Dr. Creepen's Dungeon - S6 Ep297: Episode 297: Truly Bizarre Horror Stories

Episode Date: December 5, 2025

Today’s first terrifying tale of terror is ‘My Grandmother Used to Keep Me in the Pantry', an original story by Mammoth Formal 1, kindly shared directly with me for the express purpose of having me exclusively narrate it here for you all. https://www.reddit.com/user/MammothFormal1/ We follow that up with ‘I'm Being Forced to Act Out a Kids Cartoon for Children with Serious Issues’, a brilliant original work by Trash Tia, shared directly with me via my sub-reddit and read to you all with the author’s express permission: https://www.reddit.com/user/Trash_Tia/ Tonight’s next nightmarish tale of the macabre is ‘The Real Reason for Australia's Panic Buying...’, an original work by 1 Happy Hermit, shared directly with me for the express purpose of having me narrate it here for you all: https://www.reddit.com/user/1_Happy_Hermit/ Today’s closing tale of terror is all four parts of ‘A Survivor's Accounts of the Depraved Funhouse: The Balloon’, a wonderful original work by Corpse Child, kindly shared directly with me via my subreddit and read here with the author’s express permission: https://www.reddit.com/user/Corpse_Child/

What if this was someone in your family that had a chronic illness that they could not get away from? Millions of Americans live with a disease that has no cure. I was diagnosed with a rare form of sarcoma. The most immediate findings indicated that I should lose my leg. It ended up taking four clinical trials in 25 years to get me to this point. Cures are within reach. if we invest in funding for life-saving medical research that's needed to find them. Even if they're unsuccessful in my treatment that they will have learned from my treatment

that will be able to allow others to stand on my shoulders to be able to be helped. Join the Fight for Cures. Tell your elected representatives to support American medical research. Visit UnitedforCures.org slash action to send a letter today. Paid for by United for Cures Action Welcome to Dr. Creepin's Dungeon Truly bizarre things creep us out because they break the unspoken rules our brains rely on to feel safe. We're wired to recognize patterns, faces, behavior, sounds. When something violates those patterns in a way we can't explain, it triggers a deep, primal alarm.

The strange and the uncanny pull us into a space where logic fails and instinct takes over, whispering that if we can't understand what we're seeing, we can't predict what we're, it might do. In that uncertainty, in that fragile pause between recognition and confusion, the bizarre becomes terrifying, as we shall see in tonight's four stories. Now as ever before we begin, a word of caution. Tonight's tales may contain strong language as well as descriptions of violence and horrific imagery. That sounds like your kind of thing. And let's begin. in life my grandmother was a particularly cruel woman a true disciplinarian she was a strictly devout woman and was very superstitious so much so that if you spilled salt

in her house you get a shoe across the face before you could throw it over your shoulder you could say she had a special way of bringing out the best in people by being genuinely awful to them. I was never any more mischievous than any of the other kids my age, but somehow I always ended up getting the harshest punishments out of anyone in my friend group. On one such occasion that I happen to remember especially clearly, my best friend Eddie and I broke into a neighbor's shed to steal some cans of spray paint when we were 12. We spent that afternoon raising holy hell in the alleys around our houses. We took turns tagging the neighbor's garages with a slew of obscenities.

Well, we were so caught up in the mayhem we were causing that we didn't notice Eddie's father walk up behind us. He was a large, burly-looking man who worked in a steel mill all of his life. He grabbed our collars, lifting us straight off the ground. I remember being convinced that I'd piss myself out of fear. He said in his booming voice, well, look what the cat dragged in.

just what in the hell you two think you're doing I'm sorry dad Eddie stammered out before adding it was Mark's idea while pointing at me what the fuck it was shithead I blurted back Eddie's father's voice boomed suddenly

both of you stop babbling Eddie you're going to go door to door apologising to the neighbours for being a moron and you're going to clean this mess up along with anything else they asked you to do he turned to look at me next squinting his eyes as he loomed over me as for you young man your grandmother will be ashamed of you what the hell's wrong with the kids these days before i could say anything he dropped us both onto our asses and promptly marched me the two blocks back to my house

eddie's still in tone when we arrived he calmly knocked on the door we waited a moment and then my grandmother answered the door well i've been looking for you all day where on god's green earth have you been she snapped her face contorting before i could say anything eddie's dad had spoken up ah caught these two idiots vandalizing the neighborhood he said while letting out a chuckle ah kids ain't grandmother was not amused she dragged me into the house and promptly smacked me me across the face are you going to learn your lesson one way or another boy she snarled at me you're lucky i even took you at all i don't think i was particularly lucky at all because by that point my parents had been dead for seven years i didn't learn how they died until much later in my

life all i knew was that i was stuck with this witch of a woman who was my grandmother for this particular instance she locked me in the basement pantry for at least two days with no food or water the only company that i had was a bucket in the corner for excrement and the occasional rat the pantry was a dark dingy place that reeked of mould the damp concrete floor of the pantry made for a subpar bed to say the least you could hear the water moving through the rusted pipes and the creaking of the ancient floorboard above. I survived that stint in the pantry without any trouble. After all, I was quite used to it by that point. I tried to avoid being home for the remainder of my teenage years to avoid enduring more torment at the hands of that vile woman, but I could only do so much. Between the regular verbal abuse and the beatings, I only ended up back in the pantry a few times before I ran away to couch surf when I was 15. Most of these were simply uneventful and miserable, but there was one other occasion that will never leave my mind. This occasion is why I decided to

take my chances with homelessness. I was late coming home from Eddie's house once when I was 15, and I found myself imprisoned in that godforsaken pantry yet again. Well, over the years and my many stints being locked away from the world, I'd learn to pass the time by doing push-ups and other exercises. On top of that, I'd become very adept at positioning my body on the concrete floor to get some sleep. The loneliness didn't bother me anymore. Anything was better than my grandmother's company.

This time was different. I wasn't alone in that pantry. I heard footsteps around me constantly, but I never actually saw anything. I remember the feeling of dread when I felt someone's warm breath on the the back of my neck when i turned to face whoever was in there with me well there was nothing just the pitch black of the basement the experience was maddening by itself but it was only perpetuated by the constant pacing of my grandmother upstairs at all hours i heard the floorboards creaking and incoherent muttering she would ramble and pace at all hours of the day muttering things like no

No, anything but that, and I know your tricks, you can't take him while he's in there. These outbursts were accompanied by pounding and the sounds of glass shattering. I had no idea what was happening, but I assume that she'd finally snapped. Finally after, what had to have been days of dealing with phantom footsteps, breathing, and hearing my mother's psychotic antics coming from upstairs, it all stopped. died, leaving me trapped in here to starve to death or slip into the madness that was surely overcoming me. I hadn't been crazy before this instant, but now I wasn't so sure. I started hearing an incessant whisper of let me in, coming from outside the pantry. Then one day I heard frantic

footsteps coming down the stairs. All of a sudden the pantry door flew open and I was blinded by an unknown light. It was my grandmother brandishing a lantern. She seemed frantic. Her eyes had a deranged glint to them. Get out of my house, boy. You can't behave. Leave and never come back.

She screamed as she pushed me aside and threw herself into the pantry, locking it from the inside. Well, I'd never noticed that it had locks on both sides until then. Without hesitation, I ran. I ran up the stairs and threw it. the house. I didn't know what was wrong with her, but I was finally free from her clutches.

As I made my way to the front door, I noticed that something was very wrong. Every mirror in the house was covered, and the house was illuminated only by candlelight. There were strange sigils etched into the walls, and demented sounding laughter coming from every corner of the house. What was happening? I thought to myself as I scrambled through the house. I was thoroughly confused and disoriented from spending so much time in a pitch-black room. I tried to reach the front door, but things seemed out of place. Not the way I remembered them.

As if someone had turned the house backward. Finally, I did reach the front door through a long hallway that leads to the basement doorway. I tried to open it in a frenzy, but it wouldn't budge. Suddenly I heard soft footsteps behind me, approaching fast. I turned around and was greeted by the most abhorrent person, well, if you could call it that, that I had ever seen. It was around eight feet tall, had long limbs with long, bony fingers, and was almost bone white. His bare emaciated form was covered by a thin, translucent skin. I crawled towards me like a child climbing upstairs on all fours.

its arms and legs pushed off the floors and walls as it made its way down the long hallway towards me i could only see it move when it passed by the candles which were extinguished as it passed by i frantically tugged on the doorknob until it eventually broke off my heart sank i was going to die by whatever this thing was finally it got to me and stopped straight it grabbed me by the shoulders with his bony fingers and stared directly at me. It had no eyes, only gaping caverns where its eyes should have been. It had an elongated jaw that hid rows of large, human-like teeth and a forked black tongue. It seemed to peer into my soul with its empty eyes. And finally, it spoke to me as I stood, paralyzed by pure terror. Your sins, your fear, they taste so. familiar. It hissed in a raspy tone as its tongue ran across my face. I tried to punch it,

but it was as if I'd punched a brick wall. The creature just cackled. You just hit your mother, boy. It was over. I knew I was going to die. The creature had moved its hands to my neck and begun squeezing and lifting me off the ground when suddenly I heard the pantry. door swing open from downstairs the creature quickly diverted its eyes and threw me to the floor as it sprinted down the hallway towards the basement i heard it dive down the stairs as the front door suddenly cracked open i ran as hard as i could until i finally reached eddie's house that thing could have my evil grandmother for all i cared i was able to use their phone to call for help I told the police that someone had broken into my house

and that my grandmother had locked herself in the basement. The police found the house completely ransacked but found no sign of my grandmother. The only real anomaly the police found was that the pantry was locked from the inside. What if this was someone in your family that had a chronic illness that they could not get away from.

Millions of Americans live with a disease that has no cure. I was diagnosed with a rare form of sarcoma. The most immediate findings indicated that I should lose my leg. But it ended up taking four clinical trials in 25 years to get me to this point. Cures are within reach if we invest in funding for life-saving medical research that's needed to find them. even if they're unsuccessful in my treatment that they will have learned from my treatment that will be able to allow others to stand on my shoulders to be able to be helped. Join the fight for Cures. Tell your elected representatives to support American medical research.

Visit Unitedforcures.org slash action to send a letter today, paid for by United for Cures Action. It's the Kia season of New Tradition sales event. So don't just hang your own lights, venture out, and look for the northern lights, drink cocoa on the beach, or be a drive-by karaoke caroler, because every new Kia comes with a 10-year, 100,000-mile limited power train warranty, so you can take holidays to places they've never been. See your local Kia dealer or visit Kia.com to learn more. Kia, movement that inspires. See Kia dealer for warranty details. Event ends 1-226. I'm being forced to act out a kid's cartoon for children with serious issues. Even before I was kidnapped, it was already the worst night of my life. Freshly fired from my job as a pizza girl and too scared to go home and tell my parents I was in fact a waste of space.

I found myself where every other 19-year-old kid old with no life and barely any cash would go. A club. this place wasn't exactly the height of New York and the outside smelled of piss but it was a distraction and I really needed a distraction I needed to not think about my life that was slowly crumbling apart

coming apart by the seams I didn't want to think about what mom's expression would be when I told her I was fired again in the mess which was my brain the only possible cure to my shitty mood and not feeling anything, at least for the next few hours, was alcohol, and dancing. I needed to dance and sing and drink and whatever, to forget that I was a disgrace to society. The pizza job was shit, anyway. It was meager cash, and the pizzas smelled like bar.

I'd like to say it wasn't an accident when I spilled coke all over a customer, because I hated the owners. They treated their staff, who all happened to be like me, broke ass college dropouts like dirt but it was my fault i was too busy dancing to the radio not really paying much attention the customer a woman in maybe her mid-forties with straw-like hair and stains on her blouse had been heading over to me probably to yell at me for something out of my control and we collided it was pretty comical when coke went everywhere on her on me on the poor kid behind the counter all resulting in me My inevitable firing. When I was glad, I didn't want to work there. I was only working there for cash. Now, first, before I get into my story, and the reason you are listening to this,

well, I want to get several things straight. I'm not a waste of space. I was something, at least, that's what I like to tell myself. Yes, I lived with my mum, and yes, I was broke. Yes, I had no friends, and yes, I wasn't planning on getting another job. job, at least not yet. Instead, I wanted to bask in my own melancholy. I wanted to dwell on my potential future which had been ripped away before I'd even got a taste of it. I'd wanted to be

an actress my whole life. I grew up watching movies and musicals, and I wanted to be like them. Who didn't? I watched Disney Channel throughout my childhood in Twins. Of course I wanted to be like Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez. I started high school with a goal. I was going to get into a top drama school and I was going to be famous. Well, easier said than done. However, I was determined. I ignored the concept of friends and socialising and studied way into weeknights. I auditioned for our school show every year and managed to score the top part every time.

