Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / CircusOfFear

Go To

1%%
2%%
3%%
4%%
5%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
6%%
7%%
8%%
9%%
10%%
11[[quoteright:350:[[TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1400878368_849ca48e42_4936.jpg]]]]
12[[caption-width-right:350:C'mon, it'll be fun! The Cult of Rakdos is a scream!]]
13
14->''"I mean, really, what kind of a demonically evil scheme involves rollercoasters and cotton candy anyway?"''
15-->-- '''Murray the Demonic Skull''', ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland''
16
17Overnight, the circus came to town. But something's wrong -- ''very'' wrong. The [[RepulsiveRingmaster ringmaster]] is abusing the animals and performers, and the circus music, which should be cheerful, [[CreepyCircusMusic seems menacing]]. The attractions (especially TheFreakshow) seem off, the cotton candy is a sickly shade of green, the [[KnifeThrowingAct knife thrower]] ''doesn't miss'', and the [[MonsterClown clowns]]... well, the less said about the clowns the better.
18
19And people are disappearing, either consumed by or [[{{Clownification}} turned into]] the circus denizens.
20
21This trope is the brother to TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday, and often used in context with [[TheFreakshow freaks]], providing instances of either RedRightHand or TheGrotesque.
22
23A common variation on the theme is a killer ''[[AmusementParkOfDoom amusement park]]'', with homicidal costumed mascots and a fun house that's anything but. If it's in a video game, expect a roller coaster that acts an awful lot like a [[MinecartMadness mine cart]].
24
25''Literature/SomethingWickedThisWayComes'', a novella written by Creator/RayBradbury and published in 1962 and turned into a movie in 1983, is a big inspiration for this trope, although the 1919 movie ''Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari'' is probably the [[TropeMakers Trope Maker]].
26
27Not 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 [[PsychoForHire needs a way to fund their mayhem]].
28
29!!Compare with:
30* TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday: Like the Circus, the Little Shop is a liminal space between the fantastic and the mundane. But the Little Shop isn't expected to move around, and is ''always'' magical: the Circus of Fear need not be magical, though it usually is.
31* AmusementParkOfDoom: If the Circus were to permanently settle down somewhere, it would be an Amusement Park. Note that you generally must choose to visit the Park, whereas the Circus comes to you.
32* CircusEpisode: The regular Circus shows up in an unrelated show; scary occurrences are optional.
33* CircusOfMagic: A magical circus. May overlap with this trope.
34* MenagerieOfMisery: At least the animal abuse part.
35
36!!Contrast with:
37* CrappyCarnival: You won't have fun here either, but the reason is mundane incompetence, not eerie menace.
38
39----
40!!Examples
41
42[[foldercontrol]]
43
44[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
45* ''Manga/BlackButler'' has a whole arc in the manga where Ciel and Sebastian join Noah's Circus to investigate the whereabouts of children that have gone missing. Needless to say, what starts off as your average circus with jugglers, tightrope walkers, and acrobats turns much darker as we learn about the secrets behind it.
46* ''Anime/CatSoup'' has one, featuring a woman getting dismembered and a giant bird that's swallowed clouds (that ends up causing a flood).
47* ''Anime/ChargemanKen'': As the episode's title implies, the circus in "The Devil's Circus" is ''not'' a good one. It's actually [[spoiler:led by Jurals who disguise themselves as circus performers to kill Ken.]] At one point, they even unleash [[spoiler:the lions]] upon the audience!
48* A short manga by Creator/JunjiIto, ''Circus ga Kita'' has a travelling circus where performers die one by one during the show. [[spoiler: It doesn't matter that the circus loses performers or that the audience witness these horrors, since every single spectator will become part of it.]]
49* ''Manga/CopernicusBreathing'' may or may not fit neatly into this trope. Although it does not contain any supernatural elements, le Cirque de Soir is pretty gritty and the way it is visually portrayed is like a horrifying acid trip for a vast majority of the time [[spoiler: and not to mention, the ringmaster pimps out several of the performers.]]
50* In the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession20PierrotLeFou Pierrot le Fou]]", Spike faces off against Mad Pierrot in a creepy circus inspired by ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. It's also called ''Space Land'' and can be seen as a mockery of Bebop itself.
51* Near the end of the 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.
52* ''Manga/OnePiece'': [[MonsterClown Buggy the Clown's]] crew are [[GangOfHats themed around circus performance]], including a lion-tamer and an acrobat. In the [[Series/OnePiece2023 Netflix series]], they hold an actual circus performance with Buggy as the RepulsiveRingmaster and villagers of the town they destroyed as a literally CaptiveAudience forced to applaud on demand.
53* There were hints of something called a "Nightmare Circus" sub-arc within the Mahorafest arc of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi''. Sadly, it was cancelled due to the main story taking up much more time than expected.
54* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': While most [[TheHeartless Witches]] hide in their [[PocketDimension barriers]] when they strike, [[TheDreaded Walpurgisnacht]] doesn't need to, likely due to her [[TheJuggernaut sheer power]]. As such, she and her familiars travel the world like a delirious circus troupe. Various trained animals pull Walpurgisnacht using strings of circus flags, and a personal army of clowns usually dance around the stage-setting Witch herself, who doubles as both the fire-breather and the apparent ringleader.
55* The titular ''Anime/RobotCarnival'' is one of these. It used to be a normal circus, but years of wear turned it into this and it turns the citizens of the towns it visits into its new performers. Or just [[StuffBlowingUp makes them explode]].
56* The Dead Moon Circus of ''Franchise/SailorMoon''. If [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the name]] hasn't clued you in, the henchmen are all dressed like circus performers, and the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters of the Week]] (called Lemures) are themed after circus acts, props and animals.
57* The third [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxcqoCjRPTE opening]] of ''(Goku) Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei''.
58* In Tite Kubo's short lived ''Manga/ZombiePowder'', Balmunk has a Circus of Pain/Fear that just springs up from the ground.
59[[/folder]]
60
61[[folder:Comic Books]]
62* ''ComicBook/AndThenEmilyWasGone'' has the Circus of the Night, led by Billy Styx.
63* ''Franchise/TheDCU'':
64** The Joker likes doing variations of this in the various ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' incarnations. Most famously, he buys an AmusementParkOfDoom in ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' and crews it with circus freaks, using it to [[spoiler:[[DrivenToMadness attempt to drive Commissioner Gordon insane]] by showing him naked pictures he'd taken of Gordon's daughter after he shot her through the spine]]. And there was [[VillainSong a song]].
65** Also from ''Batman'', in ''ComicBook/BatmanAndRobin2009'', the first arc features an evil circus troupe led by the NightmareFuel[=-=]inducing Professor Pyg. In the second issue, the new Robin visits the actual circus, and more NightmareFuel starts when he is attacked by Professor Pyg's masked henchmen. Pyg's major underlings all resemble [[TheFreakshow sideshow freaks]], as well, including a grossly overweight bearded lady in a tutu and a human flame act who can burn others but not himself.
66** ''ComicBook/BrotherPowerTheGeek'' was once imprisoned as a [[TheFreakshow circus freak]] at the villanious Psychedelic Circus.
67** An early arc of ''ComicBook/StarmanDCComics'' features this type of circus. The "freaks" themselves are mostly nice people, but they are controlled by the ringmaster and his evil lieutenant. Because this is ''[[ContinuityPorn Starman]]'', the lieutenant comes back during the invasion of Opal City.
68* ''ComicBook/TheGoon'' had in one issue, Brigadoon's Dreamland Carnival, operated and patronized entirely by deformed Circus Freaks, who killed normal people in deadly carnival games, in revenge for the mistreatment they suffered in their lives. {{Averted|Trope}}, however, in [[CircusBrat the Goon's own happy childhood working in a traveling circus]].
69* A young ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'' ran off one day and found one of these. It was run by one [[LouisCypher "A.T. Roth"]].
70* ''ComicBook/HoaxHunters'' has a traveling circus as a front for a murderous cult. It ''used'' to just be a regular circus, until the ringleader met an EldritchAbomination and went insane. Most people who come in contact with it never suspect there's anything wrong -- and also probably think that goat guy is wearing a costume.
71* The second arc in the first volume of ''ComicBook/IHuntMonsters'' has the heroes dealing with a circus run by werewolves.
72* The graphic novel ''ComicBook/TheLastTemptation'' had one. It was written by Creator/NeilGaiman and Music/AliceCooper.
73* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'':
74** Arcade's [[AmusementParkOfDoom deadly amusement park]], [[DeathCourse Murderworld]], also has elements of the Circus of Fear, and so far hasn't fallen to VillainDecay. Probably because he has so many Murderworlds.
75** ComicBook/TheAwesomeSlapstick got his start trying to save his classmates from [[MonsterClown Evil Clowns from Dimension X]] who were using a circus to kidnap people and turn them mediocre. No, really. Everything got righteously smashed up.
76** The Circus of Crime is exactly what it sounds like, a circus troupe as a GangOfHats. It consists of guys like [[TheStrongman Bruto the Strongman]], [[SnakeCharmer Princess Python]], the HumanCannonball, the Great Gambonnos, [[VillainousHarlequin the Clown]], Live Wire, and the variously threatening-and-not so much [[RepulsiveRingmaster Ringmaster]], whose [[MindControlDevice hypnotic]] hat is often the key to his schemes. Generally less overtly creepy and homicidal than other examples of this trope, the Circus of Crime is mostly in it for the money.
77** ComicBook/{{Darkhawk}} has an origin involving witnessing his father take a bribe inside a creepy, abandoned carnival and stumbling upon the mysterious amulet that would eventually give him his powers.
78** ComicBook/KidColt twice fought groups known as the 'Circus of Crime'. In issue #106, he's forced to join a small travelling circus that visits small towns and uses their circus skills to rob them. In issue #127, Colt's ArchEnemy Iron Mask organizes a LegionOfDoom consisting of several other foes of Kid Colt (Bennington Brown, Dr. Danger, and the Fat Man) who pose as circus performers to rob the inauguration ball of the new governor of Arizona.
