Hello again, Story Club members.

I'm Ivy, your ghostly host with the most and keeper of the strangest, spookiest tales on earth.

Today is another Ivy's chilling tale.

This nightmarish tale story club members might make you not want to stay out after dark.

It's one I call Clown in the Moonlight.

Dr. Mendez didn't believe me and regarded me like I was insane.

I am not insane.

The story I told her seems insane.

I get that, but it happened.

Disbelieving Dr. Mendez asked me to tell her in detail

what had happened again, though, and so I did. It had been Labor Day weekend, the time when the

carnival always comes rolling into town. I've never missed the Labor Day weekend carnival. I've

been to every single one in my 11 years. This was the first year, though,

that my parents dropped me and my friend, Mark Redler, off at the gates alone and told us to

have a good time. Let me tell you, we felt like grown-ups going through the gates, the smell

of hot dogs, popcorn, and sawdust hanging in the September air without having a parental escort.

We spent the afternoon and evening riding all the carnival rides, seeing the animals, and even catching a few shows like the trapeze artists and the clowns.

We had a great time.

But on the way home, my friend Mark started telling me about this one clown that had been imprisoned for murder years ago.

His name was Elvin, and he was often called Elvin the evil clown.

Cute name, I told him with a chuckle. Sounds definitely made up to me. My friend Mark wasn't

laughing, though. He assured me that this was not made up and that it was all true.

...