I'd like to say I was thriving. I threw away my high school experience to get where I wanted in life, and it worked. I graduated with a 4.0 and worked in my life. local cafe to pay for tuition. Mom had saved up her whole life to provide me with the college experience I had dreamed of. She moved to New York for a job, so it was ideal for both of us. Mom moved into a two-bedroom house in southern Brooklyn, and I moved into dorms. And the problem was when I actually started college. After a grueling audition, I got into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. I was told I had talent. I was told I would go somewhere.

And I believed them. I believed that I was really going to live my dream. Well, throughout high school, I'd barely had any competition. When a freshman came along, a kid in my year suddenly decided that they were going to have the main parts and solos, I made sure to let them know that those parts were mine. They would always be mine, and they were fools for even trying. Oh, bitchy, I know. But if I was going to be a star, I was going to tear down my competition.

at college was where everything came crashing down I was a small town girl used to being in the spotlight I was used to picking off my competition and college was when reality hit me in the face I wasn't expecting kids like me I mean exactly like me kids who were obsessed with getting that limelight that I craved kids that weren't afraid to fight each other to the death to get to the top

Crystal James was a carbon copy of me She was far worse I mean Crystal had an ego the size of a continent Think of every mean girl-esque bitch You've seen in all those 2000s chick flicks That was Crystal Her goal was to get to the top Just like me

So obviously we clashed I'm not going to get into the details Because I don't have the time But my dream A pipe dream ended at the New York Academy for Dramatic Arts, specifically the night of our final showcase. It was our third show,

and Crystal, after drinking too much champagne, had accidentally shoved me off stage during my performance. She insisted it was a complete accident and had bumped into me. I'm not even sure what it was. I was knocked unconscious when I hit the ground and it fucked up my ankle. So I was out and Crystal was in as my understudy. and it hurt to see her play the part I'd worked so hard for. It made me think.

Crystal was able to snatch up my part, barely having to lift a finger while I was left in the dust. And weirdly enough, nobody suspected foul play. My teacher told me I was being dramatic, and my classmates stuck up their noses. Better me than them. I would see it in their expressions. All they wanted was success.

All they wanted was fame. So I marched, or well, I guess I limped, to the principal's office, and told him I was done. I was quitting, and I hoped they had a great show. I didn't try to talk me out of it. The school was full of students like me, who acted just as I did, like spoiled narcissistic children. Well, I was done with that part of me, because I realized that I hurt others to get to the top, and karma was one hell of a bitch. and then I spat on his desk

I fast forward several months and NYADA was less of a mammary and more of a fever dream I was standing in front of a club in a line of maybe 20 or 30 people the music was blaring it was my type of music maybe they were having an 80s night Mama Mia was blasting out and the kids in line were drunkenly jumping up and down laughing and falling over each other My initial plan was to get wasted and see where the night would lead.

I had two crumpled twenties in my pockets. I'd posted the rest through my mum bedroom door for rent. I wasn't dressed for clubbing, still wearing the white cotton polo shirt I wore for work and skinny jeans. The material was sticking to my flush skin, and the night air wasn't helping. It was hot for 11 p.m. I was expecting it to cool down,

but even outside I was sweating. When the group of kids in front of me ducked into the club, their shadows swallowed by blinding disco lights, I shuffled forwards, already feeling self-conscious. It had been a spontaneous idea to go to a club, despite never going to one before. I had no idea what I was doing or what I was supposed to do. All I knew was that there was music and dancing, where noise. I just needed noise to drown out those existential thoughts that were driving me mad. Where was I going to be in five years?

Was it going to be homeless? Maybe I'd somehow make it big via YouTube or TikTok. I was wearing the positives and negatives of starting a YouTube channel, not really paying much attention. When a voice startled me out of my daydream, a gruff yell over the music. Mask! At first I hadn't fully heard the bouncer.

When I looked up to frown at him, he wore a scowl. the guy had bulky shoulders and thick dark hair a sheen of sweat glistening light tan skin his shirt looked far too tight cinched a thick bulging arms was supposed to look intimidating sure but already in a sour mood a guy was pissing me off i had my ID waving it in his face like a frenzied insect mask on no entry kid his words dawned on me and i reached into my bag pulling out the crumpled mask my mom had stuffed in there a few hours earlier. I put it on quickly, my cheeks burning. Sorry, I managed to say, and he nodded with an eye roll. And remember it next time, he grunted. No mask, no entry.

Smiley, my best smiled, even if it was behind my mask, I ducked into the club, joining the crowd of dancers. And it was beautiful. The lights and the music and the sweaty bodies slamming into me. Everybody wore a mask, but I still saw the glee and excitement and euphoria lit up in their eyes. Mommy ended, quickly followed by Take On Me. Well, that was a song I liked. It was my mom's favourite.

Notting my head to the beat and letting myself sway to lyrics that were definitely not written to sway to. I pushed through dancers until I got to the bar. I can't remember what I ordered, but after several of them and a few on the house, I started to lose myself in the music and the dance. until my head was spinning itself off its axis. When I ordered water, I was given something else. Definitely another alcoholic beverage. It stung my tongue and the back of my throat.

I started to feel giddy, but I knew I was going to be sick. When I had the exit in my sight, I started towards it, but someone's arm shoved me back. Then another body slammed into me, and it felt like I was flying. colors were magnified and the music felt like it was in my blood like it was inside me each lyric trying to tear its way out when i was laughing i'm not sure what at when i turned and found myself face to face with a small girl she was maybe six or seven with blonde hair pulled into pigtails her dress was bright pink with sequins and in my state that was what i focused on how cool her dress looked in the flashing lights The girl wasn't wearing a mask She was the only one in the club Who wasn't Her smile was bright

Blue eyes pinpointed on me Elizabeth The little girl shouted over the music Pointing at me The words confused me But part of me wondered If I'd drunk so much I was hallucinating

Or if I'd been roofied Instead of doing what I really wanted to do Which was to find somewhere to bath I found myself following the little girl who, after doing a spin, a dress flying around her, twisted around and ran for the exit, disappearing into the grinding bodies. Looking around, nobody seemed to notice the girl except me. I wasn't thinking straight.

All I cared about was seeing if I was actually losing my mind. I followed the girl, like Alice had followed the rabbit, and ended up outside the club on my hands and knees. I was baffing up my late lunch before I even knew what was happening. the world was tilted all the color sucked into the night there was nobody around only the little girl with her back to me she turned then to face me that bright smile still plastered across her face elizabeth she shouted bouncing up and down you're elizabeth i stood up shakily swallowing what was trying to creep back up hey there i said that my voice was slurred and strange I'd gotten drunk before, mostly at parties at college, but this was something else entirely. I could barely keep my footing.

Are you okay? You seem kind of lost. The girl shook her head, her hair flying around her in a whirlwind. Elizabeth! No, I'm Zaffy. I introduced myself and held out a hand, that when I did I nearly toppled over. Melanie? Are you sure it's her?

Another voice hit my eardrums. This time it was a male grumble. When I twisted around, I nearly fell again, and he grabbed my arm, steadying me. There was a man in front of me. He was tall, youngish-looking, maybe late-thirties. I couldn't tell because he was wearing raybans. The man seemed to size me up. He chuckled. I mean, if you're sure, Mouths. Is that all of them? Uh-huh, the little girl giggled, and made her way towards me and wrapped her arms around my lower waist.

Oh, she had a tight grip for how small she was. Elizabeth. Saffy, I created. Sapphire, if you'd like. My words were sluggish before I bathed on the guy's fancy-looking shoes, choking on the rest of my greeting. Though, if anything, I found it funny. Sorry. slapping my hand over my mouth I burped and more bath crawled at my throat filling my mouth

I was ready to introduce the guy to what was left of my stomach lining but before I could I was being violently shoved backwards I was ready to hit rough concrete though instead my back was slamming into warm leather the temperature changed instantly from cool night air that had finally cooled down to somewhere inside somewhere muggy and uncomfortable it was a car but that didn't hit me until it started moving i found myself pressed against someone's back there were others with me though they were talking over each other laughing and singing some guy was yelling vine quotes and knowing them i joined in well in my mind this was an adventure when i managed to straighten up i stuck my head out of the window which was open screaming into the night i remember my hair was a whirlwind

hitting me in the face. I remember the air felt amazing against my clammy forehead. I think I started dancing, though, more of a sit-down, swaying kind of jig. My head was still spinning, the deluge of passing traffic

sending me more and more hyper. When I thrust my elbows back, a boy's yelp, ricocheted in the back of my mind. Ow! Who raised you, animals? I felt movement. Sticky, sweaty skin against mine. I was greeted by a mouthful of his hair which smelled and tasted like cheap axe spray and watermelon.

Ignoring him, I focused on the cool air whipping in my face. Behind me, a girl and another guy were laughing together, and I felt a sense of solidarity. I mean, I'd never had friends. Only rivals who I pretended were friends. But at that moment, with my head in the clouds and my stomach in my throat, I felt like the strangers next. to me were something else I couldn't even see their faces properly I saw glimpses every time a car flew past blinding us in dizzying light yeah there were two boys and a girl at the front the same man whose shoes I bathed on and next to him sat the little

girl who twisted in her chair and was singing along with the others reveling in my spinning head and twirling thoughts I let my head sag against the window the others were still shouting over each other, and none of us realized where we were, where we were going. It's the Kia season of New Tradition sales event, so don't just hang your own lights. Venture out and look for the northern lights. Drink cocoa on the beach, or be a drive-by karaoke caroler. Because every new Kia comes with a 10-year, 100,000-mile limited power train warranty, so you can take holidays to places they've never been. See your local Kia dealer or visit kia.com to learn more.

Kia, movement that inspires. See Kia dealer for warranty details. Event ends 1226. If you love to travel, Capital One has a rewards credit card that's perfect for you. With the Capital One Venture X card, you earn unlimited double miles on everything you buy. Plus, you get premium benefits at a collection of luxury hotels when you book on Capital One travel. And with Venture X, you get access to overwork. 1,000 airport lounges worldwide.

Open up a world of travel possibilities with a Capital One Venture X card. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. Lounge access is subject to change. See Capital1.com for details. I started sobering up when the laughed when shouting faded into murmurs and giggles, and then they stopped altogether. The boy next to me was snoring, his head on my shoulder. I was tired, my body, my limbs, every part of me screaming for me to let myself.

slip into darkness. But the car was picking up momentum. We were on a highway. Slipping in and out of awareness, I remember the car door opening and someone pulling me out. I remember stumbling forwards and almost slipping into water, cool, refreshing water. Sparkled beneath me, underneath a crescent moon. My feet were bare, though. I wasn't sure when I'd taken my shoes off. I remember being escorted onto a boat. Oh, I marveled at the size. Not exactly ferry-sized, but it was the type of the 1% own, you know, the elite.

We were escorted on board. Nobody was complaining or protesting. I was aware of what was going on, but I couldn't do anything. I couldn't speak or cry out. I couldn't fully move my body. It wasn't the effects of alcohol. It was something else. Something that paralyzed my limbs.

I lay down on the deck and searched for stars in the darkness above me. And when the sky lightened, I watched the sunrise, a blur of cotton, candy, pink, and white spreading across the horizon. It was only when the first glimpses of the sun were appearing, reflecting in ocean waves, lolling us back and forth, when I realized my hands were tied behind my back. Even riding between half-drunk and sober, panic filled me like poison.

I managed to sit up, but my body flop back down again, like it refused to comply. Hello? My voice was a whimper. When I twisted my head to the left, the others were lying next to me fast asleep. I finally got a proper look at them. The boy next to me had chestnut hair and pale skin, glitter speckling his cheeks. He lay on his back, his eyes shut, lips parted peacefully. Next to him was a girl with shoulder-length red hair.

and a guy with dirty blonde curls peeking from a baseball cap there in clubwear t-shirts covered in sweat stains and jeans the girl had a heart painted on her left cheek mascara smeared under her eyes their shoes had been taken too i nudged the guy next to me but he didn't respond when i tried to scream my voice came out hoarse and wrong sign went by slowly and i spent it staring at the class trying and failing to wrench myself out of my restraints. All my wrists were stinging when footsteps sounded. They were gentle, almost like a dog's, bitter pattering on the deck. I squeezed my eyes shut, but when the footsteps stopped in front of me, I risked cracking them open. The little girl from the night before loomed over me with the same grin.

