Only Mayor Martin Holland and his beautiful teenaged daughter Linda could feel the air of “wrongness” that hovered over the fairgrounds. Then the killings began—and their worst nightmares quickly came to life. Night after night a new victim was found, his insides smoldering, his face contorted in a gruesome death mask of hideous agony. Soon, for Martin, for Linda, for the entire plagued community, there was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Nebo's Carnival of Dread had come to town. And the horror show was just beginning!
It's been 34 years since a Carnival last came to town. Nobody wants to talk about the horror of it all. The fire, the rape, the beaten bodies and tortured animals. Some don't remember what happened that final night, some choose not to remember what they did to those carnies in the name of vengeance for a crime they never committed.
Now all these years later the carnival is back. Some of the townspeople know there's something wrong with it. Others feel compelled to go to the fairgrounds even though they don't know why.
This book was first published back in the 80s and I believe I read it then. My mother was a huge fan and had all of Johnstone's books up until he switched to writing westerns. The funny thing is that once he switched my father became a fan. I've been on a mission to collect as many of these oldies as I can and am attempting to reread them all. This one does feel a bit dated but as someone who loved the schlock of 80s horror I am still a fan. This is one of those classic good against evil stories, with those who may find redemption and those who are beyond hope of redemption all thrown into the mix with sex and gore and demons.
4 out of 5 stars
About the author
William Wallace Johnstone was a prolific American author, mostly of western, horror and survivalist novels.
Born and raised in southern Missouri, Johnstone was the youngest of four children. His father was a minister and his mother a school teacher. He quit school when he was fifteen and worked in a carnival and as a deputy sheriff. He later served in the Army and, upon returning to civilian life, worked in radio broadcasting for 16 years.
Johnstone started his writing career in 1970, but did not have any works published until 1979 (The Devil's Kiss) and became a full-time writer in 1980. He wrote close to two hundred books in numerous genres, including suspense and horror. His main publication series were Mountain Man, The First Mountain Man, Ashes and Eagles and his own personal favorite novel was The Last of the Dog Team (1980). He also authored two novels under the pseudonym William Mason.
Johnstone had lived for many years in Shreveport, Louisiana, yet died in Knoxville, TN, at the age of 65
