History Main / CircusOfFear

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E1TerrorOfTheAutons "Terror of the Autons"]], the Master takes over Rossini's Circus with a mixture of hypnotism and threats and forces the staff to act as his mooks. A downplayed example, as there is no actual circus performance in the story.
** Subverted in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E2CarnivalOfMonsters "Carnival of Monsters"]], with the showman Vorg portrayed as ignorant of the horrors he's leading.
** There was an unmade script for a Sixth Doctor story called "The Nightmare Fair", later released as a novel, then an audio play (unofficial) and then [[AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho an audio drama]] (official). The circus in question belongs to an old enemy, the extra-dimensional HumanoidAbomination known as the Celestial Toymaker.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E4TheGreatestShowInTheGalaxy "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy"]] featured the Psychic Circus. Initially a genuine circus staffed by kindly hippies, it was corrupted by a trio of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, the Gods of Ragnarok, who forced the performers to lure innocent people to take part in a "talent contest", and then to torture and kill them for their entertainment.
** ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' series 2 had Spellman's Magical Museum of the Circus in "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS2E3E4TheDayOfTheClown The Day of the Clown]]".
** ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' series 2 had [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Night Travellers]] in [[Recap/TorchwoodS2E10FromOutOfTheRain "From Out of the Rain"]].

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has the sado-masochistic hedonist Cult of Rakdos with its [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Rakdos_Carnarium_Cropped_851.jpg circuses]] [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom of DOOM]].

* ''[[Literature/{{Goosebumps}} A Nightmare on Clown Street]]'' has an interesting example. At first it seems like the circus itself is up to no good, when in reality [[spoiler: the clowns are generally good guys and the real evil is a man named The Frightener who all bad clowns are sent to as punishement]].

* Once you enter ''WebAnimation/TheAmazingDigitalCircus'', you can never leave, you lose your memories, you are trapped in the body of a wacky character, and you can't even die. The AI that runs the circus will try to help you stay sane by giving you "adventures" to do, but isn't very good at it, and if you lose your mind, you'll permanently turn into a glitched-up monster. As described by the show's creator, Creator/{{Gooseworx}}, it's like ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'' set in a twisted SugarBowl.

* ''Dumbo's Circus'', a popular puppet show on the Creator/DisneyChannel in the 1980s, had a HalloweenEpisode whose climax was the musical number "The Day the Spooky Circus Came to Town" (with a bass line, believe it or not, filched straight from Music/MichaelJackson's ''Music/{{Thriller}}''). Somewhat ironically, the {{Aesop}} of the episode was to teach kids to ''not'' be afraid of Halloween (or circuses, for that matter).

Not to be confused with CarnivalOfKillers, which is when you have multiple mercenaries targeting one character. Of course, you never know, maybe the circus has fallen on hard times and needs a way to fund their mayhem.

* Near the end of the ultra- {{squick}} horror manga ''Manga/{{Gyo}}'', the protagonist visits a circus where all the acts are composed of or powered by victims of the "death stench" gas-producing virus that has ravaged Japan.
* Buggy the Clown's pirate crew from ''Manga/OnePiece''.

* {{Hell}} has a subtle circus motif in ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'' and ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' as it's divided into seven rings ruled over by the SevenDeadlySins, each themed after a type of circus performer.

* The video for "I Stay Away" by Music/AliceInChains, made even creepier by the use of somewhat grotesque puppets. The song itself doesn't really have much to do with it.

* The video for "I Stay Away" by Music/AliceInChains, made even creepier by the use of somewhat grotesque puppets. The song doesn't really have much to do with it.

* Once you enter ''WebAnimation/TheAmazingDigitalCircus'', you can never leave, you lose your memories, you are trapped in the body of a wacky character, and you can't even die. The AI that runs the circus will try to help you stay sane by giving you fun things to do, but isn't very good at it, and if you lose your mind, you'll permanently turn into a glitched-up monster. As described by the show's creator, Creator/{{Gooseworx}}, it's like ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'' set in a twisted SugarBowl.

* Once you enter ''WebAnimation/TheAmazingDigitalCircus'', you can never leave, you lose your memories, you are trapped in the body of a wacky character, and you can't even die. The AI that runs the circus will try to help you stay sane by giving you fun things to do but isn't very good at it and you eventually will lose your mind and permanently turn into a glitched-up monster. It's like ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'' set in twisted SugarBowl.

* {{Hell}} has a subtle circus motif in ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'' and ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' as it's divided into seven rings ruled over by TheSevenDeadlySins, each themed after a type of circus performer.
** [[ArcangelLucifer Lucifer]], the Sin of Pride, is the [[RepulsiveRingmaster Ringmaster]] as Hell's overall king.