They're amazing, she sang, dancing across the deck, twirling and doing little spins. They're so much better than the other ones. They were too old and wrinkly. I had barely enough time to register what she was saying before the girl was flicking me in the face. Elizabeth, she giggled. Fully sober now, I shook my head, but I couldn't speak.

You little bitch! When a wrist glanced on my left, the boy lying next to me was squirming to get up, struggling in his restraints. Did you do this? His voice was a soft croak, barely a yell. Did you freaking kidnap us? Kidnap?

Another voice. The red-haired girl was squeaking, rolling around trying to get up. Her sharp cries woke the other boy up, the kid with a baseball cap. Letting out an exhalation of breath, he sat up with a groan, blinking in the sunlight.

I recognized his voice. He'd been the one yelling vine quotes. Well, I'd only known his laugh and the momentary flash of his sparkling grin last night in the car. But now, he looked confused. His eyes frenzied. The little girl giggled. Freddy doesn't swear, she said, pointing to the boy next to me. If you swear, I'll make you regret it.

The boy leaned back with a scowl, pulling at his bound hands. Oh, yeah, he murmured, his dark eyes challenging her. What are you going to do her? Give me a dolly makeover. Cocking her head, the little girl pouted. You're mean, she said, folding her arms. I don't want you to be Freddy if you're mean. Freddy?

The boy raised a brow. Her expression lit up. Yes, Freddy. He's a smart one in Mr. Pickles, gang. He unmasks all the monsters. Skipping over our legs, the girl pointed to each of us. You're Freddy and Elizabeth, she said to the boy and I, and then she danced over to the others. You're raggy, and you're daffy. It took me a moment to register the names, though before I could speak, the red-haired girl got there first. She laughed nervously, though her eyes were wide and frantic.

Are you talking about... Scooby-Doo, the boy with a baseball cap finished. She's talking about Scooby-Frickin' do. The girl lost her smile. Her small hands clenched into fists. No, you're not listening. I was only aware of her stamping her feet on the deck, and then something was hitting me like a living entity,

a shrill screeching noise slamming into my skull. A love child of a dentist drill And a fire alarm But a thousand times worse And her scream filled me with ice Puntering my lungs I found myself gasping for breath Sucking in precious oxygen

When all the wind was knocked from my lungs My head slamming against the wooden deck But I barely felt the impact I fought my restraints Screaming into the air for mercy All I could think about was blocking out the noise It was going to freaking kill me. Something warm and wet slipped from my ear, and I shrieked.

I thought she was going to continue. I thought the crazy girl was going to blow out my brains. But when she stopped abruptly, I felt an overwhelming urge to wrap my arms around her and hug her for giving me my next breath back. It's not Scooby-Doo, the girl said with finality. When none of us answered, she stamped her foot. I said, it's not Scooby-Doo.

The others were groaning, lying on their front. While, ironically, the girl was humming the what's new Scooby-Doo theme tune. What the fuck is her problem? The boy next to me hissed. A glimpse to scarlet smear near his head. His eyes were squeezed shut, tears staining his cheeks. Well, the girl yelled. What is it called?

Warm arms wound around me and pulled me to my knees. As soon as I was upright, I had to swallow vomit, shooting back up. The others were yanked up, too, forced to face a six-year-old's wrath. Mr. Pickles and company, she said through her teeth. Repeat it back to me. We did, but it wasn't loud enough. I can't hear you. She cupped her ear.

a manic smile spreading across her lips mr pickles and company we yelled back satisfied she nodded skipping over to the red-haired girl and running her small fingers through the girl's hair she grasped a fistful and yanked hard the redhead squeaked if you keep making upsies i'll turn your tummies inside out so your wiggly-riglies will fall out I stayed silent after that. The boat docked at a small island. It wasn't the type from the movies where castaways get stranded. No, this island was inhabited. There's only one building and the rest is trees. We were taken to a modern-looking building with glass panels and automatic doors.

When I was shoved inside, an aircon blasted icy air into my face. It was a relief from the blistering heat. Well, I thought I was surprised when the others stayed quiet, but I wasn't really surprised. I was sure Wiggly-riglies were, in fact, intestines. And after being subjected to her banshee-like whale, I had no doubts the girl was capable of something as horrifying as that. Well, the building reminded me of one of those insane YouTuber mansions. Everything was pristine and perfect. We were taken up an elevator, and into a small room where a burly-looking man,

sat behind a desk in front of him was a laptop and a coffee mark when we were pushed in he surveyed us with a smile my head was still topsy-turvy i knew if i started talking i'd start screaming i demand to know where i was and so i kept my mouth shut welcome he nodded at us i trust my daughter gave you a warm welcome and the man cleared his throat. Now, I know you're scared, but trust me, you've all been chosen to serve a purpose. He then spread out his arms in a, ta-da, motion. You're going to be looking after some very special children

by being their, let's say, entertainment. What? The boy who I christened watermelon, because of the smell of his hair, said, What are you talking about? Do you even know what you've done? Dude, this is freaking illegal. Baseball cap joined in.

You kidnapped us to act out your daughter's Walmart version of Scooby-Doo. But the man's expression didn't waver. You have been handpicked from the top-acting schools in the country. We have no doubt you will entertain our children. After all, you far are talented, are you not? Now, our kids are not your average children. they're incredibly gifted and whatever they say well they get recently they became quite fond of the cartoon you're referring to we of course gave them what they wanted but our originals didn't quite fit the part the kids did not like them his gaze then flicked to me and that is where you come in you're kidding me watermelon said under his breath

Hmm, the man continued. Now, unlike cartoons and children's television, our children can bend reality however they like. If they want to get rid of certain characters or change them, they can. Get rid, the red-haired girl jumped in. Do you mean... Oh, God, do you mean kill? Oh, kill is a strong word, he murmured.

It's up to the children. Most of our originals were turned into monsters, or, as you will say, they were taken care of. One complaint was that they were too old. Watermelon shook his head. Fuck this, he spat. We're not doing this. You can't make us. The man hummed.

Please turn your attention to the screen of my laptop. I'll bring Melanie in, but she's having breakfast with the other children. so hopefully I will be able to sweep. When he turned the laptop around, I found myself staring at a video player. Glaring his throat, the man gestured to the laptop screen. Bella Torres, Ethan Dacker, Sapphire Easterbrook and Jonas Lockhart.

He addressed us. You all attended drama schools in New York, cried. Yeah, but I dropped out. The red-haired girl hissed out. I sucked. The man raised a brow. Isabella now, we both know that's not true. The screen flashed to a video, a boy on in the center of the stage.

He was singing a song from Wicked. It was watermelon, and he had a voice like I'd never heard, the kind I dreamed of having. The screen flicked to the redhead, dancing a complicated root. routine, a confident smile spread across her perfectly made-up lips. Then another stage in another school, and this time it was a baseball cap. He was on his knees reading a Hamilton monologue, his voice heavy and emotional, emphasizing every word. Oh, they were good. No, they were amazing.

I'd spent most of my life obsessed with myself, and the three of them had blown me out of the park. And finally, me. I recognised the stage I'd stood on for a whole year, my circle of toxic classmates that made me want to rip my hair out. It was during our showcase, the best show I'd done, right before Crystal James had shoved me off the freaking stage. Well, thankfully, that part wasn't show. The man smiled widely.

As you can see, you all excelled. it was your choice to drop out and you were losses to your teachers the screen flashed again and at first i didn't know what i was looking at even when the others started crying out and lunging forwards only to be dragged back by the guard standing behind us and then i was looking at my mother she was sitting in our tiny living room her hands tied behind her back a gun pressed into the flesh of her temple When I screamed, the man looked satisfied. Now, I'm fairly sure we have a deal. You make our kids happy and your loved ones continue on in their daily lives. Well, I didn't realize how gifted our audience really were until we started. I wore a bright orange dress and knee-high socks.

When I was handed glasses to put on, I shook my head. I don't need them. I'd managed to get it out. I had twenty-twenty vision, and I've never needed glasses. Melanie popped her head into the room, wearing her usual grin. She waved a hand in front of my face. How many fingers? She was holding up five, but the longer I stared at them,

my vision began to blur. It was like losing a piece of me, my sight. When I stumbled back, Melanie slid the pair of glasses onto my face. face, and I could see perfectly. Horrified, I'd taken them off, but I couldn't see without them. She'd taken my sight. Melanie had taken my freaking sight. It wasn't just me. When our small group were forced in front of a dozen children gathered together, Jonas sprouted dark red hair out of nowhere when a small boy glared at him. Bella grew a foot taller. Her hair, her hair. Her head air turning silk blonde, a red headband flashing into existence on her head.

When Ethan's feet lifted from the floor and he let out a shriek, the children laughed in delight. Melanie was at the front. Freddy has superpowers. He has what? The boy struggled to stay in the air, though the kids helped him, lifting their hands and turning them clockwise. Ethan was able to float across our heads, though he was kicking. his legs. Please, get me, get me down. When I pulled off my first mask as Elizabeth Silly, my fingers curled under a real person's skin. I pulled, I poured and pulled until the ghost mask lifted

along with the face. Well, the others didn't react after several times of this. We became desensitized to it. It became the norm. But the thing beneath kept tall. "'Medling kids,' they growled. "'I would have got away with it if it wasn't for—' "'Mr Pickles!' "'The four of us laughed. "'Jonas patted the head of some poor dog. "'It was our fourth, Mr. Pickles.

"'And I got good at laughing. "'I got good at hiding my screams "'behind my over-the-top giggles as Elizabeth Silly. "'I wasn't until right at the end of our final episode of season, too when I stopped laughing. I stopped smiling. I stopped freaking trying.

Bella's character had turned to the bad side. She'd become an evil ghost person and Mr Pickles and company had to stop her. We had to stop her. Oh God, we had to stop her. We read our lines from a monitor hanging from the ceiling. In outdoor scenes it's displayed on a table.

Raggy You're a bad person, Daffy Mr. Pickles is very upset with you When Ethan read this line, his voice called He was already reading the stage directions underneath Stepping forward with a smile Our hero Freddy reaches into Daffy's chest And pulls out her hearts

Her evilness is gone Once again Mr. Pickles and company have saved the world No, Ethan whispered, stumbling back. No, I'm not, I'm not doing that. Bella didn't move. There were tears in her eyes. Her fists were clenched at her side. Do it, she gritted out.

I knew after what she'd seen that she was tired. Bella wanted out. And then as Daffy. Go on, Freddy. I dare you We all knew Ethan was capable of it He was the season superhero after all

Ethan had been turned into a freak A Captain America Slash Peter Parker Whatever the fuck he was By these psycho children I don't know why Ethan did What his line said I'll still never know why he followed the script

And Bella's words I don't want to say what happened to Bella. I don't want to write it because I can still see it. I can see, still, Ethan's fingers puncture her chest, and whatever reality that I was clinging onto collapsed. Bella's heart looked almost cartoonish in Ethan's hand, a pulpy mass of scarlet squelched between his fist. Well, Bella is dead. I watched him pull out her heart from her chest like it was well like it was easy and so another bellow has been brought in

she came last night screaming and crying we're all kept in a glass cage overnight it's barely big enough for two people never mind for we don't have beds we give them basic food and water and the little brats make visits every night they press their faces against the glass and giggle pointing and laughing

When Ethan tells him to fuck off They take his voice When I cry They take my tears To them We're just zoo animals I managed to grab a guard's phone This morning

I can't call anyone But I can't put out some kind of call for help I don't know where we are There's no name of this island At least I haven't heard one I'll just call my school Tell them Sapphire Easterbrook needs help.

Call the police. You're our only chance. How the amount of power these kids give off? I'm not surprised I'm able to connect to some kind of network. You need to get help. I don't want to keep playing Elizabeth Silly. I can't. I won't.

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You probably know about the pandemic It's pretty horrifying and still early days With ample time to get much worse I'll forget all that I stumbled upon something much more sinister There's a cult using the illness and community angst as a smoke screen Read on and I'll tell you what I saw now if i was in your shoes i'd be wondering a few things who is this guy is there any proof and why tell me and not the authorities firstly i'm a nobody i have no background in cults no fancy university degrees no stints in the army or emergency services just a regular joe schmull obviously i'm not handing out my name or any details that might lead back to me posting the

this account is dangerous enough and I really, really want to live. That leaves a question of proof and I'm afraid I have jack shit of that too. Just a picture taken on my phone, itself several generations old with craptastic zooming functions. It could probably be debunked with the right gear and determination, so you'll just have to decide for yourself if I am right or wrong. As for the authorities, there's not a lot of trust in them under this government. I've given them the same chance as you, but I doubt they'll listen to reason. These are the guys who deny climate change, abuse their office for partisan games, and practice their own version of fake news. Yeah, they'll act when the shit hits the fan and

claim ignorance after the fact. The way I see it, if my account goes viral or gets noticed by the right people, maybe the fan won't get too shitty. Well, time to get into it. Down here in Oz, we've been running short of goods in our supermarkets, chemists and other related shops. Toilet paper, aka Dunnyrolls, were the first thing to fly off the shelves, and you've probably seen or heard a few memes about it. Some are pretty funny, I'll give you that. Hand sanitizer was also quickly snatched up, and that also figures into my account. Gang goods, pasta, noodles. They're starting to go, but it's not really relevant here.

