Scary Carnival Novels & Stories

“And that place already smelled like despair.” I reached out. My fingers brushed the spine of a volume labeled DROWNED CARNIVAL. The second line glowed. CYCLE RANGE: 280–303 PRIMARY THEMES: FEAR / CONTROL / LAUGHTER_AS_EDGE I tugged it off the shelf. It was heavier than it looked. When I cracked it open somewhere near the middle, ink‑lines on the page rippled and rose up off the paper, coalescing into a scene above the book. We watched ourselves—smaller, flatter, a memory playing in three dimensions: the Ferris wheel looming, cars creaking, Maria’s hand on Jax’s arm, my own breath fogging in the cold carnival air. The text under the image scrolled like captions:

"Because surprises are half the fun. And besides, just because it's not a real date doesn't mean it can't be a memorable one." I roll my eyes but can't help the flutter of excitement in my stomach. He parks his car and urges me to get out then we start walking As we turn a corner, I gasp in surprise. We are standing in front of an old-fashioned carnival, complete with a Ferris wheel, a carousel, and a row of brightly lit game booths. "Welcome to the carnival," Ryder said with a grin. I snort. "Really?" Ryder almost looks offended. "What? I thought we could have fun and be kids for a day. I don't get to come here with my friends or teammates because..." he pauses.

"Within my years of being here, this is my most favorite spot. The carnival!" "This is nothing but torture; are you kidding me?" The werewolf scoffed. "I could barely hear my own thoughts; my ears are ringing! I can't pinpoint what it is that I am smelling; everything is mixing with everything else! Look at how many people are here; I can avoid all of them!" "Of course, this is a carnival, Zoren; people come here to have fun!" "It's not looking so fun." "It will be fun soon, so don't worry."

Vivian and I laughed at the action and I complied with his wishes as we climbed up on the ride. I scooped him up and placed him on a unicorn as I sat behind him on a tiger. The ride started and I could hear the joyful screaming from Noel. Vivian stood and waved at us and I noticed she looked a little pale. As we were turning around I kept looking around, and I noticed two tall figures who didn’t quite fit in the atmosphere of the family carnival. I saw them looking at Vivian as they approached slowly. I raised up preparing myself to grab Noel and get to her.

It was carved into the shape of a smiling Bhramuth, and the warmth of her skin lingered on it. Now, without the pendant, Charlotte finally saw her colleagues, who had been there all along. "We have plenty of employees here. From now on, you'll be working with them," I told her. I clapped my hands happily as I watched terror spread across her face. "What is happening? What are these things?" Charlotte screamed. The workshop was crowded with ghosts. At that moment, they were all sizing her up. They looked disturbing—headless men, women with missing limbs, and even malformed infants. No one could witness such a sight and remain unshaken.

I watch as the living room dissolves and we found ourselves sitting down on a bench, facing the largest carnival I have ever seen. “Wow.” Screams pierced my eardrums and I eyed the long caterpillar-like vehicle which barrelled down the rickety rail. There is a giant wheel that spins in all directions and I am pretty sure that there is more to what I am seeing right now. I stared up at Caelum to see him beaming from ear to ear, “Come on!” He yanked me inside the carnival; both of our faces splitting because of the grin we are sporting, our excitement full to the brim.

"Indianna!" Indianna was stopped in the hallway by Stacy who had a huge smile on her face. "I've not seen you in a while, how are you, Indie?" She asked. "Good, thanks. You?" "Great, I'm so excited for the carnival!" She squealed and Indianna frowned. "Carnival?" "Yeah, the school throws one every year. It's this weekend!" "Oh." "You didn't know?" Stacy gasped. "Obviously not."

He smirked like a devil and dragged us to the wheel after collecting our tickets. It was hell of a ride, I and Travis screamed and shouted whenever the wheel come down. Tristan just sat, clutching the bar tightly. We regretted for challenging him. By the time we got off the ride, our heads were spinning so we directly went to a cold drink shop and bought cola. “I won’t come to carnival again. You are a devil, Tristan.” I glared him, he earned same glare from Travis. “Didn’t you like the taste of your own medicine, losers?” He laughed and we chased him.

"No matter how these men were infected with Vampirism, we still have an issue of humans being turned." Cain grabbed a steel scalpel from the tray beside the examination table and used it to turn the corpse's head. On the side of his neck were two small. round scars. "So the real questions are: why was a human-turned Vampire in Otto Müller's casket? And why was one trying to kill Ella?" Daniel asked. "He was trying to kill me," Cain objected. "He didn't know she was there." Daniel rolled his eyes. "Fine... why was a human-turned Vampire trying to kill you?" Daniel corrected.

Harbor City's Midtown Plaza had sealed off a quarter of their parking lot and invited a cheesy carnival to come and steal money from the residents of the city in the guise of entertainment. Crazy lights, loud, obnoxious music, and barkers calling out to everyone who passed by, enticing them to come lose their money on a game of chance. Trace thought it was perfect for a date with Giselle. He hoped to win her one of those giant stuffed animals that boyfriends lug around the carnival in order to impress the girl who didn't really need impressing. Yet, he needed to impress Giselle. He may never get another chance with a girl again. Not with his luck, that is. Or his lifestyle.