Jingles The Clown

Every year, the small town of Havenbrook hosted a grand circus. The highlight was always the clown, Jingles, whose painted smile and jovial antics delighted children and adults alike. But this year, something was different. Late one night, as the circus tents lay quiet, a young boy named Tommy sneaked inside, eager to catch a glimpse of the magic without the crowds. He wandered through the dark, empty tents until he stumbled upon the clown's dressing room. The door creaked open, revealing Jingles sitting in front of a large mirror, his back to the door. Curious, Tommy watched as Jingles applied thick layers of makeup. But as the clown's hand moved away from his face, Tommy's eyes widened in terror. Beneath the smeared paint, the skin was decayed and rotten. Jingles' eyes, once bright and cheerful, were now hollow, black voids that seemed to suck in the light around them. Jingles turned slowly, sensing the boy's presence. His painted smile stretched unnaturally wide, revealing rows of jagged, yellow teeth. "Come here, little one," he whispered, his voice a chilling echo that reverberated through the room. Tommy tried to back away, but his legs felt like lead. Jingles rose, each step towards Tommy punctuated by the sound of his oversized shoes hitting the floor, a mocking echo of laughter. As he reached out with a gloved hand, the fabric peeled back to reveal bony, skeletal fingers. Tommy's scream was cut short as Jingles grabbed him, pulling him into the mirror. Inside the mirror, Tommy saw the faces of countless other children, their eyes wide with eternal terror, trapped forever in a realm of twisted reflections and eternal nightmare. The next morning, the townspeople found the circus tents empty, the performers vanished without a trace. All that remained was the clown's dressing room, its mirror cracked and splintered, reflecting a dozen frightened faces that weren't there the night before.

The circus never returned to Havenbrook, but on quiet nights, the locals swear they can still hear faint, ghostly laughter and the haunting call of Jingles, searching for new souls to join his macabre collection.