The thing about Dunny Rose is that they take up a lot of space, so the shops don't keep a whole lot of them in reserve. It takes time to ship things from warehouses to supermarket shelves, and most of us are pretty dispersed these days, well, except for the city people. Lots of little supermarkets are tucked into the suburbs, so that's a ton of stores to share stock with. Beyond that, who knows how well the supply system is? When the Prime Minister says it's all fine, I'm not exactly filled with confidence. Yeah, this is the man who holiday overseas while bushfires rage back at home. I'll give more credence to the experts. It was in a supermarket that I first got tangled up in this cult bullshit.

Since they have surveillance, I'm not going to tell you which supermarket or where it was. Yeah, like I said earlier, I want to live, and that means staying anonymous. I was accompanying an old relative, well, my dad, basically doing the driving and the carrying. And yes, we were after some Donny Rolls, along with twelve other items. It was flying off the shelves fast, and I noticed a group of people swooping in with empty trolleys. Yep, they had nothing else save a single bottle of hand sanitizer. The one good per-person restriction had just come into effect. So see, my chance, I scooped up the last pack of Dunny Rolls and beat a hasty retreat out of that aisle.

My dad chuckled at Affosh and called me a good boy. I must admit I did like the praise because I don't get much of it from the old man The group of hand sanitiser shoppers gave me the evil eye and one of them even shattered us for the rest of our shopping trip He was a middle-aged man nothing special to look at and dressed in some pretty sad attire If he came down to a fight I'd favour my chances over him Still I didn't dare leave my trolley unattended for a second There was something off about him and his unassuming friends too I was glad to pay for our goods and leave.

Well, skipping ahead, Dad and myself returned home to his retirement village. Usually they were organised buses to take the residents out to the shops, but with things as they are, I felt I felt I had the need to help out before things got worse. We had a beer and just talked about the hell this country was heading into. Dad said he'd never seen anything like this, save for the real bad natural disasters of the past. I told him not to worry, but to be careful. Older people seemed more vulnerable to the pandemic, and I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to visit him.

Lockdowns were being considered. I'd just have to call him on the phone if it came down to that. A little while later, his phone actually did ring. I didn't catch who was on the other end of the line, but my dad was annoyed. When I asked him about it, he said that someone wanted to buy the toilet paper off him for double its price. I got worried. How the hell did anyone know? He'd just got some.

None of the other residents were outside, mostly because it was safer to be indoors. Before I left, I made my dad promise to lock the door and refuse contact with any more weirdos. A few days later, I got the news that nobody wants to hear. Dad was gone. This man had shaped my life,

and I'd never really gotten the chance to thank him for it, not properly. I just sat through the phone call, too wrapped up in my grief and the mountain of things I'd have to do. But I dragged myself back out to the retirement village before he could be taken away. Oh, even if Dad wasn't truly with us, I wanted to see him in the flesh. Plus I knew the old bastard would want me watching over his things. The village staff were pretty good to me. Death was something they trained for.

I filled out of form or two, made sure the old man kept his dignity, and caught the relatives with the bad news. I also checked Dad's unit to remove any perishable food, clean up the place and prepare for the removal of his personal effects. I need to come back with boxes for that, when I could muster the will. Oh, and the dunny rolls were gone. All of them.

A sinking feeling hit me. When I asked around, one of my dad's neighbours said that they'd seen a man leave the unit with the toilet paper, hours before I got the call. Sure as shit, the description fit that of the creepy supermarket shopper. Well, they said my dad died of natural causes. I really wanted some more tests done,

but the rest of Dad's family didn't go for it. I could have kicked up a stink, but even I wasn't sure if I was thinking strange. Instead, I decided to return to the supermarket and find those creepy shoppers. It was a way to dodge things and coat with Dad's passing. We're getting back some Dunnyrolls really make a difference.

Probably not. It was purely by chance that I saw the same group. I practiced a match of sounding speech and considered recording it all on my phone. But when I saw them again, my courage just seemed to slip away. This time they had paper towels and disinfectant in their trolleys. I decided that it was too public for a confrontation

and waited outside to tell them. The group had a minivan, which aren't all that common around here, and so following them was easy. Took down their regger plate, but, well, with our current privacy laws, it wouldn't do me any good, unless I went to the cops.

If I caught these guys up to no good, maybe then I could use it. I drove past the van as it pulled into a long driveway, and found a place to part my own car out of sight. The property was signed, but pretty run down. If these guys turned out to be drug dealers, I wouldn't have been surprised. Of course, if they were dealers, it would be even more dangerous to confront them.

Well, I'd try to be careful. With all the junk and foliage, keeping out of sight looked doable. I crept closer to the house, avoiding windows and listening in to see how many people were there. The TV was pretty loud and snuck a peek into the living room. Nobody was there. More creeping around followed, and I hoped to hell they didn't have a dog out here. Eventually, I tracked the group to a shed. It was a bit rusted, but more or less intact.

It also had a padlock on the door, but it wasn't currently locked. I couldn't see the group yet, but I heard noises and voices. Something like a chant. It was foreign, maybe Arabic. Not that I know. I didn't even watch SBS. He urged to leave was damn. enticing. In the end, I decided to hide in the yard and sneak a peek at that shed after the

freaky people went back to the house. There was a really odd smell coming from a pile of compost, and I swear it had huge worms in it. Well, I'm no animal expert, but do green worms of that size even exist? Nearby bins were overflowing with empty dunny rolls. It took almost an hour of waiting, but I got my chance to see what they were hiding. And Jesus, it is. It It was something to see. Stacked within the shed were mummified bodies, at least 50 plus. The bottom ones were wrapped with some sort of linen and smell oily. But closer to the top of the stack, the bodies were wrapped in torn bed sheets and smelled of sanitizer.

There was a ton of discarded toilet rolls in a barrel, again with that oily smell. So presumably they've been using those two. I highly doubt it was used to wipe you know what, anyway. I took a quick picture on my phone at the mummies, since the video would drain my battery like nobody's business, and come out pretty shit. I also had to hide behind the pile of mummies to avoid detection. One of the creepy people dropped off more supplies to the shed. I swear that some of the mummified bodies twitched in response to my proximity. God, were they alive? Or was there something in them? After the cultist had gone, I booked it out of there.

before someone decided to lock the shed. Well, screw getting my dad's dunny rolls back. Storing corpses without a license was surely something I could go to the cops with, but I opted to send them a letter instead. It contained a printed page of my findings and a copy of the mummy photo. Well, I didn't go back to the place and tried to get on with life. Dad had a funeral, thankfully a cremation, and then began the fun process of inheritance

and sharing out his things. Well, I did keep half an eye on the news, and I saw nothing about the cult. I looked up some mummification information on the web, but what I saw doesn't completely gel with it. And those green worms? I didn't find anything that matched them either. Clearly the cult was up to something different. Well, I could make shit up.

Link it to the pandemic, maybe, but that'd be just me pulling your chain. God, I strongly considered returning there with a can of petrol to burn the contents of that shed into ash. But, of course, I chickened out. It had just been me versus half a dozen crazies. And what if I made things worse? No. Best course of action is to spread the word. Well, maybe you're disappointed in me.

If so, that's a fair cop. But if someone strange offers to buy your dunny rolls, well, I'd take the deal. just to be safe. Ah, amusement parks and fun houses. Supposedly places of great joy, especially for the young among us. But, also potentially the most horrifying, as is the case in tonight's story. Now, this one is a little bit more graphic than those that I usually read,

so please bear that in mind if that doesn't sound like your kind of thing, descriptions of extreme violence and horror, then maybe find something else from my back catalogue. With that in mind, I now introduce you to a survivor's accounts of the depraved funhouse. The Balloon, Bard 1. Let me begin this by saying that I share my story with you all purely by order of my psychiatrists. They labour under this delusion that reaching out to others about everything that happened to me, might provide me with some form of catharsis. Personally, I'm more inclined to believe that it's because they know

I've not been taking my sleeping pills that lights out. I've tried explaining to them why. I can't stand to see their faces, and the nightmares are always the same. They surround me with their pasty, complexionless faces with bright crimson face paint on their wide-open eyes with no lids and their split-open grins carved from ear to ear. They just stand there, giggling and asking me, Would you like a balloon?

I suppose that's where my story would truly begin, with that one innocent question, or rather, the reason that question now haunts me in my sleep. Happy world. Happy world. Home of everlasting smiles. That was their tagline. Unfortunately, it was far too fitting for those who weren't lucky enough

to ever get out of the place. those like my best friend Derek Cromwell I still remember those earlier days I met Derek when I was 12 years old me and my folks moved down here to Tennessee from New York after my father lost his job there as a car salesman I remember back then thinking how quiet it was compared to the urban chaos I'd grown up in previously

I mean while I wasn't popular among peers or anything I did have a few bards back at the Big Apple that I wouldn't be able to talk to anymore as you could have expected mom always hit me with the classic well you only make new friends honey just you wait and see lying every time I protested

in retrospect she was correct only two weeks after we moved here there I was standing in the blockbuster video located only about a mile's walking distance from the new neighbourhood I know I talk about convenience right when I ran right into him he was about a quarter of a foot taller than me

with broad shoulders and jet black hair. Oh, sorry, I said, hoping to just subtly bail without being noticed. I tried to just backpedal over to where the PlayStation games were. After all, I was there looking for Resident Evil 2 at the time. That's when he spoke up. Oh, shit, I didn't see you there, man. I kind of smiled and just said, It's cool.

He smirked and went back to staring at the shelves in front of him. No way! They're in town next month. Confused, I snapped my head in his direction and saw that he was looking at a poster. I walked over and looked at the poster he was looking at. Seeing a big-ass red grin, staring back at me. Everlasting smiles, Christ. What's up? I asked him.

Happy world, dude. I just stared at him. Eyebrows cocked in confusion. You've never heard of happy world. He gasped in an exaggerated shock. His eyes bowed. bulging out of their sockets at me, an image that wants me every time I hear the word balloon. Well, I just shook my head at him, feeling the overwhelming compulsion to run for the exit.

Hey, sorry, man, I'm new here, he piped up, apparently already knowing how I could have possibly lived ignorant of what Happy World was. Well, with all the excitement you'd expect to see from a 13-year-old hopped up on too much caffeine, Eric then spends the next ten minutes explaining that Happy World was this fun house attraction that they'd open up once in the blue moon and stays open for about a month or so before randomly closing down and basically vanishing Naturally I asked him what he meant by vanishing

For a moment he just stared at me The way a deer stares at headlights Just before it gets run over Oh god damn it, why did I have to think of that analogy Too real Before shrugging his shoulders Don't know dude They're just there one day in about a month

A month later, they're just gone. Bearding will be closed down and everything. All right no one has ever been there. He then went on to tell me about the different clowns that were performed tricks and stuff. I just nodded my head as he went on. My attention fixed primarily on the creepy-ass clown face smiling at me on the poster.

I remember how it kind of made me shudder looking at it. The thing was, back then, I had no problem with clowns. Hell, every year for spring break, Kama would take me to see the greatest show on earth when they came to town. But something about this particular clown poster just didn't sit right. The face had bright red tear-drop-shaped designs around the eyes, with long red lines connecting to the corners of its cartoonishly wide red lips. The eyes were pitch dark, only two tiny white dots in the centre,

giving them any pronunciation. Below the clown face with the words, Happy World, home of everlasting smile. miles, coming June 5th. Hmm, I wonder if he'll actually come out this time. His words finally jolting my focus away from the poster. Who? Oh, the amazing Belire.

