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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/thegeneralg on 2024-09-19 01:57:47+00:00.
One night many years ago, I went to see a fortune teller at a carnival on the outskirts of the town I used to live in. I was 21 years old, in love with a girl I had no idea if she liked me back, and I had no idea about what I should do. Or at least that was the case until a friend of mine whispered to me about the carnival and how I could see a woman there who could offer me some insight. It wasn’t news to me, because so many people I knew quietly whispered about her to me and how good she was. And, if I’m being completely honest, there was the subtle element of a dare in how everyone quietly mentioned it to me. So, once I had decided to do it, I went to see her late one summer night.
I had to drive way out in the middle of nowhere to get there. I had been camping plenty of times before, but never that deep in the woods. It was so thick it almost didn’t feel real. And the carnival that had been set up there seemed even less real. As I walked towards the ticket booth, the crickets and other insects humming in the air seemed unnaturally loud as they zoomed past me. Behind the ticket booth, the carnival itself seemed to loom out of nature so vividly that it was like a hallucination, and when I actually set foot inside it was like sensory overload. Everywhere I looked there was something to see; some vendor selling something, or some performer displaying some type of skill or putting on a performance while people gathered around. There were a million smells; some were the usual fried carnival foods, and others were things I had never encountered before or since. Some of it smelled delicious, and some of it smelled off, but either way, it was all memorable.
The space was illuminated by strands of lights that were suspended above our heads by tall wooden posts. I could see numerous bugs fluttering around the lights as I walked on. It seemed like I had to walk forever until I finally reached the tent where I had been told I’d find the woman I’d been sent to see. There was no line, and a small sign instructed me to enter.
Not only was she dressed casually like any other woman you’d encounter anywhere, she also looked beyond ordinary. The only thing that gave away even the slightest hint that she was in any way unique were her eyes. They were blue, but they seemed to cut through the darkness with a sharpness I had never seen before. It was with those eyes she read tarot cards and my palm for me by the flickering light of a few candles that were placed in the middle of a large table. There was also plenty of incense burning, and the combination of that along with the heat and being inside the closed tent was beyond heady.
“Don’t worry,” she eventually murmured. “The opportunity will present itself to you, and you will recognize it.” And when she was done speaking at length and it was time for me to go, I mentioned I was going to see the show taking place in the main tent. This got a humorless laugh out of her.
“What?” I asked.
“I never found it particularly entertaining. If anything, it always struck me as beyond morbid, and a bit like the people in the show were tempting fate.”
That made me stop. Why was that?
But before I could ask her, she merely smiled and said, “Don’t worry, you can go. Nothing bad will happen to you.”
Since the show was about to start, I dutifully left the other half of the money promised after she had done her job and left her tent. After being in the closed tent with incense burning, the fresh air felt beyond refreshing on my skin, and I gladly took several deep breaths while I headed for the nightly show in the main tent that was being advertised on signs all throughout the carnival. It was only long after the night was over that I really thought about what she said. How she had emphasized the you part of her statement. But of course this was a long time ago, long before the thought of doom lurking around every potential corner was at the forefront of our brains. Especially because back then, one typically did not readily admit to seeing a fortune teller. As a born and raised New Englander, I was raised, like most of my peers were, with a thorough knowledge of the area’s history and the fears of witchcraft that defined an era. And old habits die hard indeed.
Back then, things like freak shows, carnivals, and the circus were a novelty. Because if you wanted to see and experience bizarre things and outrageous behavior, you had to deliberately seek it out and make an effort to see it. Unlike today where everywhere you look there’s a metaphorical circus or freakshow and thanks to the internet, you can look at it anytime you want from the comfort of your own home. If you’ve ever wondered why freakshows fell out of fashion, it’s because in reality they didn’t; they just got rid of the giant tent, called them something different, and eventually daily life turned into one. I tell you this to understand why there’s the notion back then that people viewed carnivals and stuff like that with such suspicion. It’s like the idea that you should never ride a ride at certain places because it was probably assembled in the parking lot by someone on minimum wage in an hour who may or may not have been sober. For better or worse, many things that people don’t even blink at now had a much seedier reputation decades ago.
But none of this was in my head as I walked towards the largest tent and joined the trickle of people going inside and getting seats around a large ring that was separated from the audience by tall metal dividers. There was a sense of excitement in the air, and it didn’t take me long to get inside and find myself a seat that was both close to the exit and offered an excellent view of the ring.
This was in July of 1964. And I don’t know if the heat around that time period set any records, but it certainly felt like it. But isn’t that how it goes? The summers of youth are always the hottest and brightest, just like the winters of one’s childhood are always the ones with the purest and heaviest snow. That’s how it should be. Of course, the flip side is that the terrors of childhood can also cast the longest and most intimidating shadow.
So I cannot be sure whether on record the humidity was so thick you could cut it with a knife, but it certainly felt that way. As I sat there, the sweat was dribbling off my nose, and I could feel my shirt was soaked before too long. And I wasn’t the only one, because I could see that for several clowns who were also gathered in the audience, their makeup was beginning to run. The effect was more than a little creepy.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of that night is the tent. This was no crisp red tent you see like in the circus. No, this thing was old, faded, and stained in spots. And within minutes, you could smell the sweat pouring off everyone with a vengeance. It all definitely made for an atmospheric experience. Even today, I can still see how frayed and patched together the section of tent by my seat was.
Although it wasn’t exactly a full house, there was a good-sized audience, and literally every single one of us was melting by the time the lights started to dim to signal the show was about to start. We were all fanning ourselves or using handkerchiefs to try to dab away the sweat while the ringleader strolled out. He was tall, lean and wiry, and dressed to impress in a red velvet suit with gold tassels along with white riding pants and black leather boots. He was by far the best dressed person I’d ever seen.
And it was worth every penny they spent on it, because the minute he stepped into the ring and the spotlight lit up his features, he looked flawless. Not only did he ooze charisma just standing there, he didn’t seem to be uncomfortable at all, and I didn’t see a drop of sweat anywhere. It was bizarre.
A hush fell over the people gathered as the ringleader stood there silently, waiting to grip us in the palm of his hand with whatever he had planned. Then he began to speak, and if his presence was impressive, that voice was in a league of its own. It was otherworldly, simultaneously commanding and inviting, a rich gentle hum that could lull you to sleep and snap you to attention at the same time.
“Welcome ladies and gentlemen,” he greeted us with a dazzling smile that lit up the space. “Thank you for joining us tonight. For your viewing pleasure, something you won’t see anywhere else, I present to you, The Beast!”
Right when he spoke, several of the lights illuminating the front of the ring dimmed so that all of the attention was in the back of the tent, where there was the slight ruffle of the tent canvas being opened that was followed by a loud shriek as the sound of something large and metal moving towards us grew slightly louder. We all craned our necks to look and saw the sight of a massive steel cage in the back of the arena containing something huge being placed strategically in the space. As my eyes adjusted, I could see it was being manned by four huge men that if they weren’t bodybuilders, they could easily be mistaken for them.
One of them took some keys out and unlocked the cage, and the massive shape inside lurched out and stumbled into the space. There was a shudder of nerves in the audience, and I saw that it was what looked like a giant dog on two legs. Or at least that’s what it seemed. It could’ve easily been a guy in a costume, or any other number of tricks. But if it was, it was the be...
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