text: [Themes: horror, horror]
  
  You break through the edge of the forest and find exactly what you were looking for. The hidden carnival that your friend had told you about, tucked away just past the treeline. The sign before you reads "The Carivelli Carnival" and it's brilliant lights draw you in, promising wonders just beyond the gate.
  
  A tall man stands on a box just before the entrance, his suit is bright green with blue pinstripes, and he has a matching top hat. His face is etched with deep lines, and his dark hair reaches past his shoulders.
  
  "Come and see the wonders within!" He belts in an oddly high pitched voice, waving his hands through the air as if performing a magic trick. His eyes meet yours, and you feel his will pulling you in, and you walk through the gates mesmerized.
  
  Once inside you're dazzled by the bright lights, colors, and music flowing from every corner. People of all ages pass you with smiling faces and you decide to go to see...
  
  [Author's Note: The Carivelli Carnival hides it's true nature from most of it's customers, but to a select and unlucky few it holds a fate far worse than anything imaginable...Are you ready to visit the carnival?]
  
  > The Bearded Lady
  To your left you see a stage with the words "Bearded Lady" painted in bold black letters over it. You slowly make your way to the stage and a petite woman bursts through a dull red curtain. Everything about the woman is beautiful with the exception of the beard.
  
  She wore an off the shoulder yellow dress that cinched around the waist, and the hem stopped just above her knee. Her loose dark curls cascade down her back, and her brown eyes are piercing.
  
  When she reaches the center of the stage she begins to dance. Her intoxicating movements draw in all those in the surrounding area, you push your way closer to the stage as more and more people gather around.
  Without warning, a snake peaks out from behind her, and the crowd lets out a gasp.
  
  It mimics her movements around the stage, and the crowd is completely engrossed in the show. The snake starts to hiss at you, but after a moment you realize that it isn't hissing, it's whispering something. You concentrate on the sound coming from it's mouth to find that it knows you. It recites your birth date, your address, your full name, and a multitude of other things that it definitely shouldn't know.
  
  "You belong here. Thissss issss your desssstiny." You look around to see that no one else is as startled by the snake as you are.
  
  You break from the crowd and head to another show...
  
  > Sword Swallower
  A crowd rushes around you and pulls you toward a stage bearing the name "Arsoli" and you wonder what it is you're about to see here. After a few seconds, a man covered in colorful tattoos wearing only a pair of leather pants appears on the platform.
  
  The man begins to juggle a set of swords, twirling them in the air, catching them with a grace that most men can't accomplish even with a great amount of practice and patients.
  
  He let's two of the swords sink into the floor of the stage and holds the third high above his head. He tips his head back and gently pushes the blade down his throat. He walks around the stage displaying his obvious talent before pulling the sword out and sticking it into the stage.
  
  He jumps from the stage and walks your way, the crowd parts and once he reaches you, you shrink back. Unsure of what he's going to do, you stammer an unintelligible phrase and he laughs loudly.
  
  "Join us and have everything you've ever wanted."
  
  You close your eyes for just a moment, and when you open them again, the man isn't there, or on the stage. The swords are gone and the crowd is growing impatient, asking when the show is going to start. You don't wait around to see the man and head to another stage...
  
  > Contortionist
  In front of you is a sign that reads "Contortionist" and you head to that stage. When you arrive the show is already in progress, and you stand at the back of the crowd, standing on tip toes to see the show. A woman wearing a powdery blue spandex suit is bending in ways that any normal parson can't.
  
  After a short show, the crowd dissipates and the performer is left on the stage with no spectators. She turns and looks at you and there is something in her smile telling you to go after her. You climb up onto the stage and go with her behind the curtain.
  
  Beyond said curtain is a small dressing room and the woman is nowhere to be found, but just before you're about to turn around you hear a whistling coming from behind a rack of costumes. You wander over and part the sea of clothing, you peer into the darkness, unable to see anything.
  
  "See into the darkness, look into yourself and find where you belong" said a melodic voice that you assumed belong to the contortionist. Without a second thought you run from the stage and find yourself back in the middle of the carnival.
  
  > You've seen the three main acts
  At this point the carnival has sufficiently creeped you out and you find yourself wondering whether you want to check anything else out. You begin to head for the exit when you are greeted by a midget dressed as a lion, he dances around you enthusiastically for a moment and then sings.
  