He's their leader, or at least that's what they tell us. What does he do? Derek looked at me, mirroring my own clueless expression and shrugged. I don't know. Never actually seen him, in fact. I don't think anybody has. how do you know he's real i asked him good question he said with a chuckle maybe he's like an animatronic like chucky cheese he quipped and this time i laughed maybe he's a ghost i chimed in making my eyes go wide open and making fake ghost sounds

i should have said he was the devil himself i would have been more accurate well he started busting a gut at this The kid behind the register, and what a high school dropout whose face was so gaunt and pasty looking that he might as well have been a ghost himself, told us to quiet down, apparently having disturbed his nap. Sorry, man, we'll take it outside. Derek said with a careless grin plastered all over his face. Whatever, the kid behind the register groaned, rolling his eyes before dropping his head back down into his folded arms on the counter, letting his long black lion's mane hair fall down and cover his folded arms. Yeah, you go back to your paid beauty now, Jackaxe, I remember thinking with a smirk. We left the store and started walking down the sidewalk, laughing like the goofball kids we were.

He told me some more of the theories his friends had about the amazing beliar, like the one about him having three eyes and being able to tell your future and other outlandish ideas like that. We just went on walking and talking like this for about another half hour before I figured I should start heading back home. Hey, wait, he exclaimed, putting his hand on my shoulder. What's your name, new kids? Oh, Linus, Linus Davis. I'm Derek. Nice to meet you, Linus.

And he held out his hand. I told him it was nice to meet him too and shook his hand. Pretty cool, Linus. Hope we can hang out some more. I grinned and said, Me too, before parting ways and heading home. On the way home, I thought about one thing. Happy World.

I won't lie. Despite the fact that I was too old to be into that kind of shit, I was intrigued. The next day I walked back to Blockbuster video again on the off-chance he might frequent the place. I wanted to ask him more about Happy World, like, were their age restrictions? What were the other clowns like, and so on?

Sure enough, there he was, along with two of his buddies. They didn't seem to notice me, so I was able to listen to the latter half of their conversation about what else the creepy clown poster. So, are you guys planning on going? Derek asked the kid on his left. A short lanky boy with curly, bright orange hair and glasses. Can't folks are out of town for a business trip. The kid winked and nudged Derek's arm before taking a swig of his search.

"'Kay, Ray's out. What about you, Corey?' "'He asked the kid on his right. "'It's all pudgy kid with a brunette mullet "'wearing a black leather vest over his Donzik t-shirt. "'I don't know. "'Don't you think that routine's getting kind of old?' "'What do you mean? "'Don't you finally want to see him?

"'The amazing Belire?' "'I don't know, man. "'We'll keep going and we never find him.' "'I got a point, dude,' Ray chimed in. "'I'm honestly kind of wondering if maybe he's just a feather. that the clowns shove in our faces to get us to come back what about all the stories don't you guys finally want to see if they're true Derek whined looking absolutely betrayed yeah they were cool legends man but maybe we should just leave it at that cool legends Corey said

Derek hung his head down dejectedly damn all out of search Derek can i borrow a dollar I watched as Derek sullenly shuffled around in his pockets and hesitantly handed his friend to crumpled up Bill. Oh man, I appreciate it, dude. Hey, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Ray said as he headed out the door. Wait up, I'm right behind you. Later, Derek. Corey said as he followed Ray, leaving Derek standing alone in front of the poster.

Yeah, see you around, I guess. I heard him mutter disappointedly. I decided then to try talking to him. "'Hey, hey, man.' He lifted his head to see me, his face now regaining some of its lost optimism. "'Oh, hey, dude. "'I didn't see you were here.

"'I just got here a minute ago,' "'I lied. "'I wanted to talk to you more about a happy world, actually.' "'Figures. "'Just talking to my buds about going in three weeks,' "'he said as he pointed to the poster, "'ch chuckling at the irony. "'They both flayed on me, though.

"'To think, after all the times "'we spent wondering about, the mysteries. Derek let out, a dejected sigh. Why don't I go with you? The words jumped from my mouth before I even realized what I'd said. Derek's eyes went wide. I could see the excitement mulled into his face.

You mean it? Well, for a moment I stayed quiet, thinking, Did I mean it? Well, yeah, why not? I said with a careless smirk, shrugging my shoulders. I've got nothing better to do I'm curious to see what the amazing belies like They used to tell me all the time

That curiosity killed the cat I wish I'd listen Because common sense wouldn't bring my ignorant ass back Derek's face blasted the biggest smile I'd ever seen and shouted Hell yeah, up top Holding his hand up to gesture a high-five I smiled and returned the high-five

The loud clap resonating so loud it woke the kid behind the counter again. We walked home together that day, sharing more outlandish theories about Happy World and its mysterious ringmaster. When we got to my house, my mum was on the porch, watering her daisies. There you are, Linus.

Go wash up. It's almost supper time. She looked over to Derek. Who's this? Before I could do or say anything, Derek piped up. Derek Cromwell, nice to meet you, ma'am. He thrust his arm outward to shake her hand. "'Oh, such a gentleman. It's nice to meet you, too, Derek.'

"'Mum chuckled as she shook his hand.' "'Well, I'd better head home before my folks get worried,' he said, "'holding up his hand to me for a high-five. "'Tomorrow. Same time, same place?' "'I returned his high-five, going in for a hug and replied with, "'Bet your ass. "'Language,' mom's called it. "'I gave her the stereotypical, oopsie-daisy smile,

"'and equally awkward as hell chuckle. she just smirked amusedly and rolled her eyes telling me to head inside and get ready for supper i still remember it was homemade calzoni night my favorite am i miss ma's homemate calzones they don't have anything like that in the cafeteria here at the wacky church well see you later dude i shouted to him as i went inside at dinner i decided to ask my folks if they knew anything about happy world I don't believe I saw anything about that when I scouted the area That said with a ponderous expression on his face Before taking a huge bite out of his calzone Some of the cheese and sauce hanging off of his lips Mars calzones were the best

Extra gooey cheese and overloaded with maranara He wiped his mouth with his napkin He chuckled and said Oh then again I didn't exactly pick this area based on its tourist attractions mom smiled at the joke and sipped her drink well there's a poster for it at the blockbuster or I hung out with Derek and he says it's this cool fun house that's coming to town in three weeks and thought it'd be fun to check it out well he says it disappears randomly and there's a mysterious clown nobody's ever seen before dad paused for a minute before saying oh sounds cool

an old son but we have to keep an eye on our money and i'm most willing to bet it ain't cheap to get in my heart dropped and all my excitement I didn't even bother asking Derek about the prize of admission my head slumped down pitifully wanting to plead my case but realizing that to be a futile effort

and that's when Ma wearing that sly grin all mothers have where they've concocted an idea piped up I know why did you go around the neighbourhood tomorrow and see if any of the neighbours would be willing to kick you a few bucks for some manual labour

I looked up at Dad who knotted over to Marr and shrugged his shoulders. Well, in all honesty, it didn't seem like a half-bad idea to me. Yeah, yes, it couldn't hurt. I replied nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders to try and play it cool, despite the fact that I was just happy to have a plausible suggestion. Well, you sleep on it, Mar said with a wink, silently calling bullshit on my obvious facade.

Of course, I'd already made up my mind before going to sleep that night. Whatever it took, going to earn the money to get into happy world. Little did I know that the true price was blood, not cash. Early the next morning, I quickly jumped out of bed, got dressed, grabbed a blueberry, Pop-Tart, and headed out to look for work. It went like that for the next three weeks, exact routine. Wake up, throw clothes on, scarf down Pop-Dart, go cut grass or clean gutters till sundown and collect pay.

Head home, eat supper, and finally hit the sack for the night. Rinse and repeat. Well, I was a little bummed that I wouldn't spend time with Derek, but I knew it would be damn well worth it when me and him could finally go to Happy World together and be the first to see the amazing Beliah. Well, now I wish to God more than anything that I could have those three weeks back.

By the time June the 5th rolled around, I'd managed to accrue $350 in cash, which might as well have been a fortune to my adolescent mind. "'Surely this would be enough,' I told myself, "'looking at the fat bundle of bills in my hands. "'I remember being so excited that morning "'that as soon as my eyes opened, "'I bounded out of my room and down the stairs

"'to wake up my parents. "'Mah, Dad, wake up!' "'I remember shouting at them, "'shaking them until they were stirred awake, groaning. "'What time is it?' "'Dat whined, shielding his eyes "'from the early morning sunlight in the window. "'Linus, honey, it's too early.'

I just stood there looking at her with pleading eyes, unable to contain my excitement. All right, all right, go on and get dressed, she said with a warm smile, despite the fact that she was still half asleep. "'Gin' eh!' I shouted, forgetting that my parents were still present. "'Language!' Mar groaned reprimandingly. "'Right, sorry, I apologise with that all too familiar awkward ass chuckle. Well, Mar just smirked again, rolling her eyes before telling me, "'Go on, have fun, be safe, love you.

But I was already bounding out of their room and into mine. I should have said, I love you too. Wherever she is now, I hope she knows that I love her and miss her so much. I threw on a t-shirt and jeans before making a pit stop to the kitchen for a Pop-Tart on the go. I thought for a moment and decided to grab a second pack for Derek. It'd be his last meal, before sprinting out of the front door and up to the blockbuster, hoping I'd meet Derek there. "'Now, where have you been?' Derek exclaimed as soon as he saw me.

Sure enough, he was there, standing outside the blockbuster video. Hey, man, I'm sorry I couldn't hang out. I've been busy trying to earn money for Happy World. He just smiled and pulled me into a giant bear hug. I returned with a bear hug of my own, as he said. Heck, no, that matters now. I'm just happy you make. it. Just then, this girl who looked around my age came walking out of the blockbuster. She had long jet black hair, just like Derek's, and was wearing a green and white striped holter top with low-cut jean shorts. I remember looking into her oceanic blue eyes and instantly

starting to blush. Damn, she's hot, I remember thinking to myself as she strutted over to Derek, her hip swaying with every step. So, you're ready to go or why? "'What?' she asked Derek, not seeming to have noticed me. "'Yeah, but, um, first,' Derek then looked at me and said, "'Linus, this is my younger sister, Liza.' She looked at me, and the left corner of her lip parted upward into a sly grin, like she knew I was crushing on her. "'Hey, I'm Linus,' I said,

"'try not to make it quite so obvious and failing. "'She snickered, even letting out a little pig snort "'that I thought was adorable, replying with, I'm Liza, this dog lord's sister. That made me laugh, and Derek, with that careless grin, I'll always remember him for, or at least fondly remember him for, just rolled his eyes and retorted with, Yeah, okay, shout ahead.

Laugh it up, now. What say we hit up Happy World? Hell yeah, I shouted, as me and Derek went in for a high five. Oh, almost forgot, I said, pulling out the packet of Pop-Tarts I reserve for him. I didn't know if you'd eaten already, so I brought you a pack. He took the pack of Pop-Tarts, and his smile went from laid back to excited, like I'd just given him a hundred bucks. Awesome, dude.

I fucking love blueberry, Derek exclaimed. Great minds think alike, I suppose, I said with a shrug. See, Chowder Ed, he's got good taste, he remarked to Liza. With a sarcastic smirk, she rode her eyes and snickered before playfully telling Derek to shut up. Derek and I just grinned as he piped up, shouting, Happy World, here we come, as we started making our way to the proclaimed home of everlasting smiles.

So, um, where is Happy World anyway? He asked Derek about an hour into the walk. As if by fate or an omen, there we were, face to face with the entrance. Support for this podcast is brought. to you by Walden University. Ever catch yourself thinking, what if I could go after what I actually want and really make a difference? You're not alone. And that's exactly why I want to tell you about Walden University. For over 50 years, Walden has helped working adults like you get the W, with the

knowledge and skills to build the future you want and make a difference where it matters most. If you've been waiting for the right moment, this is it. Head to waldenu.edu and take that first step. Walden University, set a course for change, certified to operate by Shev. Part two. I was a bit unnerved when I saw that it resembled a lot of the poster that advertised it. A gigantic, pasty white face with large red lips stretched from ear to ear, a painted nose red, as well as fuzzy orange hair, two enlarged, to pitch black eyes with only two tiny white dots in the center of them. I remember my knees actually started to shone.

when I looked into the eyes. They were that much more deranged up close, like they weren't even human, like they were the devils. I looked up to see a bright red archway forming the words, Happy World, that connected with the two gigantic red eyebrows.

Oh, welcome to Happy World, Derek proclaimed as he placed a hand on my shoulder, startling me out of my anxious stupor. Oh, yeah, looks awesome, dude. I bluffed in a botched attempt to mask my anxiety. "'Where is everybody?' I asked Derek, suddenly noticing a distinct lack of other patrons outside of the three of us.

