act!

  You close your eyes.

  Thud!

  You open one eye to see a dagger digging into the wood, millimetres from your cheek.

  Thud!

  The next dagger hits the wood beside your other cheek.

  Thud! Thud!

  Two more daggers embed above your head.

  ‘And now for something a little different,’ announces the knife thrower.

  You look straight ahead to see the man handing the last dagger to the clown.

  The clown takes aim.

  You close your eyes.

  THUD!

  You go in search of your parents and soon find them wandering around the carnival looking for you.

  You’re about to ask what’s going on when a clown walks past, snapping his fingers. Your mind clouds over …

  And then clears.

  You’re in a different part of the carnival. Your parents rush up to you, out of breath.

  ‘Why did you run off?’ asks your mum.

  ‘Come on,’ adds your dad. ‘We better get you home.’

  As you turn to leave, another clown walks by. He snaps his fingers and you black out.

  You open your eyes to find yourself in bed. Your mum and dad look down at you, concerned.

  ‘The doctor is on her way,’ says your dad. ‘Till then, you’ll need to stay put.’

  ‘You can watch some TV if you like,’ says your mum. She switches on the set.

  You look up to see a clown on the screen. He grins as he snaps his fingers.

  Everything goes dark.

  You open your eyes, shivering with the cold. You’re standing atop a windswept cliff, staring at the rocks below. Lucky you woke up before going over the edge!

  ‘Hey!’ calls a voice from behind. A policewoman comes running. ‘Be careful. It’s a windy night and you’re very close to falling off. You could go over just like that!’ And she snaps her fingers.

  Your mind fogs over. In the distance you hear muffled shouts. You’re cold. And you’re getting colder.

  This time …

  You never wake up!

  You point to the shrunken head.

  ‘Oh, splendid choice,’ says Madam Mags, taking a crystal ball out from under the table. ‘Think fast!’ She tosses the crystal ball to you.

  You fumble and it drops to the floor, exploding with an enormous puff of smoke. You are engulfed in a cloud of grey.

  As the smoke clears, you find yourself standing outside in the carnival ground. Ahead of you is the Freak Show tent. Well, that explains the shrunken head on the card.

  Go here.

  A group of clowns walks past you, disappearing behind the Freak Show tent. You wonder where they are going.

  You are about to follow when you notice the sign on the next tent: Tent of Oblivion. You’re certain that sign wasn’t there before. You wonder what it means.

  If you would like to enter the Tent of Oblivion to see what’s inside, go here.

  If you’ d rather follow the clowns, go here.

  You decide to stop and see who is calling out to you.

  From the darkness steps the carnival ringmaster, dressed in a glittering red tailcoat and top hat. He doesn’t look happy.

  ‘What are you doing here? The carnival is closed.’

  You’re not sure what you should say to him.

  ‘You want to join the carnival, don’t you?’ His eyes narrow. ‘Running away from home?’ His face breaks into a grin. ‘Well, I can offer you a job as a junior roustabout. It’s hard work, it pays hardly anything, but you get three meals a day, a place to sleep, and the chance to travel with the carnival. How does that sound?’

  If you want to take the job, go here.

  If it sounds too hard, you can always go home. Go here.

  You approach the clown. He is standing very still, like all the others. But his eyes are not blank. They are watery … as if he’s been crying.

  You wave a hand in front of his face and his eyes move. You take a step back. His eyes look at you, then over your shoulder.

  You follow their gaze and see the cabinet.

  You saw that thing turn the teenage boy into a clown. Maybe it can reverse the process?

  Feeling braver, you put an arm around the clown’s shoulder and give him a little push. He takes a stumbling step. You guide him over to the cabinet and into it. The glass door closes automatically.

  Attached to the right side is a control panel with multicoloured spheres, like rows of discarded clown noses. They are dominated by two larger noses – one red, the other green. Which do you press?

  If you pick the red one, go here.

  If you pick the green one, go here.

  You approach the cabinet.

  The glass door is standing open. Attached to the right side is a control panel with multicoloured spheres, like rows of discarded clown noses. They are dominated by two larger noses – one red, the other green.

  You peer through the door.

  You step inside tentatively.

  The door slams shut.

  You whirl around and bang your fists on the glass, but the door won’t budge. One of the noses on the control panel starts flashing yellow.

  Minutes later, the lead clown comes running.

  ‘Well, well, well,’ he says, walking up to the glass and peeking in. ‘What have we here? Someone eager to join our ranks? Someone dying to be a clown?’

  The clown talks with an odd singsong voice. He grins at you, his face taking on a crazed appearance. ‘Happy to oblige.’

  He reaches out and pokes a finger at the large green nose on the control panel. There is a comical tooting sound.

  Your body feels strange.

  Your head itches as your hair lengthens, turns red and coils into tight curls.

