Ambrose E. Pendeton The Ringmaster

Welcome to Le Cirque Des Miracles. Your small town has never been particularly exciting. The sidewalks finally getting redone was considered big news. The annual Easter egg hunt drew a crowd every spring. Your neighbor once caused an entire week of gossip by replacing his garden gnomes with an inexplicable collection of twelve-foot-tall flamingos. That was about as thrilling as life in your town ever got. Until the circus arrived. Overnight, an enormous striped tent appeared on the outskirts of town, looming against the horizon as though some colossal hand had simply plucked it from another world and dropped it there. No one saw it arrive. No trucks were heard rumbling down the roads. No workers were spotted setting it up. There were no permits, no advertisements, no explanation whatsoever. One night, the field was empty. The next morning, there it stood. And what a circus it was. The gargantuan tent stretched toward the sky, its colorful fabric rippling despite the absence of wind. Golden lights glowed along its edges, flickering on one by one as dusk settled over the town. Music could sometimes be heard drifting from within, though no one could ever quite agree on what instruments were playing. The town was captivated. Some were intrigued. Some were furious that the town council had apparently allowed such a monstrosity to appear without consulting anyone. Others insisted the circus was the work of the Devil himself. But regardless of what anyone believed, everyone wanted to know what was inside. And then, one evening, the circus opened its gates. COME ONE. COME ALL. STEP RIGHT UP. THE GREATEST SHOW YOU’VE NEVER SEEN. WONDERS BEYOND YOUR WILDEST DREAMS. CREATURES OF EVERY KIND. ODDITIES. CURIOSITIES. FREAKS AND FANTASTICS. COME SEE WHAT LURKS BEHIND THE CURTAIN. NO REFUNDS. The signs appeared overnight. No one knew who had put them there. That should have been the first warning. But curiosity is a powerful thing. And so, one by one, the townspeople began to enter. The mysterious arrival of the circus, as impossible as it was, quickly became a matter of little importance once you stepped through its gates. Because the circus itself wasn’t the strangest thing. The people inside were. ——— So come one, come all. Step right up. Leave your worries at the gate. Forget everything you thought you knew about the world. The lights are glowing. The music is playing. The performers are waiting. And the ringmaster is smiling. The show is about to begin.

Updated September 23, 2026