"'Shouldn't there be some kind of line?' I remember asking myself. "'Maybe we're early,' Liza chimed in, shrugging her shoulders. "'Ah, rock on! That means first in line for everything,' Derek cheered. Despite the, albeit lax, a lure of not having to wait in line for everything, I was hesitant. Hey man, I'm not so sure we should... But they just kept walking. You coming?

Derek called out to me, still not seeming to notice my increasing apprehension. Something's not right here, I thought to myself. Standing frozen as the behemoth, clowns of Bissile eyes, firmly fixed me in their dead gaze. Well, I should have turned back. The longer I stared at the structure, the more I began to notice the shadow's menacing pronunciation around the eyes. I wasn't feeling right about this at all,

and despite the disappointment I knew Derek would feel if I ran out on him. I just couldn't. Hey, you're okay, dude. You look like you're staring at a ghost, Derek called out to me, now just three feet away from the clown structure's giant red lips. I broke from my staring contest with the clown structure and saw him and Liza standing there, Looking confused.

Oh, yeah, I'm sorry, I stammered, failing once again to conceal the chilling anxiety that was working its way up my spine and into my voice. Oh, God, it's not too late, you know, I thought to myself. Just tell him that you hear Ma calling. Hey, I got no further before I was startled by the sound of creaking metal. The two tiny white specks inside of the clown's eyes were now glowing. The bottom juror of the clown began to lower, distending until its mouth was wide open to reveal the entrance. Once the gaping wall was open fully, I had a buzzing whir as I watched a giant pink tongue eject from the inside. A deep, jovial voice then blasted from the entrance,

Welcome to Happy World, home of everlasting smiles, before blasting some sort of vintage carnival music that sounded a lot like whoever recorded it did so from their grandmother's record player that was on its last legs. What were you going to say, Linus? Derek called to me. I looked at him. I could have turned back. I saw the excitement on his face.

Nothing. Everything's fine. I lied, putting on a weak smile. Let's go in. Why didn't I tell him? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Derek exclaimed, putting his hand out for a high five. Keeping my smiling facade, I returned Derek's high-five as we stepped on the giant tongue sticking out of the clown's mouth.

I felt another pricking chill crawl up my spine as the buzzing whir sounded again, causing the tongue to retract back into the mouth, followed by the bottom jaw raising up to meet the upper half, sealing the entrance behind us and trapping us inside of its dark entry corridor. For about five minutes, we just stood there in the dark. I couldn't see Derek or Liza, who should have been only inches away from me on my left and right. Derek, is that you? I asked as my hands grazed what felt like someone's shoulder. Before he could answer, my heart hammered in my chest as the deep, jovial voice from before boomed from all around us.

Welcome to a happy world. Are you ready to smile? Hell yeah, Derek shouted from my right. Liza whooped and cheered from my left. I just stood in the middle, too jarred by the unpleasant mix of sensory deprivation, as well as, at the same time, sensory overload to give any response. All at once, lights blinked on to illuminate a long hallway. On each side there were two doors, each decorated with a clown face. Two of them were female, or the others were male,

all decorated with the same matching red face paint. so what do we do now i asked my stomach still churning with perpetual anxiety well now we go through each room to find the box containing the clown in each room derrick replied as he began to reach for one of the doors to open supposedly the amazing belire will be in one of them as well and we're going to be the first to find him wait eliza piped up before derrick could turn the knob to the door we've got to do this door first I looked over to see her standing in front of one of the doors with the female clowns labelling it Oh, you always want to do Happy Franny's door first

Derek rebutted Why don't we change it up a bit Liza frowned and opened her mouth to protest But was cut off by Derek Well, think about it Maybe the reason we never found him is because we started in the wrong place, you know Liza stood in front of the door with her arms folded in annoyance.

I'll tell you what. How about we split up? I offered. Mostly just trying to get moving again. Me and Derek can do this one. You can do that one. We'll meet back up in the middle. Liza rolled her eyes and said,

Whatever, with an exasperated sigh of annoyance. Hell yeah, you and me, bro, Derek exclaimed, putting his hand up for a high five. I heard Liza whisper, Dorks as I Still try not to let on That I wasn't feeling right about Happy World anymore Attempted to return the high-five

As reassuringly as I could God it was our last high-five Yeah Have fun, I muttered Rather weakly Which was then immediately followed with Derek teasing her Saying Yeah, have fun, shout ahead

Liza stuck out her tongue and gave Derek the finger To which Derek shot back with two fuck you, of his own, forming his face into an expression of exaggerated surprise and retorted, and retorted, sit on him and spin. I couldn't help but actually snicker at this, both out of amusement, and as a last-ditch effort to try and void the anxiety from my thoughts. Finally, she turned the knob of the happy Franny door.

Now, I'm willing to swear on my life, though, that before she opened the door, she turned around and winked at me, smiling. Once Liza disappeared into the room, Derek turned to me, grabbing the knob. You ready, dude? Yeah, I replied, feeling a bit of the nervousness washed away, just a bit. With a huge, excited grin, Derek said, on three, one. There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just a clown, right? I told myself, the image of the creepy red clown face from the poster assaulting my mind.

"'Two,' Derek said. "'The clown won't hurt me right. "'The huge dark marble eyes "'with the two tiny glowing white dots in the centre "'and the giant gaping red moor of the structure "'burrowed itself into my mind, "'the shadows further accentuating its ominous visage. "'I was imagining that I was being swallowed whole by the fun house.

"'Maybe it's not too late to turn. "'Three!' "'Derick shouted Zee threw open the door in excitement, ending my thought dead in its tracks. Inside the room was dark, like in the entrance, save for these dark orange LED lights peppering small areas. Quickly, yet hesitantly, I stepped inside, Derek following close behind.

The door slammed itself shut with a thud, making my heart pound that much harder in my chest. For a drawn-out moment, we just stood there, consumed in an all-encompassing darkness that was only penetrated by the three dimly shaded orange spotlights hanging side by side in front of us. After a few seconds, my eyes adjusted to the darkness enough to make out the shapes of doors under each of the three spotlights. One of them had a yellow frowny face ornament hanging on the front, while another was decorated

with a smiling face. The last door had a more abstract expression, two X-shapes for the eyes and an Oh, shape, mouth. I had no time to ponder what the doors led to, however, before the booming voice rang out again. Welcome. Before you were three doors. One leads to a dead end.

A vintage-sounding recording of disappointed groans played out. Another door will lead you into a maze to find our special friend. Happy Jacko! This time it was the sound of children cheering the echo from all around. the last door leads to a special secret surprise for anyone bored enough to enter this was followed by the crowd of exaggerated ooze and surprise gasps hmm secret surprise i wondered before the voice boomed out good luck and most importantly remember to smile followed by the disjointed carnival music from before

follow me Derek said as we approached the door in the middle with the smiley face and before I knew it, I was following Derek into the smiley-faced door. Before we could even grab the knob to open it, I piped up. Wait! What's up? he asked, staring puzzled at me with his hands still reaching for the knob of the smiley-faced door. My mind was racing between the nauseating senses of paranoia and dread that this god-forsaken place continued to assail me with,

and the possibilities of what the secret surprise was. Let's try this door first, I suggested, point into the door with a shocked expression hanging on the front. Whatever the secret is, this is the door it would be behind, right? A reason to myself, as I told Derek that that's the door where we may have the strongest possibility of finding the amazing Belaya. For a second, Derek stood there, pondering my suggestion. Um, maybe we should split up too.

You take that door, I'll take this one. and this time I was the one weighing options. Did I really want to do this alone? What about Derek? Was I really going to make him do this alone? Before I could actually voice any of these thoughts, however, Derek was already in the act of opening the smiley-faced door. I watched Derek close the door behind him and disappear into the room.

But why didn't I follow him? Why couldn't I have gone through that door? Oh, I'm so sorry, Derek. For a moment that felt just shy of an eternity, I stood there in front of the door, my body quivering like somebody had shoved a freaking time bomb down my throat. What are you afraid of? I wondered, trying to rid myself of the cold dread that burrowed its way back into my head with twice its original magnitude. This is what you wanted, right? What you were looking forward to?

The chance to be the first to see the amazing beliar in the flesh. part three as i began to reach for the door hands shaking uncontrollably i closed my eyes and began muttering out loud there's nothing to be afraid of over and over like it was a mantra my eyes shot open immediately upon grabbing the doorknob jerking my hand back when i felt something slick and wet what the hell I remember thinking as I held my hand up to the dim, dark orange shade illuminating the door overhead. My eyes went wide at seeing the dark red stain covering my hand. At first I was a bit confused and my mind started running through questions. What the fuck is this stuff? Is it paint? Before long, however, another possibility slipped into the forefront of my mind, a much more sinister possibility.

Is this blood? I felt my entire body go limp in utter dread as I look back at the door, now noticing that not only was the knob stained with red, but the door itself was scattered with dark splotches all across the front, haphazardly, like the spattering of blood. I closed my eyes and tried shaking the thought from my mind. There's nothing to be afraid of. Stop being a freaking chicken. And even as I told myself this, the image of the creepy clown-post had crashed its way back into my mind.

I felt those dead marble eyes boring into me, staring into my very soul, the wide, split grin taunting me. I then envisioned the dark red makeup starting to melt and smear across the rest of the pasty white face. My blood! And this introduced a new thought to me. Is that why all the makeup is red?

Is it blood? Despite the frightening imagery invading my mind, I still felt compelled to open the door. Nothing behind this door will... That thought died abruptly when I heard what sounded like someone crying in the distance. It was quiet and I almost didn't even notice it. That was until I pressed my ear to the door and heard the crying get louder, sounding tortured. Is someone hurt in there?

Despite the mounting dread building inside me, I found myself, albeit unconsciously, turning the nose. of the door and walking inside. Instantly I was blinded by the fluorescent lighting of the room, forcing me to squim my eyes nearly completely shut. Next, my sense of smell was assaulted by a foul my asthma of rotted meat. My eyes watered and I had to hold my breath to keep from emptying my stomach completely. I kept pressing forward, hearing the crying get louder.

As I went, my eyes now able to adjust a bit to the harsh lighting, I saw that the room was a long white corridor with big brown wooden crates lined against the walls, one on each wall. One of them was labelled with the classic yellow smiley face, but the other instead bore the creepy red smile from the poster. Just then the loud voice boomed over the speaker again. Welcome to the secret passage. I was once again jarred by the sudden boom of the voice, derailing my train of thought. two boxes sit in front of you a recording of exaggerated gasps comes

the kind you'd hear on those old-timey game shows from the 50s playing before the voice continued inside the boxes you'll find a secret tunnel one will lead you to the balloon room this time it was a recording of children cheering the other leads down the garbage chute and this was followed by a cartoonish sounding fog-horn blaring.

Oh, garbage chute. So that's where the awful smells coming from. I thought to myself, as the voice continued to tell me that I had 30 seconds to choose one of the passages. That's when a new voice came over the speaker, a younger voice. The voice was stuttering, quivering, like they were going to break into tears at any second.

There was a loud banging sound, like someone had slammed something down. down. Then the younger voice came back, his voice shaking in absolute hysterics. I hear the amazing Belai likes to hang out in the balloon room. Oh, I heard that too. You think your friend will find him? The deep jovial voice said, with the obviously fake surprise gasps you hear from all birthday clowns when they try to make something sound exciting. For a second, all I heard was the young voice whimpering.

I don't want to do this. I want to go home. Before there was another thud sounds. This time I was sure I could hear a crunching sound, too, like crushing bones, which was followed immediately by the young voice letting out a shrill cry of pain. What the fuck? I muttered aloud, unable to contain the terrified panic building up inside me. I said, the jovial voice barked, now sounding far more aggressive. You think our friend will be able to find him.

The young voice just kept crying that they wanted to go home. What the hell's going on? I wondered as I looked at my red-stained hand again, colour draining from my face as the horrific revelation slowly became more and more clear to me. it looks like someone needs a visit to the balloon room themselves i heard the kid's voice start bawling begging and pleading for dear life it trailed further away from the mic after that it was silent again i just stood there panicking a million thoughts swarming my head like a horde of pissed-off wasps what do i do i stood wondering who was that over the speakers

why did they sound so afraid? What were they doing to him? This line of questioning continued as I thought about the kids begs and please when the other voice mentioned him going to the balloon room. That was when a new, far more sinister question rammed to the forefront of my thoughts, forcing my blood to freeze over. What's in the balloon room? Before I was able to consider further the possible horrors that were in the balloon room, however, I heard what sounded like sandpaper being dragged across metal.