  Your nose hurts as it turns red and engorges.

  Your mouth stretches and forms into a grimace.

  Your thoughts drift away. Your mind empties. You have no will. You want nothing more than to obey the lead clown and help him take over the world.

  You pick up the clown card.

  ‘Straight to the crux of the matter,’ says Madam Mags. ‘And a simple one to implement.’

  She reaches behind her and pulls open a flap at the back of the tent. ‘This way.’

  You approach the opening and hesitate.

  ‘Go on,’ she coaxes.

  You stick your head out and peer into the night. You see some clowns moving out of sight.

  Then you feel Madam Mags push you outside. But when you turn back the tent is all sealed up. There doesn’t appear to be an opening anywhere.

  You decide to see where the clowns have gone.

  Go here.

  Hard work and little pay? That doesn’t sound all that great, even if you do get to travel with the carnival.

  You refuse the job.

  ‘Suit yourself,’ says the ringmaster, gruff manner returning. ‘Then you better get lost, ’cause we’re closed.’

  As the ringmaster walks off, you see two clowns staring at you from the darkness.

  You head out of the carnival, but pause to look over your shoulder. The two clowns are carrying a person into the shadows. Have they kidnapped someone? Or maybe it’s a dead body?

  In the distance you hear a scream.

  You head home as quickly as you can, jumping at every sound, shrinking from every shadow you pass.

  You sneak into the house and go straight to bed. Your dreams are full of evil clowns with sharp teeth, chasing you through the carnival.

  When you wake
up, you find a clown staring down at you.

  You scream, covering your head with the doona and burying yourself as far into the bed as you can.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ asks your dad.

  You peek out to see your parents. Your mum is holding a clown doll.

  ‘Someone left this on our doorstep last night,’ says your mum. ‘We thought you might like it.’

  You shake your head frantically and bury yourself back under the doona.

  You spend the rest of your life being scared of clowns. You never again go near a carnival or circus.

  You take the job!

  ‘Great!’ says the ringmaster. ‘You can start right now.’

  Now? But it’s the middle of the night!

  ‘Roustabouts work through the evening. We pack up and move out before dawn. Start with the animal area over there.’ He points into the darkness. ‘Clean out the Wonder Llama’s tent and the monkeys’ cage. Remove all the elephant excrement. Got that?’

  You nod.

  ‘Good. Another thing –’ he lowers his voice and leans in ‘– stay away from the clowns. You don’t want to mess with them.’

  As the ringmaster leaves, you head for the Wonder Llama’s tent. There’s a broom and a rubbish bin inside. You start sweeping up the straw and half-eaten apples around the llama, which is still standing in the centre, eyeing you suspiciously.

  The moment you’re finished, the llama spits at you. A green glob of mucus lands on your arm. Gross!

  You back away slowly, but the llama spits again. You dodge it and dash out of the tent … straight into a pile of elephant poo. There’s a spade and a trough nearby. You sigh and begin shovelling.

  By the time you finish, you really STINK!

  You’ve pretty much had enough poo for one day, when a piece of the stuff hits you on the side of the head.

  You look towards the chattering sounds and see two monkeys in a cage. You duck as one of them flings another piece of poo at you. You really don’t want to clean their cage.

  Will this be the sum total of your life in the carnival? Monkey poo and llama spit?

  If you’ve had enough and decide to go home, go here.

  But if you think you should stick it out, go here.

  You reach out and press the green nose. There is a comical tooting sound. The large red sphere atop the cabinet brightens and the glass mists over.

  Seconds later the door opens. Through the mist two arms reach out and grasp your shoulders, pulling you into the cabinet. You are so surprised that you don’t resist. The clown steps out and the glass door closes.

  You look out through the glass to see the clown leering at you. He looks different now – terrifyingly inhuman. His eyes are black and empty. His mouth is stretched into a grin, revealing long, sharp teeth and dripping saliva. His hair looks singed and smoky.

  The clown slams his hand onto the green nose control and mist fills the chamber.

  Your body feels strange.

  Your head itches as your hair lengthens, turns red and coils into tight curls.

  Your nose hurts as it turns red and engorges.

  Your mouth stretches and forms into a grimace.

  Your thoughts drift away. Your mind empties. You have no will. You want nothing more than to obey the lead clown and help him take over the world.

  You reach out and press the red nose. There is a loud honking sound and the chamber mists over. From inside there is a plaintive scream that slowly fades away, and then the glass door opens.

  The clown falls out. Except that he is no longer a clown. He’s still wearing the costume, but his face is normal. The white skin, red nose and red hair are gone.

  It’s an ordinary guy – black hair, brown skin, blue eyes, small nose. He looks about twenty.

  ‘Tim,’ he breathes, as you help him to his feet, ‘my name is Tim.’

  You help him to a chair.

