While I loved the premise, the execution wasn’t what I expected.
Rating: 2.5/5
The Greatest Showman meets Stephen King in this eerie horror story. Not all circuses are filled with childlike wonder…
From the moment I saw this cover, I knew I had to read this one. I mean doesn’t it just scream horror? And the whole idea of a horror filled circus just sounded amazing. Though I will be honest, while I loved the premise, the execution wasn’t what I expected. It fell a little flat for me at the end.
Short stories can be hard to love. I love short stories but I didn’t love this one. I felt this one could have been longer while still being considered a short story. Because to me, this felt like it was missing a lot of parts and maybe some crucial details.
This felt like it was missing a lot of parts and maybe some crucial details.
The premise is simple, we follow the perspective of a young girl who sneaks out to see the traveling circus’ final performance. Against her mother’s wishes and despite the dark rumors floating around about this circus, the girl is determined to see the show.
Being set strictly within the young girl’s perspective felt extremely limiting. I felt we didn’t see much of the circus at all. Which honestly, that’s what I was most interested in seeing. I would have loved to have seen more focus on what kind of circus this was.
I would have loved to have seen more focus on what kind of circus this was.
And, as I mentioned, the ending seemed a bit flat to me. It felt abrupt. I would have liked to see more of the girl’s future afterward. It’s left very open and based on the details we were shown, it was obvious there’s more story to be told.
This was a miss for me, which is unfortunate as I loved the overall premise. However, I think if you enjoy horror short stories then you might like this one!