** Beelzebub, the Sin of Gluttony, is a fox[=/=]bee hybrid demon who represents the animal tamer/animal shows, with her mansion decorated with various hoops and rings for her to fly through during her house parties. She also covers the confectionery stands going by all the sweets and alcohol she provides.

* An episode of the Flash series ''WebAnimation/{{Xombie}}'' had Dirge and Zoe fighting a horde of zombie clowns in an abandoned amusement park, while Dirge's undead dog [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Cerberus]] faced off against a zombie tiger.

* ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}: The Animated Series'' has one of these as the whole plot setting. Did I mention [[BreakTheCutie half the cast are kids?]]

* The aptly named Wonky Circus in ''VideoGame/WarioWorld''. There's also the circus setting for the third boss (Chortlebot) in ''VideoGame/WarioLand: The Shake Dimension'', although it's only ever used as a battle arena against said MonsterClown.

* [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal's]] Theatre/HalloweenHorrorNights has done this plenty of times, most notably in 2007 with the "Carnival of Carnage" theme, where the event's main icon, Jack the Clown, rounds up his own band of sideshow freaks and creates a horribly demented midway. He would later do this horror carnival again in 2015, the event's 25th anniversary.

** The film ''Film/BatmanReturns'' had the Penguin secretly running the Red Triangle Circus Gang, a gang of crooks who, like him, were former circus performers. It is hinted that they abducted children when they were a legit circus, likely the reason they shut down.
** Two-Face's goons dressed up as two-sided clowns when they attacked the circus in ''Film/BatmanForever''.
** Oddly enough, this has been mostly averted with ComicBook/TheJoker in his most recent live action outings--though he does come close in ''Film/Batman1989''.

[[AC:For added ambience, play the music from [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tpIkEnzGd5U this]] video while reading on.]]

* The movie ''Film/{{Freaks}}'' both used and defied this trope. The [[TheGrotesque freaks are all loving and caring people]], the clowns are good-natured and charming (although one of them has a hilarious [[AcceptableTargets speech-impediment]]), and the animal trainer is frigging gorgeous. There's a bit of black comedy involving a pair of conjoined twins, one of who is getting married, and the soundtrack is slightly creepy, but that's about it. Unless you get them angry, as the evil female trapeze artist and misogynistic strong man do. [[BewareTheNiceOnes Do NOT get the freaks angry]].

* ''Hangwire'' from Adam Christopher has ''The Magical Zanaar's Traveling Caravan of Arts and Sciences'' which had the HumanoidAbomination Joel Duvall as one of its founders. Joe also made its unique machines (including rides) which were far in advance of what's available at the time, but these machines also killed employees and patrons for Joe's master, [[EldritchAbomination the Cold Dark]]. When that circus was shutdown, Joe revived it in modern times as ''The Great Barnett Show'' which not only brought back those machines but also added a cult called Stonefire which fronted as a Celtic dance troupe. Additionally the Great Barnett Show's troupe master is a serial killer who used the titular hangwire as his WeaponOfChoice.

* ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' books had ''Literature/LegendOfTheShadowWarriors'' in which the Circus of Dreams had their performers replaced with evil Mandrakes and ''Literature/{{Stormslayer}}'' where the hero could encounter the Menagerie of Monsters.

* ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}'''s "Dark Carnival" in the first episode is supremely twisted. Aside from a lantern-carrying statue of Death siccing zombies on you when you ignore his request for a ticket, the optional game where you kick a severed head through a slowly opening and closing mouth to win a prize, or the secret funhouse level that shoves rotting skeletons at you while maniacal laughter plays, there's also the fact that the whole place is built next to an evil temple filled with cultists who want you dead. Well, [[TheUndead deader]].

* Sweet Tooth's circus in ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal 4'' features such attractions as the "roller toaster", aside from being a battleground where the demented clown and a number of assorted psychos try to kill each other. The reboot gives us Sweet Tooth's Carnival of Carnage, built by his worshipers [[spoiler: in remembrance of his death at the hands of Calypso's wish granting]]. Not only is it a mobile carnival, its a Circus Of Fear HumongousMecha BaseOnWheels MilitaryMashUpMachine flanked by many [[MonsterClown psychotic clowns]] carrying [[ChainsawGood chainsaws]], [[ActionBomb suicide bombs]] and/or piloting [[BadHumorTruck transforming ice cream trucks]]. And the ''entire thing'' is the FinalBoss. Just friggin' look at it [[http://cghub.com/files/Image/200001-201000/200758/520_large.jpg]]