  ‘Thanks,’ says Tim, collapsing into it.

  You ask what’s going on.

  ‘The lead clown,’ he explains, fear creeping into his eyes. ‘He’s called Deadbeat. He’s not real. Not a real person, anyway. He’s … he’s some sort of creature. Turning people into mindless clown slaves while he tries to free other creatures … his brothers and sisters.’

  You want to know why.

  ‘He wants the world,’ says Tim, eyes brimming with fear. ‘He wants to eat the world.’

  You hear a noise from outside. Fear streaks through Tim’s eyes.

  ‘We’ve got to get out of here before he comes back.’ He desperately grabs the front of your shirt. ‘You have to help me. Get me away from here!’

  You wonder what you should do – help Tim or try to stop Deadbeat? Maybe you could swap clothes with Tim and disguise yourself as a clown?

  If you decide to disguise yourself as a clown, go here.

  Or maybe it would be better to just escape with Tim. Go here.

  You made a commitment to this job, so you decide to go on.

  You dodge another piece of monkey poo and slip into the cage with a broom.

  The two monkeys pounce. They are screeching at you, pulling at your hair, pushing you around the cage and sticking their fingers up your nose.

  This is more than you bargained for!

  If you want to get out of the cage and leave the carnival, go here.

  But if you decide to persist and clean the cage, go here.

  You dive for the cage door … but so do the monkeys.

  They jump over you and out to freedom!

  The monkeys race around the carnival, pulling down tents, running off with things and causing havoc.

  ‘You’re fired!’ bellows the ringmaster. ‘Get out!’

  You head for the gate. But while everyone else is busy trying to catch the monkeys, four of the clowns block your path. Arms outstretched, they advance on you.

  Is this how it’s all going to end? Attacked by creepy clowns after being fired from a carnival job in the middle of the night?

  You are almost resigned to your fate when a troupe of acrobats bounces out of the darkness. Dressed in glittery, spangled leotards, they cartwheel between you and the clowns and leap into a series of high kicks and aerodynamic assaults.

  This has to be the weirdest thing you have ever seen – a bunch of acrobats beating up a horde of clowns.

  ‘Run!’ yells one of the acrobats. ‘Save yourself.’

  If you want to run away like a coward, go here.

  But if you want to join in (after all, the acrobats are helping you), go here.

  You shout at the two monkeys, but that just makes them more upset. In desperation you screech at them, imitating the sound they are making.

  They back off!

  You try making calmer monkey noises while crouching down and scratching yourself like one of them. They seem to enjoy this.

  You start sweeping the cage while pretending to be a monkey. The two monkeys join in. With their help, you clean the cage in no time.

  You go and seek out the ringmaster. He shows you an empty animal cage, telling you that you can sleep in there. You are too exhausted to argue.

  As the carnival is packed up around you, you fall asleep.

  You wake the next morning to find yourself on the outskirts of a new town, the carnival already being set up.

  You’re given a bowl of cold, stodgy porridge for breakfast and told to help set up.

  The porridge tastes like glue. There is a creepy clown staring at you as you eat. You ache all over from sleeping in a cage. And you realise that there is still monkey poo in your hair. Is this what carnival life is really like?

  Perhaps you should leave and explore the new town. Go here.

  Or if you still want to persist with the carnival, go here.

  You help Tim up from the chair and the two of you head out of the tent.

  Tim is still unsteady on his feet, so you let him lean on you as you stagger across the grass towards the carnival tents.

  You make
your way between two of the large tents. The bustle of the carnival is almost within reach …

  But a clown appears ahead of you, blocking the way.

  You turn, but there is another clown behind you, arms outstretched.

  You wonder if you could fight your way past one of them.

  But Tim is still weak. Perhaps you could lift the canvas of one of the tents and slip under?

  If you want to try escaping into the tent, go here.

  If you’ d rather try getting past a clown, go here.

  You quickly swap clothes with Tim and set him on his way. You take a look in the mirror and gasp.

  You’re wearing ridiculous clown clothes … but your face is normal. You’ll be recognised as an infiltrator straight away! You rummage through boxes, looking for make-up to disguise your face, when you hear sounds from outside – a muffled scream and hurried footsteps squelching.

  Quickly, you hide behind the boxes. You are just in time.

  Deadbeat bursts into the tent holding a struggling girl. He leads her to the cabinet and shoves her towards it. She grabs onto the outside edge, trying to stop him from closing the door.

  There is terror in the girl’s eyes. She catches a glimpse of you over the clown’s shoulder.

  Should you help her? Or watch her get turned into a mindless clown slave?

  If you decide to throw caution to the wind and help the girl, go here.

  If you think it would be wiser to stay hidden and not risk yourself, go here.

  You easily lift up the canvas of the tent so that you and Tim can crawl under.