The eardrum, shattering screech forced me to cover my ears as tightly as humanly possible, wincing in pain reflexively. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the long alabaster corridor looked smaller than before, more compacted. The screeching continued, and I watched the wall at the far end of the corridor pushed forward towards me. I began to step back as I watched the two walls begin to push towards each side. other, when I felt the wall behind me began to push against me, forcing me forward.

I began to panic, the true terror of the situation sinking further in with every inch of the walls of the white corridor shifted towards the centre. The walls are closing in. In my immediate panic, I grabbed the knob of the door behind me. I jerked with all of my strength, to no avail. The door wouldn't budge. I was pushed back towards the center of the room as the entrance wall continued its advance. That's when I began to make out the sound of a faint tinkling tune. The more I listened, the more I realized that it was Pop Goes the Weasel. I stood in the centre, scrambling in a petrified frenzy to think of a way out of the corridor. I looked at the two crates at my right and left. One leads to the balloon room, and the other leads

down the garbage chute. The jovial voice mentally reminded me as I began. exchanging glances between the two crates. Which one am I supposed to go through? I frantically asked myself. The walls to my left and right were now only about three feet apart from each other. I looked at the one with a red smile and began to attempt opening it.

The next few moments felt like time had slowed down, every second feeling drawn out just to tease me. I started prying at the crate with all of my strength, made even more arduous because of the wall's advancement pushing me away from the crate. Each time I was pushed away from the approaching wall in front of me, I'd stumble back only to basically ricochet off the wall behind me, continuing to close in for the kill.

I felt my arms begin to get weak after about the fifth unsuccessful attempt at prying open the crate, my fingertips feeling like there were seconds away from being ripped off the ends of my fingers. By then there was only about a foot and a half between each wall, As I kept feebly trying to pry the crate open, tears filled my eyes with the thoughts of being crushed and compacted into a human garbage cube. Began to feel the crate from the wall behind me press against my back. I looked up again and saw that both the entrance wall and the rear wall no only had barely

a foot of clearance between each other. I felt the crate continued to push me forward from the advancing wall behind me into the approaching wall in front of me. now only about five inches apart from each other. That was when, amidst the panic-induced terror consuming my thoughts, an idea quickly moulded itself into my head. I knew that, before too much longer, the walls would eventually bring the two crates together,

crushing them both. I thought of the way that the top of a drink can would burst open if a force was applied to the rest of the can. If I can just get the lid off, I told myself, as a client, on top of the crate behind me, now with no available clearance left in any direction. I knew I'd have to be careful to only let it compress the crate enough to pop the top loose, just enough to reveal the supposed passageway inside for me to slip through before I was

crushed. When the two crates finally met, I had a loud whir, as the walls attempted to continue their menacing advancement, now temporarily stalled by the two wooden crates. the corridor was now only barely a fraction of its original length and whip I couldn't even extend my arms in either direction without feeling one of the four walls around me I could actually feel the extra effort it took for me to even properly breathe oh come on just a little bit more I muttered as I watched the two crates press further and further into each other my face drenched in sweat and tears and my heart thundering in my chest I found my lucky break when I heard the distinct sound of wood crunching and the pop of nails being forced loose.

Immediately I reached over and forced off the lid of the crate in front of me to reveal a round hole in the centre of it that had one of those dark tube slides, like what you'd find in a jungle gym attached to it. As the walls began to regain their former speed, I all but heard myself head first into the tube slide. I had to hold my breath as I went down the tube slide as the hot. its stench from before returned with even more potency. Oh, this must be the one for the garbage chute, I realized, as I tried once again to empty my stomach as I went down the tube. I continued to slide down the darkened tube until I was eventually ejected out and into

what I presumed to be the garbage chute. I fell out of the slide, bracing for impact against a cold, hard floor. I was slightly surprised, however, when I landed on something soft. part four for for at least a good ten minutes or so i just laid there as a terrified adrenaline began to wear off leaving both my body and my mind completely drained as my heart rate slowly returned to normal my eyes began to register the surrounding environment by this point despite it being the strongest in this new room i had somehow managed to adapt to the offence if carry an odour to the point that it no longer had an effect on me. The room was almost without light completely, save for a faint glow in the centre of the room.

I sat up, feeling something soft underneath my hands, something smooth, yet cold and clammy. What the hell is this? I wondered, unable to see what I was now sitting on top of. It felt familiar in how smooth and malleable the thing beneath me was, yet odd at the same time at how cold. and stiff it felt. I felt around as I began to bring myself to my feet, still feeling much of the same sensations as before. Once I managed to fully stand, I began making my way towards

the faint, orangeish glow in the centre of the room, stumbling with almost every step of the way, with the ground seeming to be uneven and shifting beneath my feet. About midway to the centre of the room, something snagged my right foot and my balance faltered, causing me to trip and fall on my face into the illuminated radius. After quickly recovering to my feet, I saw that the glow was coming from two long white candles that sat in the slender silver holder sitting on top of this long black marble slab. Facing me on the other side of the slab was a large painted portrait of a man clad in grey, a grey hooded robe. The man's face was a ghostly white with long black shoulder-length hair and black painted lips that split into an unnatural and sinister smile that stretched on

one side of his face to the other, and a long, thin, black, goat-looking beard. Even more disturbing, however, were the large black, inverted cross designs painted around his eyes. As I felt across the slab I noticed indentations in the surface. I grabbed one of the candles and held it close to the indentations, making out the carving of a five-pointed star, forming what looked to be the head of a goat. Below the symbol were the words, praise be liar carved into the slab's smooth surface what the fuck is this place i remember thinking as while i was never raised religious i did grow up watching enough of the classic hammer films to know what a satanic altar looked like thoughts came rushing through my head trying to connect the dots to form a horrific picture i began to back away from the altar candle still in hand when i misstepped falling backwards. I rolled over and held up the candle to see what had tripped me, and I screamed.

There, staring at me with two milky white spheres rolled all the way back, was the mutilated face of a young boy who couldn't have been any older than me at the time. With the candle's warm glow, I saw that the boy's eyelids have been forcefully removed, having torn away most of the skin around the sockets as well, leaving his eyes to just sit there in two bloody exposed socket. instantly my mind reel back to the image on the poster the bright dark red circles around two dead eyes that image was made even more haunting when i saw the boy's lips had been ripped clean off of his face completely exposing the inside of his mouth from one end to the other parting upwards at the cheeks to form a demented smile as it moved the light away from the dead boy's face to illuminate other areas of the room i saw that there were more bodies everywhere everywhere, hundreds of thousands of horrifically scarred bodies, all of them kids, all with her eyelids mouth torn into carved, ghoulish smiles. Some of them looked even younger than the one I'd tripped

over, and looked to be further decayed than others. It was at this point that I just couldn't take it anymore, and I doubled over and vomited. Once I'd emptied the contents of my stomach until they were only dry heaves. I just sat there, crying, wanting to go home. It was then that I heard the sound of a door opening. I looked over to see an open doorway, silhouetteing four figures. Three of them were adults by their height, and the last was shorter, a kid.

Thinking quickly, I hid by burying myself underneath a few of the nearby corpses, leaving just a small opening that was big enough for me to peek out without being noticed. I heard the kid struggling. Please, just let me go. I won't tell anyone. I swear to fucking God, the kid cried. His voice sounding all too familiar to me, that my mind didn't want to admit already,

knowing exactly whose voice it was. Uh-oh, somebody's got a foul mouth. A deep jovial voice, the same deep jovial voice from earlier, shouted before bursting into a fit of demented giggling. another hyper jovial voice this one more high-pitched and jittery replied with well you know what that means don't you happy bob the other just kept giggling insanely and i heard the kid wail out in pain that's when another voice spoke up this one inhumanly deep and imposing enough brother jacko deliver the child to the altar

I saw the silhouettes of the figures approached the slab, the kid thrashing and wailing as they dragged him along. My eyes widened in dread as I saw, illuminated in the candles glow, the clown from the painting, complete with the inverted crosses around his eyes. He was wearing a black and white striped hat with two curved horns that curled back like the horns of a goat.

Soon after the other two joined at the altar, forcing the kid onto the slab. Despite the limited illumination, the sinister display before me was clear enough for me to see from where I was hiding. Standing at either end of the slab with the two clowns, the one on the left-hand side was a scrawny clown

in a yellow suit with a crude smile stitched into it, wearing a weird black and yellow-striped hat with two ends that hung down to the left side of his head, bearing a smiley face and a frowny face ball attached to the ends, while the clown on the right was more heavy set with a round face wearing a black and white dual-coloured suit and had a sailor's hat with a sad face on it both with the same albino face paint

and by now all too familiar red face paint designs around their eyes and mouths the leader was standing in the middle facing forward in my direction from the other side of the slab my heart nearly stopped dead though when I saw that my unspoken dreaded fear was realised when I saw that the kid struggling on the slab was Derek.

No, no, no, this isn't about to happen, is it? Knowing damn well exactly what they planned to do to him. I could see him struggling as hard as he could, but it was no use against the iron vise grips the clowns had on his arms and legs, restraining him to the slab. Who are you, people? Why are you doing this? Please just let me go. The longer I watched this morbid act unfolds, the more I could see Derek's petrified and bludgeoned face.

What have they done to him? My mind began to cycle back to earlier in the white corridor, hearing the sounds of snapping bone and the wail of agony that followed. But now the full horror of that situation was revealed. Unto thee and the burning leg beneath, I, your servant, present this offering. The clown, with the inverted crosses around his eyes bellowed, his unnaturally baritone vocals echoing off the walls of the dark room. Oh, please, just let me go. I won't tell anybody. Derek Ball, as the clown then pulled out a dagger in a small black book.

I just sat there hidden under the pile of corpses of kids who'd been sacrificed, watching in hopeless terror as they were preparing to do the same to my friend. God, I have to do something. Of course, I had no idea of what. I watched as the one in the middle poised the blade above Derek's right eye before continuing. I only ask of thee in return for the eternal youth and happiness for myself and my disciples. Praise Beliah! The other two chanted in unison.

Belire! My heart plummeted into my stomach as the realisation. became clear. The clown then opened the small book and began chanting in another language. In nominate a Leviathan, Serpentum, bestia ex-abuso, as he cut into Derek's right eye, ripping away his eyelid and the rest of the skin around it. Derek's cries of pain was so shrill that I was forced to see my eyes shut tight and cover my ears. I still hear his screams, I'll always hear his screams.

When he was finished, the clown in the middle, the amazing beliar, then poised the blade over his left eye and chanted. In nominate, as Mordius, prince have been fairies, before then plunging the blade down above his left eye, slowly cutting away the skin around it like with the other. I couldn't just sit there and watch any more. I thought that if I could somehow distract them long enough to let go, Derek might be able to run away. as I tried to formulate a plan I saw the amazing Belire proceed to insert the blade into Derek's mouth

Derek screamed out please no more shaking his head and staring pleadingly for mercy with his exposed skinless eyes I worked myself out from under the pile of bodies on top of me unnoticed as the amazing Beliier

began dragging the blade across the right corner of his mouth tearing it upward across his cheek and up to his right ear while chanting. In nominé satanus, insissid in drako at pater in ferret. Let him go, you fucking bastards! I screamed, interrupting him before he could finish. Derek lulled his head over in my direction,

fully exposing the mutilation of his face. Linus! He croaked out weakly. His vocal cord strained from his screams. run But I was already charging head first into the clown on the left that was restraining his arms

Apparently having successfully caught him by surprise I actually managed to shove the clown away from the altar And was even able to tackle him to the ground My luck didn't last however As he quickly and easily threw me off of him Hurling me to the floor Before I could try for another assault though The other clown grabbed me off the floor

and yanked me onto my feet, pinning my arms behind my back. I tried to struggle against him, but it was no use. His grip was like a gorilla. The more I struggled, the further back he pinned my arms, causing me to cry out in pain. Oh, looks like we got us a wild one here, a happy jack-o, old buddy. The fat-faced clown called to the other one that I tackled, who now had Derek restrained to the slab once again.

The clown then forced me to the ground on my face before planting his boot firmly in my back and seizing my arms and yet again pinning them even harder, causing me to shriek in even more agony. Why don't we see how loud he can scream, happy Bob. Make the little piggy squeal for mommy. Happy Jacko suggested, giggling hysterically. I looked up, craning my neck to lock eyes with Derek, still forced down to the slab. His eyes, though scarred. and skinless, looked almost apologetic. That was when I felt the boot of Happy Bob

raised up and slam down onto the middle of my back, causing my arms to try and bend my upper torso backwards in an attempt to snap me in half. This caused me to scream harder than ever until the amazing belio bellowed, enough, prompting him to remove his boot from my back and release my arms. I just laid the too sore to move. That's when the amazing Belire approached me and kneeled down, nudging my chin up with his finger to meet his sinister gaze. For a moment he just stared at me, his soulless black eyes burning into mine. Please, please just let us go, I weakly begged, my body still throbbing with pain. His black lips split into a menacing grin as he stroked my cheek.

