ᴛʜᴇ ɴɪɢʜᴛ ᴄᴀʀɴɪᴠᴀʟ (nc_mods) wrote in insane_games, @ 2014-10-10 23:37:00 |
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When one first walks up to the Carnival, it doesn’t appear to be much. There are 6-foot tall fences around the perimeter covered in black tarps and old sideshow advertisements-- the kind that were painted on big drop cloths depicting women lying with snakes, and men swallowing swords. It is an array of the odd and the interesting. Visible against the alluring ads are unmistakable and unable to be missed NO TRESPASSING signs that seem as threatening as they are ominous. The carnival sign is unlit and unimpressive until sundown when it lights up in such a way it almost seems to draw people in. Something about it is hard to explain and impossible to walk away from as it lords over a ticket booth manned by two people in face make-up. Once inside people will only be charged extra for food and services such as fortune telling or face painting. All of the night’s shows can be viewed freely. Once inside, the carnival is set up in a series of corridors, it’s easy to get lost, which is what the carnival wants: to get you lost, to spend more time, to see more. There are tents and booths, some big, some small, some two stories high so acrobats can fly through them. Booths might be selling wares or offering you a sample of their baked goods, while others may offer tarot readings or throw runes. You may even stumble across a tent with a woman inside, selling potions with outlandish claims. Occasionally there are callers outside shows, advertising those inside, drawing people closer. A guest might walk right into a contortionist doing her show on a pedestal in a courtyard setting. Everything is fantastical, even the food. At this carnival, a bite of cotton candy might taste like popcorn and the popcorn may smell like cider. There’s a ferris wheel that looks over the whole place, lighting up once the grounds open at night, yet it only serves to make it look more and more unreal to see it all at once. Don’t count on the carnival’s arrangement being the same if you return for a second viewing, though. Things seem to always move. New acts are added and locations change to try to force people to see new things each time. This is not a place for children, though. Some of the acts are of the adult (or questionable) nature. Some of the monstrosities viewable within the tents leave people mentally scarred. After leaving the carnival, it has been reported that guests feel ill or suffer from paranoia, or have little recollection of what they saw. |