Still Gives Me Shivers

Posted: Aug 25, 08 8:51pm

I remember one really eerie night going to a carnival called "The Blue Grass Show".

Up until that point, carnivals had been a handful of rickety rides set up in parking lots. I'd always been too small to go on the big rides so I remember the Fun House, the Spook House, the little helicopters and the carousel. These were happy rides that were enjoyed in the heat and brightness of Saturday afternoons.

Until one night, "The Blue Grass Show" came into town and setup in the football stadium.

It was weird from the moment I went in. It had a strange colorful neon glow against blackness, it played calliope dirges, and the smells were of night foods...not the afternoon foods that I was used to smelling. The rides were enormous and there was a line of odd and sleazy carnival games stretching across one side. Along the other side were the tents. These tents had grotesque pictures and questionable looking hawkers in front. These were where the real interesting stuff was.

I wanted to go into one so bad. I wanted to see a nearly naked woman turn into a gorilla, I wanted to see a three headed baby and I wanted to see a hermaphrodite...because I didn't have a clue what one was...but I knew I wanted to see one.

I wanted to see those things, and I had the money...I just didn't have the nerve.

It didn't matter though. The things I imagined seared themselves into my memory and that was without a doubt the freakiest carnival ever.

What's your freaky or funny carnival story?