PHOTO PROMPT © Mr. Binks
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Willard looked up from beneath the discarded canvas at the base of the ride. He heard the squeals of the happy rubes spinning and twisting, hoping they’d vomit.
The sound of tinny calliope music, the sickening smell of cotton candy, or someone gorging another cheap hotdog with mustard filled him with nothing but hate. Big Luther said he still got nostalgic, but his brain rotted long ago.
Will nodded to the others, each one in their hidden positions. Just at ten, when the crowds were wildest and the carny lights blotted out the stars of heaven, they’d begin the slaughter.
It’s Wednesday and once again time to participate in Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ 31 May 2024 edition of Friday Fictioneers. The idea is to use the image above as the prompt for crafting a poem or short story no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 100.
The scene is obviously a carnival ride. I haven’t been to a carnival or anything similar in decades. I’m not a fan of crowds and generally there isn’t anything there I’m attached to.
However, I am aware of the dark history of the carnival Geek Show. In the “bad old days,” carnivals would enlist some poor person, usually an alcoholic or drug addict, to be a “geek,” a freakish person who would perform all manner of bizarre and repulsive acts such as biting off the heads of live chickens (that’s entertainment, folks). They were paid in booze, especially during the prohibition, or drugs.
Thankfully, that practice is now gone, although the plight of the carnival geek made its way into movies and television shows across the decades. Read more about them in this article at CBR.com.
To read other stories based on the prompt, visit inlinkz.
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Poor unsuspecting people…
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And probably undeserving since the modern crowd never “benefited” from a geek show. But these people have been victimized for decades and they’re pretty unhinged.
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I’d say definitely undeserving!
And yes. I never could understand how they could create those types of awful shows. The poor “performers”. Awful.
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A ghost train is the scariest thing I’ve exprienced at a carnival – it hardly compares with that!
*Interesting footnote!
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Thanks.
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Well-written, and I guess I don’t blame the low-lifes for wanting a bit of revenge. I remember one of Rutger Hauer’s last roles was in, “Hobo with a Shotgun,” which turned into quite the bloodfest of payback upon some bullies forcing hobos to do terrible things.
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Pretty much the same thing, although the potential for collateral damage is huge. Thanks.
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You’re welcome. “An eye for an eye” and all that…
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Oh! Looks like a gory end to all that fun.
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It will be. Thanks.
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Now, they get to bite off people’s heads. That has to be more fulfilling. At least more filling. Who would have thought back then that someday we’d have an entire world of entertainment in our hands?
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They might use knives and guns, though. Thanks.
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Ah, the dangerous and intriguing life of the carny folk. Step right up! You never know what’s coming next. Very clever and dark take, James. Well done!
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Thank you.
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A clear definition of Killjoy. I had to look up rubes, not a word I was familiar with.
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Old carny term for the customers, usually a pejorative. Just about every industry has a name like that for their patrons. I found out decades ago that airline passengers are referred to as geese and at Yosemite National Park, the visitors are called turkeys.
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Oooof. Those poor, unsuspecting people.
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Indeed, Angela. Thanks.
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I stay away from carnivals. I’ve always felt a dark undercurrent. Now I know why. Horrifying footnotes. Your story captures the darkness very well.
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Carnivals do have their darker side, although the patrons usually don’t see it. Used to be when they played these small towns a few teenagers would runaway with the carny when they left. Don’t know how common that is anymore.
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Oh no… the end is coming. A bloodthirsty end James. Well done. All light and happiness on the outside harbouring a dark secret
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So many dark secrets in the world, Laurie. Thanks.
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The hatred is palpable.
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That went dark in a well-told way. As an American I got chills, because anyone opening fire anytime anywhere is a very real thing these days.
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