Cirque du Méchant has come to Halloween Town, close enough that you hear the calliope’s screams in Lita’s castle. Not all fantasy worlds are bright and full of whistling elves. This Evil Circus is a dark carnival filled madness, magic, and grinning clowns.
Previously:
Listen. Over there is a shrieking calliope. See it puff and bluster like a boastful bird. Over here, that oh-so-handsome carny beckons us to the show in the big tent. We follow the crowd and take our seats.
Care for some pink cotton candy? Yes, please. It tastes like a sweet cloud.
A whisper warns us no, it is really my spun cobwebs. We search for our party spoiler. In the dark tip-top of the tent, is that a spider woman looking down at us? She is not a cartoon hero, but a huntress with many eyes.
We hand the rest of our treat to the child sitting next to us. The sticky stays on our face. It clings, just like a cobweb.
Still, there is beautiful magic here. Weightless acrobats fly between swinging bars in the tent rafters. Gorgeous cats leap, paw the air, and roar. Watch the puppet show where the marionettes are oh, so lifelike.
Tiny-eyed elephants balance on drums and wave their snake-like trunks at the crowd. Look, there is a Fantasy Elephant floating under its own tiny circus tent. Is it real?
Perhaps. Illusion is so delicious and tricky.
The pachyderm flicks its trunk and blinks. See the madness in its eyes?
A wee elephant the size of a bumblebee flies by. Its wings sound like the flapping of leathery bats. Illusions with sounds are so lifelike.
The circus band plays a dusty fanfare, and then the Barker calls our attention to the center ring. We scoot to the edge of our seats and crane our necks. What wonders now wait in the wings? A delicious shiver runs down our backs. Time to send in the clowns.
Next Time: Masks & Grease Paint
Lita Burke 
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