Creepypasta: The Carny

This is a story I tried hard to forget. It happened when I was just 13. My name is Allison and this story took place during our town’s annual festival. It’s a big deal in our small town. Everyone gets together to celebrate our town’s founding. They throw a big parade and a carnival arrives with rides, games, and food trucks. My parents are highly involved with the event and usually spend most of the time during the week organizing the events and all the games so they’re always pretty busy. 

They usually let me go hang out downtown at the carnival with my friend Kelly who was also 13 at the time. My parents had given me money for rides, games, and food and let us do whatever we want as long as we’re home by 10 pm. Being summer, we didn’t have to worry about school. 

Kelly and I had spent most of the time playing games. We came up to the one with the squirt guns where you have to spray the water in the center to blow up the balloon. There was a tall guy with a large gut. His light brown hair was thinning and he had patchy facial hair with scars around his mouth. He gave me very bad vibes. Especially with the way he looked at Kelly and I. Guys his age should look at girls our age like that. It creeped me and Kelly out. 

Neither of us won the game so we moved on and got in line at the Gravitron. I could still feel his eyes on us as we entered the big circular spaceship. As soon as the ride started, I forgot all about him as Kelly and I had a lot of fun being stuck to the sliding panels. After we got off, we went on a few more rides and played a few more games as it started to get dark out before sharing an elephant ear and lemonade. 

We sat at a picnic table to eat when I saw him. He was staring at us with a very wrong look on his face. His scarred mouth was in a sadistic smile as he watched us. My heart stopped in my chest and I felt sick. I suddenly lost my appetite.

Kelly and I both agreed to call it a night and head back to my house. We got on our bikes and started to ride down the street. My house wasn’t far, it was only a few blocks out of downtown. I made the stupid mistake of looking back and nearly screamed.

Only a block away was that large man. He was walking quickly towards us. Kelly and I peddled hard to my house and didn’t even bother to put our bikes away before we rushed inside and locked all the doors and windows. 

I called my parents but they didn’t answer. Both Kelly and I were freaking out. We looked out one of the windows to see that man in my yard. He was staring up at us in the darkness. Kelly started crying. We both started to panic as the man started to walk up the stairs of my front porch. We rushed away from the window as he tried to open the door. I quickly called 911. I know I probably sounded crazy as I hysterically tried to tell the operator what was going on. I was sobbing and crying as the man started banging on the door. 

They told us to lock ourselves in a bathroom and that they were sending someone. They’re on their way. Kelly and I ran upstairs and hid in the bathroom, locking it as we heard a window break. Both of us were in tears as we heard the door open. The operator was still on the line. She told us to remain calm, but my heart was pounding so loudly, I’m sure he could hear it. 

We both could hear the floorboards creaking as he made his way through the house. Then he spoke and my stomach turned. “Here girlies, come out, come out wherever you are. I will find you. I won’t hurt you. I just want to have some fun.” 

Both of us had our hands clenched over our mouths as we heard him start to climb the stairs. I heard him open the door to my bedroom and walk inside. I could hear him go through the closet and open up my dresser drawers. The thought of his dirty hands rummaging through my clothes made me sick. 

He walked out of my bedroom and we could hear his footsteps just outside the bathroom door. Kelly and I looked at each other with tears streaming down our faces. 

“I know you’re in there. Come out and I won’t hurt you. I promise,” he said. He had that deep voice that sounded like a toad. He slammed into the door, making us both jump. “I’m getting mad. Open the damn door!” 

We were both started crying hysterically as he tried slamming into the door again. We both knew if he could get that door open we were both as good as dead. Suddenly we heard the sounds of the police sirens outside. They had arrived! He frantically tried to break the door open one last time, but then the police entered our house and shouted their presence. 

We heard the man try to run and as the police rushed up the stairs. They managed to catch him and haul him out after a loud struggle. We finally got the courage to open the door as a policewoman found us. She comforted us, but we still couldn’t stop crying. 

When my parents finally came home, they were beside themselves. My mother nearly had a heart attack. It was safe to say that this was the last summer they would be involved in the festival. 

I had found that that man had gone through my underwear draw. It made my skin crawl to know he went through my things. 

We later found out his name was Dariel Bradley and he had spent over 10 years in prison for a rape charge. He didn’t even work at the Carnival. They found the person who was supposed to be working the squirt gun game dead. He killed him. I can only imagine what would’ve happened if the police hadn’t got here to save us. Even after lots of therapy, I still haven’t gotten over that night. I spent years looking over my shoulder. I still have a hard time being alone at night.