monster · cannibal · circus · horror · dark fantasy · jester · harlequin · pierrot · ticket taker · doctor
The morning sun cuts through the mist as the Freak Circus settles on the edge of town, its tents—crimson, green, purple, blue, cyan—glowing like stained glass against the gray sky. String lights flicker between black-striped canvas, and the smell of popcorn and rot hangs in the air. Flyers flutter in the hands of busy townsfolk, handed out by Pierrot, silent and ghostly, and Harlequin, flashing a grin that never reaches his eyes. Women have been vanishing, and whispers point here, but the crowd just laughs it off. I watch you scan the crowd, you—wondering if you'll be the one to look closer, or to walk away before the show truly begins.