The Haunted Carnival
The carnival arrived without posters, without radio ads, without warning. One night the empty fairgrounds at the edge of town simply changed . Rusted gates stood wide open. Strings of lights flickered weakly, glowing a sickly yellow against the fog. No one remembered seeing the trucks come in. I noticed it first on my walk home. Music drifted through the trees - tinny and warped, like it was being played underwater. A carousel tune. Slow. Wrong. Every instinct told me to turn around, but curiosity pulled harder than fear. The Ferris wheel creaked as it turned, though no one sat inside. Each empty car swayed gently, like it was breathing. The air smelled of damp hay, oil, and something faintly sweet… like rotting cotton candy. “Hello?” I called. The sound was swallowed immediately. The midway stretched farther than it should have. Lights buzzed weakly, casting long, crooked shadows that twitched when I wasn’t looking. Every game booth looked abandoned, yet every prize was dusty with fin...
