There was that whistling again, only louder now.
His ears were playing tricks.
Though darkness had fallen, Paul cast a shadow towards the helter-skelter. That was impossible because there were no lights in the clearing and, when he looked up, the moon sat in the sky a little above the tops of the trees in front of him.
Paul exhaled heavily. He refused to look back. Something made him afraid of what he might witness. Since he had arrived at the ruins, he’d made a conscious effort to look in any direction but straight into the middle of the fair. The Big Top, the epicenter of the inferno.
Now there was a faint crackling, like a small bonfire. His shadow wavered. He smelled smoke.
Afraid to turn around, Paul ran blindly towards the main entrance. He had to get out of there. He was losing his mind, and if he stayed any longer, he’d never get it back. About thirty feet from the entrance arch, something caught Paul’s foot and sent him sprawling in the dry grass. Rising to his knees, he saw his singed teddy bear with its arms around the rotted remains of the stuffed penguin.
He didn’t remember dropping the bear.
Then
When Paul returned from the toilets, Ginnie was nowhere to be seen. In fact, there was hardly anyone about other than carnies, who looked like the barkers, only scruffier. Were all the employees related? The concession stands and games were almost silent. The rides had stopped, even though there were still people on them.
At the top of the Ferris wheel, the kids stuck in the seats looked terrified. They screamed at the ride operator to start the thing up so they could get off, but the controls had been abandoned. The carousel and Spider were motionless, the riders looking confused and a little afraid.
Paul felt lost, deflated. Ginnie had left him. Why? Had it been a dream after all?
A few stragglers walked into the Big Top. The barker still called out his spiel about the wonders to be viewed within. He looked directly at Paul, waved him over with a huge, too-wide smile.
“Come on, young lad. Join in the fun.” When Paul looked closer, the smile wasn’t happy and sincere. It looked more like a sneer. There were lots of teeth. Too many. “She’s already inside, waiting for you.”
“Ginnie?” said Paul quietly. The barker nodded as if he could hear him from so far away.
That’s when he spotted her, walking past the entrance, inside the Big Top, as if in a daze. He called out to her. She stopped, glanced in his direction. The look on her face utterly sad, as if she knew she and Paul would never be together, as if she had lost all hope.
Now
Paul got up. In front of him, his shadow wavered. From the corners of his eyes, he saw the flicker from many colorful lights. Very slowly, terrified of what he might see, he turned.
The looming remains of the Big Top rose before him. The main poles rose from the blackened ground like the skeletal spine of some gigantic beast. Tatters of burned canvas swayed in the wind, which picked up speed, stirring up the dust and dried grass. Inside the Big Top, the bleachers, burned and twisted from the heat, remained horrible reminders of how many hundreds of people had been crammed under the tent. Something moved in the ash, though Paul couldn’t be sure because of the waning light.
Beyond the Big Top, where the beer tent had been, was nothing but a hole. It looked as though the place had exploded and taken every sign of the structure away. Was that where it had started?
A massive and painful creaking arose at the back of the compound where the outline of the ruined roller coaster showed in front of the trees. Paul blinked when he saw something move. Whatever it was, it was massive.
It rose from the wreckage, a gigantic animal with long legs. Too many legs for any normal creature that size. While Paul watched, the animal changed form, melded with the roller coaster, and took on a new form. Lights popped on from ground level, illuminating the coaster. Paul shook his head. There was no way he was seeing what he was seeing.
The roller coaster was whole again. Lights snapped on beneath the rails. Flags along the highest points flapped in the wind. The screams started quietly, then rose to a crescendo as a line of cars sped along the tracks. There were people in the cars, none moving.
Sudden flashes of light to his right revealed another impossible thing. Paul watched the collapsed helter-skelter unfold itself, close the tears in its aluminum skin and rise to its former glory. Shadows flew down the spiral slide, followed by hysterical screams. The Ferris wheel, its seats filled with screaming kids and adults, slowly rotated. Colored lights blinked on and off along the spokes.
The carousel now whirred to life, that weird, whistling organ music playing while it spun. All the oddball mounts were back, each carrying a screaming person. The operator—from the same family as the barkers and carnies?—unmoving in the middle, stared straight at Paul, his eyes dark caverns within a too pale face. His mouth was bigger than it should have been, with more gleaming white teeth than humanly possible.
The concession stands and gaming booths were back, devoid of fair-goers. The carnies running them stood silently, staring at Paul. He could tell the ones closest were giving him toothy smiles.
Then the most frightening thing. In a clash of metal, the wrecked Spider stood and scuttled back to its place by the carousel. In the seats, riders sat paralyzed with fear, their horrified faces staring at nothing.
Then
From behind the Big Top, something exploded, sending orange and yellow flames impossibly high into the dark sky. The Big Top erupted into flames, while the piping music rose to drown out the frightened shrieks of those trapped inside. The wind, seemingly almost gale-force now, fanned the flames so that within seconds the whole fair was alight.
Black smoke billowed above the burning fair. Paul thought he saw a face but knew instantly that it was a ridiculous idea. That is until its eyes opened and looked into his soul.
