Overheard at Booth 3: A Scene from This Year's Mad Carnival

#MadCarnival

Luis stepped around behind the white painted hot dog stand and found himself off the Midway, by the back wall of the pavilion.  Immediately, he was shocked by how dark and silent this place was.  Only two feet from the action and the hustlebustle, he crooked his neck and he could see the lights in the distance but it suddenly seemed miles away, not just a few footsteps.

A movement, a brushing of shadows, against the nearby wall drew his attention again.  "Anybody there?" he asked, even though he didn't know why he asked.

A form emerged from the shadow, and split at the top into two shadow forms, one shadow against the wall and the other turning to look at Luis to say, "Move along, kid, we're busy."

The other shadow giggled, "Why not let him watch?"

Luis saw then what he thought were two sets of eyes, from each of the forms, glow bright white, hot ... then turn red.  From somewhere far behind him, he heard the roaring screams of delight from the cars of the swift dip of the roller coaster.

The other shadow then leaned forward and sunk her fangs into the outstretched wrist. Blood sprayed in four directions in a spray and the shadow from opened his mouth to catch a few splatters of his own blood on his own tongue, which lapped at the air, forked and darting like a serpent.

Luis screamed.  He screamed like the roller coaster screams, rising and dipping and distant and present.  He turned and ran back toward the hot dog stand, the midway, the laughter and screams and the lights and other people's dreams.

The other shadow pressed the other again against the wall.  "Kids," he said.

"Gets 'em every time," she said.  Then she took his open-veined wrist and drew it to her hungry lips and they became one shadow again.

Overheard at Table 2: Notes for This Year's Mad Carnival

 Matthew_NCC1701
@Matthew_DS9
·
Oct 4
#MadCarnival #MadVerse

Stop spinning.
Slow your breath.
Heart pound in your chest.
Take a moment
Reach out your hand
Touch the glass.
You've been here so long
with these
Tangible illusions of other you's.

Madhouse mirrors.

Which grotesque reflection
will escape to the Midway?
Matthew_NCC1701
@Matthew_DS9
·
23h
#MadCarnival #MadVerse #TheMidway
#inkslingers

Incipient Dreams
spawned by
Moonlit Madness

foretell the approach
of demonic gladness -

that must be why
every eye
I spy
passing by

glows red
like blood, shed
from the living
dead.
Matthew_NCC1701
@Matthew_DS9
·
8h
Something's coming.

You're just being paranoid.

No, it's been tracking us since Detroit.

Hunter?

Maybe, but it feels different. Angry.

Personal.

Yes.

I always told you to choose your food wisely.  Noone that has a family.  How safe are we here at #MadCarnival?

Not very.
Matthew_NCC1701
@Matthew_DS9
·
Oct 2
#MadVerse #MadCarnival

Lost in the midway
Headspin lights
Brights and tickets,
One shot one try!
Everyone's a winner!
Balloon darts never hit
And this stench of
Rancid hoydogcheese
and cottoncandy nightmares
and what's that screaming
from the Tilt-A-Whirl?
Matthew_NCC1701
@Matthew_DS9
·
8h
#MadCarnival

Step right up guys and dolls and falls of every spring summer and winter, you'll begin ter
see the light
just right, get tight
ly packed inside to
to see what Nature tries
to hide,
what you are about to see,
can't be un-seen but don't
scream, don't you
dare
screa-
Matthew_NCC1701
@Matthew_DS9
·
Oct 5
Midway at the #MadCarnival - a small booth sandwiched between the Petting Zoo and the Ring Toss.  Manned by a balding septuagenarian chewing on an old cigar, it's chock full of crates of old albums.  I pull one out trepidly, to find this cover of an old childhood nightmare:

 

 

 

 

Overheard at Table 2: A Story of What Happens When We Tell Our Children They Can Be Anything They Want to Be

Lauren told her daughter, Madison, that she could be anything she wanted.

"Anything?" asked Madison.

"Yes," Lauren said.

"I want to be YOU!" said Madison.

SO, that is how Madison showed up one morning at Carruthers Tools and Dyes, an eight-year-old girl in slacks and blouse, marched into the back office and took her seat at the desk of the head of HR.

The VP of Finance asked her what she was doing and shouldn't her mom be with her.

"Nope!" Madison said, "She's at home in time-out because she wouldn't finish her breakfast this morning."

"But," the VP said, "why are you here?"

"I am the Vice President of Human Resources," said Madison proudly.  "I am Mommy!"

"Uhh, I think we'd better call your mommy."

"She told me about you. You're a meanie.  You're fired!"

"You can't fire me!"

"Pack your stuff and go, meanie weenie jelly beanie!"

Overheard at Booth 4: Water for Corona

When my wife came down with COVID, I decided that I was gonna prevent it by staying hydrated.

What the ...

Yeah!  I said to myself I'm gonna drink so much water it'll be coming out of every pore!

Isn't that called "sweating"

You know what I mean.

Overheard at Table 4: Defenestrate Me

They walked into the hotel room, 5th floor, view of the city.  Eagerly, he began to strip: belt, shoes, shirt, pants.

As he turned, she was already in the leather suit, tight taut against all the curvaceous augmentations.   "Payment up front, Mr ... Smith" she purred.

He slapped the bills on the table.  He said, "OK, now, give it to me."

"Say it," she said.  "You have to say it, you nasty boy!"

"I wanna be defenestrated.  DEFENESTRATE ME!"

So she did.

On his way down, it suddenly crossed his mind that he really didn't know what that word meant.

Now he does.

Overheard at Table 2: COVID and the Water

Wife's got COVID but I keep testing negative.  I think it's the water.

Water?

Yeah, I keep drinking water.  So much water.  Keeps the system running.  I swear I'm just going to keep drinking water until it comes out of every pore!

Isn't that called "sweating"

You know what I mean.

Overread at Table 1: Today's Prompts

 

#EverydayErotica280 955 Broad

My wife still remembers age 16,

when her older sister

made fun of her broad shoulders.

"You look like a quarterback"

She's never worn a sleeveless dress since.

Ah! but those broad shoulders,

allow that tiny woman

to hold my body

so close

so tight.

 

MR

2022-1001

 

 

#haikuhorrorprompt 434 Haunting

Amazing, really,
what a little haunting will do:
delicious madness.

#prompt
#haiku

MR

2022-1001

#horrorprompt 866 Note

Grandpa forbade anyone to touch the piano.
Made in 1794, covered almost always by a thick blanket.

But, one day, he was in the garden, and I lifted the lid & snuck my hand to the keyboard, just one note, I thought, just one...

and in response

they came

MR

2022-1001