  "Find the master, find the ring.
  find your place, and begin to sing!"
  
  "What the hell are you going on about little man?" You say with a mocking tone in your voice.
  
  "You'll never leave this place unless you seek him out. Go to the FunHouse if you value life my friend."
  
  You push past the little lion and make your decision...
  
  > A little too creepy, you'll be on your way now.
  You try to find the entrance, but too late, you realize that you have absolutely no clue where you are. You wander for what seems to be hours, never seeing the same booths twice. You're lost in the growing throng of people excitedly searching for the next thrill when you come to s sign that reads "FunHouse"
  
  > FunHouse --->
  Before you, the FunHouse appears, looming ominously above everything else around it. The exterior is brightly lit with hundreds of variously colored light bulbs, different shapes and characters adorn the space unoccupied by lights.
  
  You bring your foot to the bottom step and begin to rethink going inside, but the little man said that you couldn't get out unless you go in.
  
  You step through the door, and automatically regret coming to this carnival in the first place. Before you is a dark walkway riddled with clown faces and spider webs. You walk through anyway and find yourself in a large striped tent.
  
  You try to make sense of what's around you but can't think of any possible explanation. In the middle of the tent is a ring, just like in a circus, the ring is surrounded by seating, and in the middle of the ring stands the man in the top hat.
  
  He waves you over and you reluctantly step into the ring. When you reach the man, you hear the roar of an applauding crowd and turn to see that the stands have been filled by ghostly figures of mutilated children.
  
  "Will you stay or try to go?" He states simply, pulling you out of your shock.
  
  > Stay
  "I want to stay here." You say without thinking. You don't know what's come over you, but you feel drawn to this place, and you want to stay and entertain the transparent children. The man snaps his fingers and three doors appear behind him.
  
  "I am the Ring Master. I am a god among men, I am the darkness and I am the light. I am everything. You will now choose your fate," He waved his hands toward the doors and continued, "These three doors represent three separate fates. Choose wisely, for once you are through the door, you cannot change your mind. Attached to each is an envelope with a hint as to what lies behind the door. You have ten minutes to choose."
  
  He steps out of your way and you head to the door on the right. You grab the note out of the envelope and read it to yourself.
  
  "Behind this door is nothing more than life." You take a moment to think of what the phrase might be referring to, and then move on to the middle door.
  
  The note attached has the number "1.77245385090" inside of a square. Again, you take a moment to think about the strange clue. You finally move to the last and open the envelope quickly.
  
  "The reward might be greater than the risk." You take the remainder of the ten minutes to think about each clue.
  
  "Your time is up. Choose your fate."
  
  > The door on the right
  You place your hand on the knob,and turn it slowly. You walk through it's frame and it disappears, you find yourself in a small dark trailer, before you have time to explore, you fall to the floor in agonizing pain. You look at your hands and see that they are growing alarmingly large, and your legs are lengthening.
  
  When the episode is over, you stumble to your feet, and your head hit's the ceiling. You let out a pained moan, and make your way out of the trailer. You look around to see that it's daytime, and you realize that the great change in the length of you limbs is going to take some getting used to.
  
  You vaguely remember coming through the door, but can hardly remember what came before that, still, snippets of your past still lingered. Everything around you is new and old at the same time. It's all familiar in the same way that Deja vu is once you've experienced it.
  
  A memory claws at the back of your mind, and you struggle to take hold of it. You sit with your back to the trailer until you remember exactly what it was you were supposed to do.
  
  > run away
  After using all your strength to muster the memory, you slump over and try to rest a little. A few moments later the midget lion approaches you with a grin.
  
  "You're enormous." He points out plainly, "We could always use another giant. As you can see, I got the short end of the stick." The small man laughed at his own joke and walked away without another word.
  
  You stand and prepare yourself for what you're about to do. Without wasting time, you break into a run and head for the treeline. Soon you come to a clearing with two obvious routes.
  
  > Left
  You turn to the left and run as fast as you can until you reach a road. You follow the road to a town next to the one you grew up in, grateful to be in the safety of city limits, you sigh with relief. You find the police station and tell them of what happened to you while at the carnival, and give them all your information.
  
  They call your family only to find that you've never existed. You are away to a mental hospital where you spend the remainder of your days talking about the carnival. Still trying to convince people that such odd and horrible things really happened to you.