14. The Funhouse Mirror

“It’s been ten years since the brutal murders of two girls while on a night out with their parents at the now infamous Furling Brothers Carnival,” Joshua started as he and a group of friends stood in line at the ticket booth waiting for it to shorten. “Ten years that Blinko the clown sat in a dark cell at a mental institution for the crimes. He claimed the ride came to life and killed the two girls and he’d just simply found their mangled bodies on the other side of the exhibit, screamed and called for help.” 

“But he was covered in blood and smelled of booze; police were certain they had their man. Now for the first time in ten years the Furling Brothers Carnival has returned to Abbott Mills. And just a week after the Carnival announced it would return to the scene of the crime, Blinko the clown took his life. He sliced into the flesh of his wrists with his canines and bled to death in his cell. The orderlies found him the next morning holding a note that again stated his innocence and his vow to get even!”

“And as an added kick to the stomach, the Furling Brothers changed the name of Blinko’s ride to what has now become the Tunnel of Lost Souls; dedicated to the girls he killed.” 

A cool shudder trickled down Andrea’s spine and she rubbed at her arms and leaned deeper into Brandon’s chest. “That’s sick!” she frowned and thought about the callousness of the carnival owners to make a profit off of those poor girls’ deaths. The crowd dwindled more until they were standing at the front of the line. Joshua took Tiffany’s hand as Brandon and Andrea followed closely behind them.

“So what should we go on first?” Tiffany asked but was already being pulled in the direction of the haunted house by her boyfriend. “The House of Horror it is!”

The moment the couples entered the darkened halls of the attraction a gust of wind blew them forward and the door shut quickly behind them. “Was that supposed to happen?” Andrea asked glancing around nervously. The first row of arrows led the group into a used medical room.

Blood stained tables sat against the tables where diagrams of human skeletal were displayed. Handprints in dried blood pointed them towards the mirrors where each of them stood in front of one and posed. “This isn’t so bad,” Tiffany giggled as the mirror made her appear thinner than normal.

Doleful portraits gawked at them through thick layers of dust; their eyes seemingly following every step they took. An eerie green light streamed into the dark hallway through a cracked window just at the other end, casting eerie shadows on the walls around them as they moved. “After Blinko’s death, it was believed that his soul was transported to the one place he called home and now his spirit is trapped within the walls of this haunted house,” Joshua continued with his story as the group walked forward slowly. Puffs of fog entered through small splits in the floor creating a ghostly effect.

The group came up to 4 colored doors with different numbers on them. It was then that they noticed the large figure standing at the end of the hall. When the smoke cleared, the animatronic zombie turned towards them. And in a voice mimicking that of the great Vincent Price, he instructed the attendees that they each had to traverse through a door alone. “Be careful of the mirrors and what they reflect your way. If you don’t see yourself be prepared for a long stay.”

“Wait, split up the group?” Tiffany asked and looked over the faces of her friends.

“Yeah I don’t know, that sounds a little…” Andrea started.

“Awesome!” Joshua laughed as he completed her sentence. “Come on how cool is it to be alone in your own ‘door of terror’? Most of these places insist you go in a group. This is fantastic, am I right? Brandon?”

“Yeah I have to agree with Josh.” He looked over his girlfriend’s face and smiled. “It’ll be fine. We’ll go through, have a little scare and meet up again on the other side.”

“Fine,” she conceded as he gently kissed her forehead. “This is so gonna suck.” 

Each selected a door and one at a time were instructed to enter. Andrea got door #3 and was the last to go through. The door slammed shut and immediately she tried to exit but it was locked from the other side. Whispers echoed from the hallway almost sounding like laughter to her quickly panicking mind. 

As she walked forward, she had the sudden sensation that someone was following her. Whirling around quickly, she sighed relief at the empty hallway and the mirrors that reflected her face. Swallowing a nervous whimper she continued down the path the arrows directed. Andrea found herself standing in the center of a dark room with a lowered temperature than the rest of the house. Her breath hitched in her throat at the slight chill that inched its way up her spine. Shadows moved around her feet, playing tricks on her eyes as they adjusted to the lack of light.

Fear settled within her gut; tempering her already edgy nerves and she realized she was not alone in the dark. “Brandon is that you?” she asked hopefully. Something brushed at her back and she turned with haste only to find herself faced with yet another mirror. “Ok this really isn’t fun anymore. How do I get out of here?” The wind howled through the shutters of the blackened windows and barren tree branches scratched at the glass arousing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand. 

“Hello?” A deep rumble followed by a sinister laugh erupted from behind the glass as she stared at the reflection. Andrea screamed as it shattered and she found herself gazing at the reflection of Blinko the clown. Dark eyes looked back and she was drawn into the overwhelming blackness. Blinko’s large arms wrapped tightly around her and Andrea slipped into his eternal wickedness, finding herself with no escape...

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