Over by the carousel, the winged mounts, still carrying their writhing riders, appeared to take flight. Other wingless mounts skittered away, disappearing into the spreading inferno. The Spider clicked and clacked as it broke free of its moorings and walked unsteadily towards the flaming Big Top, its riders desperately trying to free themselves.
Despite the death and destruction surrounding them, none of the fair workers moved a muscle. They were smiling.
Rooted to the spot, unable to help, Paul watched, overcome with sadness and helplessness, as Ginnie emerged alone from the Big Top, aflame and calling his name. Her eyes sought him out, found him, then melted. Her flesh blackening, cooking, she ran towards him, still holding the penguin.
In seconds, the Big Top collapsed.
Paul fled, leaving behind the only person that mattered to him.
Now
There was an explosion. It was happening again. In a blink, everything before Paul was burning. As before, Paul stood, unable to move. His heart pounded. Ginnie was inside again, and there was nothing he could do.
He saw her emerge, again. She ran to him, her long flaming hair waving behind her, leaving a trail of sparks. Her skin was untouched. She was silent, but her eyes told him everything he needed to know.
This time, he stood his ground. Her arms wrapped around him and he drew her closer in a fiery embrace. Paul kissed Ginnie’s face and knew he’d find peace at last. All but one of his senses failed him as he died. Happy at last.
He smelled vanilla.
7
Curse of the Puppet Man by Chisto Healy
“Turn it on,” James said, glancing over at his friend in the passenger seat before gluing his eyes back to the road.
“It’s already on,” Fred said from behind the camera. “I’m recording. Go.”
“Dammit, man, you gotta tell me these things. Give me a second to get ready. All right. We can fix it in editing.” James looked over at the camera and smiled. “I’m James Montgomery, and the guy behind the camera is Fred Peterson. You can’t see him, but he’s actually the prettier one.”
“Shut up,”
Fred said with a laugh. “Just tell them what we’re doing and why.”
“All right, all right,” James said. He pointed to a sign and Fred turned the camera to focus on it. It said Welcome to Merryville. “We’ve come to the town of Merryville to investigate the legend of Puppet Man. For those of you who don’t know, there was once a circus here. It was called JoJo’s Hometown Circus, and people came from all over to experience it. It was the big deal, like fifty years ago.
“Then there was a massacre. Everyone who worked at the circus was murdered. Everyone except the tall man. It was speculated that he was the murderer. Since the circus shut down, many people have ventured to its cadaverous remains without returning, and legend has it that the tall man is still there and still killing. We’re here to find out for ourselves.”
“Cadaverous remains was nice. Did you just come up with that?” Fred remarked.
“Yeah, dude. It just came out. Let’s stop for food. There’s a diner up there. Maybe we can interview some of the locals while we’re there.”
“Good call. I could kill for a burger.”
“Please don’t. They’ve had enough murder around here.” James pulled into a parking space at the diner and cut off the van’s engine. When he got out, he stood beside the van. “Wait. Let’s do a bit more before we go in. Get the diner sign.”
Fred turned the camera towards the front of the diner, and he laughed from behind the lens. “Man, this is old-fashioned as hell. This whole place is a throwback. I love it.”
“All right. Come on.” Fred stood before him, and the camera focused on his face. “So last year, four college students came out to the dead circus, and all are said to be dead. Sally, Burton, Marshall, and Erika. Those were their names. Some people say they just ran away together, that they didn’t want to be found. Others say that the Puppet Man got them. We’re hoping to find something to tell us for sure while we’re here.”
“Can we eat now?” Fred lowered the camera and headed for the door to the diner.
“Wait. Was that good?” James asked, hurrying behind him.
Fred opened the diner door, and bells jingled. A smiling blonde woman in a baby blue diner uniform greeted him. “Just sit anywhere, darling,” she said.
Fred gave her a wave and a smile, and James did the same as he came behind him and followed him to a booth in the back.
“You know,” Fred said quietly when they sat down. “You keep talking about Puppet Man, but you haven’t explained the part about the puppets. Maybe we should redo some of that.”
“Suspense is good, isn’t it?” James answered. He looked up at the woman from earlier who was now standing at the side of the table. “Cheeseburger and fries, please.”
She batted her long lashes and popped the gum in her mouth. “I like a man that don’t even need the menu,” she told him.
“Well, in that case,” Fred said. “I will also take a burger and fries. No cheese.”
The waitress shook her head. “Nobody likes a follower, son. Be your own man.”
When she walked away, James laughed. He took the camera that his friend laid on the table and pointed it at Fred. “Tell us how it felt to get burned by the waitress just now.”
“Put it down,” Fred said. “I’ll just edit it out, anyway.”
A man at another table looked up from his plate. “You boys making a movie?”
James pointed the camera his way. “We’re looking into the disappearances of four college kids last year at the abandoned circus.”
The man stared at the camera in silence for a moment. Then he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Some ketchup still clung to his beard. “That circus is on private property. You can’t go out there with or without cameras. There ain’t nothing to see, anyway. Been empty a long time.”
Fred turned in his seat and looked at the man. “So, you don’t believe in the Puppet Man?”