His grin then disappeared as he looked up at happy Beauband and said in a cold, deep tone, Bring the boy to the altar. I felt him forcefully grabbed my arms and hoist me to my feet, guiding me over to the altar, where I was once again staring into my friend's mutilated face. I then looked over to see that the amazing Belaya now held a large sledgehammer in his hands.

What are you doing? I sputtered. My eyes going wide as fear drained the color from my face. He must have seen the terror in my face. eyes as he just smiled again and stroked my cheek with the left face of the hammer, teasing me. Do you care for this boy's life? He asked in his deep voice, a sense of sick glee seeping through. A tear ran down my cheek as I stared into Derek's naked and exposed eyes. His smile grew as he moved the sledgehammer away from my face and looked down at Derek. I began trying to struggle

again, but it was no use. My arms might as well have been caught in a bear trap. I watched him raise the sledge hammer above his head and swing it down with all his strength on Derek's shoulder, flattening it and shattering the bones. Stop it! I screamed, tears filling my eyes. Stop, stop, boo-hoo, hoo-hoo! Happy Bob mocked, giggling hysterically. The hammer came down three more times onto Derek's chest, and he began to cough up blood while convolved. you always were the best at whack-a-mole happy jacko cheered bursting into his own giggling fit he finally dropped the sledgehammer as derrick's body started to go limp derrick derrick i screamed through my tears oh somebody's not happy happy bob quipped in a sing-song voice i look back to see him pucker his own bottom lip and make whimpering sounds "'Oh, I have an idea,'

"'happy Jacko said eagerly, "'like you as excited.' "'He then walked into the doorway "'they came in from "'and grabbed what looked like a tank of helium, "'the kind they'd used for birthday parties. "'You know what? "'I think I'll turn the little piggy's frown upside down, Bobbo.'

"'Giggling, happy Bob replied. "'Oh, what's that? "'Oh, I think he needs a balloon.' "'He then looked at me and asked, would you like that piggy Would you like a balloon I just stared back at him Too confused and terrified

Of what he meant by balloon To say anything That's when I felt the hand of happy Bob Grab my jaw and force it up and down Like I was a puppet Speaking in a fake higher pitch voice Oh I love a balloon Happy Jacko

I watched as he then attached an air hose To the valve of the tank Then Before I could even blink I helplessly watched as the amazing belire plunged the blade of the dagger into Derek's neck. No, I screamed. My vocal cords beginning to tear. I struggled harder than ever, but I still couldn't get out of the psycho clown's grasp. Oh, we got an eager one. He's really excited for his special bloom.

Happy Jacko taunted. Derek conversed again, and blood began gushing before his eyes rolled back and he went limp. you psycho fucks have killed him I tried to hang my head down so I wouldn't have to look anymore but they weren't done with me yet and I felt happy Bob yanked my head up by my hair do you want to see your balloon he said giggling with excitement through my tears I watched in horrified revulsion

as happy jacko slipped the air hose into the gaping bloody gash in Derek's throat and opened up the valve of the helium tank Within seconds, I beheld the birth of the product of my worst nightmares to come, as the skin of Derek's face began to expand, inflating to the point where the gash in his throat tore until his neck had completely ripped away from his shoulders. I couldn't even turn away. Happy Bob forced my head to stay in place to make sure I watched every goddamn second of the sickening act. I saw Derek's dead eyes bulge from their bloody sockets. almost sticking straight out.

Happy Jacko then pulled out the air hose, patching up the gash to seal it off. And voila, your very own special balloon. Happy Jacko exclaimed, jumping up and down with glee. He even tied a string to the severed spinal cord dangling from his severed neck, holding it out to me as his scarred dismembered head

just floated in the air like, well, like a freaking balloon. My body finally just went limp as he, the balloon, just floated there, staring at me with two large white orbs rolled back in his shredded mouth, smile. I just started retching, only resulting in dry heaves. What's wrong, piggy? Don't like the balloon? I just look back up at Happy Jacko, tears drenching my horrid fight face and croaked out. why the next thing i knew the amazing beliah smiling that demon smile stabbed the side of derrick's inflated head causing an ear splitting pop and the contents of his head to shower all over us

uh oh it popped happy jacko teased shrugging his shoulders before bursting into another fit of giggles i couldn't help but scream when i saw that amidst the gore covering me from head to toe were loose scraps of his face sticking to me. Despite my hysterical state, however, I was able to seize a chance to escape when I threw my head straight back and bashed Happy Bob's nose. He immediately threw me to the floor

and brought his hands up to his nose, which was now busted wide open and gushing blood. He let out a sharp, angry cry of pain and looked at me with a shocked expression. You heard me! His voice sounded like a child, who was caught off guard, immediately morphing into a tone and expression of white-hot rage as he bellowed. You hit me!

Now no longer holding the dementedly jovial facade. You little shit, he roared, lunging forward to grab me. In an instant I rolled away, dodging Happy Bob's attempted seizure and cramble back to my feet and ran for dear life to the open doorway. I didn't dare look back as I could hear. the thundering footfalls in hot pursuit behind me. I ran through the door and slammed it shut behind me and grabbing a few of the other nearby spare helium tanks, trying hard not to think of Derek as I did so. I prop them against the door to possibly hold it shut long enough for me to at least gain some distance. I heard the crash of the door being rammed from the other side.

The tanks held firm for the first three assaults on the door before I noticed them starting to budge. They'll be through that door any moment, I realised. After the tanks shifted. it more away from the door, allowing it to open a small crack. Frantically, I started looking around the room I was currently in to find an exit, or at least some sort of equivalent to one. The area I was in now looked to be another hallway. This one, though, was orange and seemed to be round. The walls and ceiling curved outwards, with doors similar to the ones I'd seen in the room the three doors behind the happy Jacko door, all labelled with cartoon and smiley faces.

Which door is the... My question was cut off by a harsh banging on the door. I snapped back to see that the door had started to poke outwards and the hinges beginning to rip away from the wall. My eyes went wide then, and I could actually feel my head getting lighter and lighter with every panicked palpitation of my heart. Another series of bangs rocked the door,

further stovving it outward, when I decided to try the door on my life, left. I ran over and urgently threw the door open, only to have to hold onto the inwardly curved frame to keep from falling into the pit of jagged nails jutting out from the floor below. I quickly threw myself back to regain my balance in the hallway and closed the door back. Another crash against the door knocked one of the hinges clean off of the frame, sending it flying off. I stayed focused on trying to find the exit. The next door I did. tried was in the middle of the right hand wall. Throwing the door open I was immediately blinded

by a mounted strobe lights at the far end of the room. I shielded my eyes and tried to back away when I felt the air around me being sucked away and into the room. Because my body was still weak from the beating I took from the clowns, coupled with how quickly the air was being devoured by the room, my vision slowly started to blur and vertigo began to overtake me. My legs began to give, forcing me to hold on to the doorframe to hold myself up. Despite the dizziness, I was still able to see clearly enough that the entrance to the circular hallway

had now been fully bashed off of its hinges. Happy Bob stood there in the exposed doorway, tightly gripping the sledgehammer, covered in blood and brain tissue. Blood was also flowing from his nose, which now looked to be caved in. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, and his teeth were clenched,

with a distinct animalistic growl in his voice he bellowed I'm going to bash your little piggy head into fucking pace as he charged towards me his face twitching with every step with an aggressive grunt hurled at me I stumbled into the oxygen devouring Caesar inducing room like I was drunk just narrowly dodging the projectile sledgehammer I had to squint my eyes from the epileptic strobe light

I continued to stumble around the room, unable to clearly perceive anything as my disoriented vision continued to blur and my breathing became more and more heavy. Behind me I was able to see Happy Bob retrieve the sledgehammer and stomped towards me,

his breathing heavy and full of murderous rage. If I faint, I'm done for, I taught myself as I pushed myself forward. In the distance, I still. Strain my vision enough to see a dark, rectangular shape underneath the strobe light. A door, just a little further, I told myself as dark clouds started creeping into the corners of my vision. I could hear the whistling of the sledgehammer chopping through the air before impacting on the walls and floor behind me.

Chancing a look back, I could see that his movements were slow as well, his balance failing and the swings of the hammer erratic. It hit me. the vacuum must be affecting him too I watched him stagger a bit as he slammed the hammer down before raising up for another sluggish swing as he continued towards me

despite this though I had to keep moving because I couldn't afford to risk passing out before he did I shambled forward towards the strobe lights keeping as much of my focus on the door underneath it as was possible for me as I felt the room

around me starting to spin I managed to make it three quarters of the way there before my knees finally buckled, giving out from under me, and I clasped to the floor on my hands and knees. I heard and felt a resounding thought to resonate through the ground beneath me. I looked back to see, despite my deleted vision, that Happy Bob had dropped the sledgehammer, and was now wobbling forward with his arms outstretched to choke out what little bit of life I was clinging on to. Almost there, effort to keep moving. My thoughts were becoming cloudier by the second. Using every ounce of reserved strength and then some, I managed to push

onwards to the door that was almost gone from my failing vision, crawling on my hands and knees. Behind me, still shambling forward. Happy Bob growled out, his words slurred. I'm going to rip your guts out, before his legs also failed him, and he too fell to the ground. My arms began to quiver now, just as my legs had, and I began wheezing and gasping for breath like a fish being held out of the water. Just before I could give in to the darkness, however, my hand felt the smooth service of a door in front of me, and I fell up for the knob, grabbing and turning it open. The very last of my energy was expanded and crawling weakly out of the room and closing the door behind me. Immediately, I fell back against the door, completely spent as

all at once, fresh oxygen flooded my starving lungs. The sudden influx of fresh air caused me to cough and wheeze before finally returning to Nor. After several relieving deep breaths, my vision also began to regain composure, as I was able to make out my current environment to be the hallway we'd first come into. Linus? I lowered my head over to where the voice had come from. It was Liza.

I've been waiting here for thirty, but... She stopped dead in her tracks and frowned. What's all over you? I didn't... No, I couldn't answer. The horrific image of Derek, his inflated, dismembered head with his mutilated face, stabbed itself back into my mind as I buried my face into my viscerer cake palms and started crying. Are you okay? What happened?

Where's Derek? It was then that I just completely broke down, dropping my hands from my face and going into a full meltdown. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I blubbered out, not knowing what else to say. Look, this isn't funny. Where's my brother? Liza demanded, her voice taking on a tone of anxious agitation.

They, they, was all I was able to say. You know what, forget. it. I'm calling mum and dad. This is not cool. I just sat there crying as I watched her storm out of the entrance. I'm able to bring myself to tell her that she was never going to find her brother, at least not alive, or even in one piece. What happened immediately after felt surreal, like I was barely aware of it half the time. I remember Liza returning with her folks, as well as the police. They immediately suspected the worst when they entered and saw me. covered in blood. It wasn't long before they had backup arrive and began searching the

place for Derek. They tried questioning me and I did my best to tell them what I'd seen and experienced. I couldn't tell you whether or not they believed me, not that it really mattered in the end. After they decided not to question me further, they escorted me to my house when they filled my parents in on Derek's disappearance. I remember the look of panic on Marr's face when she saw me stained in blood. I also remember that she asked me if I was okay, only for me to just break down again. Fortunately, neither she nor dad pressed for further details that night.

I found out a few days later that the police searched the area for five hours after they took me home, before giving up the search for the night, and in another three months they give up the search parties entirely and declare him as a missing person. I also heard that during the search. their searches, Happy World was completely abandoned. Like nobody or nothing was ever there to begin with, just like Derek had said.

I wish this was where my story ended. I wish that that was the last I ever saw of Happy World, or those satanic psycho clowns. But unfortunately, it wasn't. And it wasn't the last time I'd watched people I loved and cared about full victim to them. All of that will have to be a story for another time. I just can't bring myself to type out any more right now. Maybe now, though, I can possibly feel safe sleeping at least a little bit tonight. If what this shrink say is true...

and so once again we reach the end of tonight's podcast my thanks as always to the authors of those wonderful stories and to you for taking the time to listen now i'd ask one small favor of you wherever you get your podcast wrong please write a few nice words and leave a five-star review as it really helps the podcast that's it for this week but i'll be back again same time same place and i do so hope you'll join me once more until next time Sweet dreams and bye-bye.