The man just stared in silence again and then went back to eating.
“Sir?” James asked from behind the camera. “Do you believe in the Puppet Man?”
“It’s all just tales,” the waitress said as she slid two plates in front of them. “An eight-foot-tall man with puppets for hands? Don’t tell me you boys believe in that old ghost story?”
“We don’t know what to believe. That’s why we’re here. To find out the truth.” Fred looked at her name tag. “Sounds like you definitely don’t believe, Judith.”
She laughed and shook her head, popping her gum again. “Folks say the puppets are alive and they’re the ones that are killing folks. Someone even said they were cut off the tall man’s wrists and they just kept on going. You believe that?”
James laughed as he looked at her through the camera lens. “True or not, that’s some creepy stuff.”
“Enjoy your burger and let me know if you need anything else,” Judith said before walking away and pushing through the windowed double doors into the kitchen.
When she was gone and the boys started eating, the man that had spoken before said, “You boys are treating this like it’s some kind of game, but it ain’t. I seen them kids come down here last year. Told em not to hop the fence just like I’m gonna tell you. Hope you listen better than they did.”
James choked down a bite of burger. “Can you say that again on camera?”
The man just frowned. He stood up and threw some crumpled bills on the tabletop beside his empty plate full of dirty napkins. “Maybe someone will come next year looking for you.”
When he walked away, Fred looked at James. “Tell me you got that.”
“I got it,” James said, setting the camera back down. “What if he’s right, though?”
“You’re not chickening out, are you?”
“No.” James went back to eating his burger.
When they finished their food and Fred topped his off with a strawberry shake and more failed flirting with Judith, they drove the van down the road to their motel.
When they got their keys from the office, the clerk said, “You know you didn’t need to make reservations. There are pretty much always rooms available.”
“But this place used to be hopping back when the circus was up and running, didn’t it?” James said as Fred filmed.
“I don’t know. That was before my time.”
“Do you believe in the Puppet Man?”
The bald man shrugged and put his hands down on the counter. “I don’t know about the puppet part, but something ain’t right on ol’ JoJo McCurdy’s land. We dared a boy to go in there on Halloween one year. I mean, we always dared kids, but one year a boy actually took the dare. He never came out. Cops went in, not just local but staties, and they didn’t find the boy or the legendary tall man. They tried to pin it on ol’ Mr. McCurdy, being as it was his land and all. But they couldn’t find any proof, and he does have a no trespassing sign.”
“So, tell us what you think happened? Do you think it was JoJo or the Puppet Man or someone else entirely? Maybe it was an accident.”
The clerk shook his bald head. “I don’t think it was no accident. Folks say the tall man and his puppets all got razor teeth and a taste for human flesh. I think that boy got ate.”
James blinked away his shock. “Wow. Okay. Thanks.”
As they walked to their room, he looked at the camera and said, “You heard it here folks, cannibal puppets.” He laughed and Fred lowered the camera.
“Part of you hopes it’s true, right?” he said, as he used the key to open the room door.
“Not really, no.”
“Come on. You don’t want to see what a tall man with cannibal puppets looks like? That’s an insane image, bro.”
“Yeah.” Fred plopped down on his bed and put his camera on the end table under the lamp. “On another note, JoJo has a fence and a no trespassing sign. He has the legal right to shoot us if we enter without permission.”
“We’ll get permission then,” James answered as he laid on his own bed and turned the old tube TV on. “
Will you look at this thing? Merryville. I love it.”
“What if he doesn’t give permission? That dude probably has people harassing him all the time about that old circus. He could seriously tell us to shove it.”
“I don’t know. We’ll figure it out tomorrow, but don’t think I’m leaving empty-handed. If that dude says no, I’m hopping the fence for sure.”
“Well, I’ll be recording from the other side. Goodnight.”
James laughed at his friend, but it was him who dreamed of the cursed tall man and his wooden friends.
He found himself in the middle of a deserted circus all alone. Except that he wasn’t actually alone at all. And he knew it. He looked all around, trying to find who was watching him. All he saw were tiny silhouettes on old circus tents. The shadows of long forgotten puppets. One wore a crown, the other a hanging court jester hat.
They were just shadows, but they creeped James out something awful. He picked up speed. He ran through the ghost town, and he swore he could hear the cheering and laughing of the crowds of the past. Then he realized that the laughter and cheering wasn’t a ghostly memory. It was them: the puppets. They were laughing at him, cheering him on as he ran.
He kept looking to the side and seeing the shadows on tent walls. They were livelier now, bouncing and moving about to match their cheers and laughs.
A shadow fell over him, blocking the sunlight from reaching him. James skidded to a halt and looked up. The tall man towered over him in his pinstripe suit and matching top hat. He smiled down at James, showing his razor-like teeth.
James screamed and sat up in his bed, glistening with the sheen of a cold sweat. Fred stirred in the other bed and opened his eyes with a groan.
“What’s going on?” he mumbled sleepily.
James wiped the crust from his eyes and rubbed at his face. “I dreamed about it, about him, them, the Puppet Man.”
Dark Carnival (A Horror Anthology) Page 11