79** In a ''ComicBook/NewMutants'' flashback, the team finds a circus run by Skrulls who are kidnapping humans and shrinking them. As expected, the New Mutants trash the place, including various structures that didn't need it.
80** In ''ComicBook/SpiderManNoir'', Norman "The Goblin" Osborn recruited his inner circle from the circus [[TheFreakshow freak show]]. The Vulture was a geek who had become more animal than man, Kraven was an animal tamer, the Chameleon had the uncanny ability to alter his facial features, Ox was a strongman, Montana did rope tricks, and Fancy Dan was a promoter. As it turns out, [[spoiler:Norman himself was a refugee from the same freak-show, where he had been put on display since childhood as "the Goblin" because of his thick, green, scaly skin. He hides it under a latex mask nowadays.]]
81** ''ComicBook/WolverineAndTheXMenMarvelComics'' features Murder Circus, home to a witch who worshipped longtime ''ComicBook/XMen'' villain Azazel and stole the souls of children... and that was ''before'' it was taken over by none other than the FrankensteinMonster, who has gone full-on KnightTemplar and travels the country looking for relatives of his creator to kill. Creepy attractions feature zombie clowns and a sideshow made of brainwashed X-Men.
82* ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' fought a ghost-circus in their comic-book incarnation. The zombie elephants were somewhat creepy.
83* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil: Fire and Ice'' opens with the main characters fighting a zombified circus troupe, which includes a car filled with zombie clowns.
84[[/folder]]
85
86[[folder:Fan Works]]
87* Akiko's horrific past as a MagicalGirl in the backstory of the ''Fanfic/BattleFantasiaProject'' involved three years fighting against the Carnival of Blood, who want you to join them forever, in addition to the four years fighting her current enemy, the Nightmare Factory. It's primarily glossed over if mentioned at all, because going into specifics would subject the poor girl to horrors that would break most {{Magical Girl}}s, horrors to which not even ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' can compare.
88* In ''Fanfic/BetweenMyBrotherAndMeMorsOmnibus'', Yvonne and Yusho have to duel Yuya and Zarc in an Action Field called "Carnival of Lost Souls" while they all songs like [[Music/CreatureFeature "The Greatest Show Unearthed"]] (which itself is a reference to ''Literature/SomethingWickedThisWayComes'') and "The Circus Comes To Town" (the opening to ''WesternAnimation/BigTopScoobyDoo''). Yuya's deck for this duel is known as "Nightmare Mirror Circus" which contain EvilCounterpart versions of people (Shuzo, Yoko and Yusho), pets (En and Core) and duel monsters (Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon) with a dark circus aesthetic.
89* ''FanFic/CircusDays'' features Spike joining a circus, after having a falling out with Twilight and friends. The circus actually seems great at first... till Spike's all alone and learns [[spoiler: it's actually a front for poachers, who intend to make the little dragon their next trophy.]]
90* Creator/AAPessimal's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' fic ''Fanfic/ClowningIsASeriousBusiness'' deals with Vetinari's devious plan to force change and modernity on the Guild of Fools - specifically, by coercing it to follow the lead of the Thieves and the Assassins by taking its first girl students. And then treating them decently when they arrive. A group of female Thieves and Assassins are hence sent to the Fools as a sort of Mature Students' Class. They adapt their own trade skills into a genuinely new and innovative circus performance which is truly memorable for all who witness it - just to prove the point, practically, that women can be the equal of men. Things are ratcheted up when an attempt is made to kill up to three high-wire acrobats. The woman who has introduced lion-taming as a brand new circus discipline has firm ideas about this. Mayhem ensues. Leading to a Civil War in the world of clowning - a Clown Army marches out of Ãœberwald.
91* In ''Fanfic/EquestriaDivided'' we have the Cult of Laughter which combines the worst traits of necromancy, cosmic horror and this trope, and it's run by [[spoiler: a MonsterFromBeyondTheVeil Pinkie Pie]]
92* The setting for the Fairy Tail fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Fear}}'' is a circus that goes from town to town offering two nights of entertainment. The first nights always go swell for the townsfolk but come the second night things don't go well. They are made to see their worst fears as the circus crew ransack their towns. Natsu and Lucy take up a request to stop them, despite Lucy having a fear of clowns, something that a circus is going to have. When they reach the town that the circus is currently at they watch the first night's show and decide to intercept the second night's. They get caught and are made to see their fears. Although Lucy's fear of clowns does come up her true fear is [[spoiler: Natsu dying.]] While Natsu's fear is [[spoiler: killing his guildmates, Lucy in particular.]] They are both forced to watch each other go through their fears by their captors. They break free and make sure the circus wizards pay for everything they did.
93* In the ''Fanfic/HorseshoesAndHandGrenades'' sidestory ''Month of Sundays'', Damballa transforms the ''Narumi Detective Agency'' into this and the main attractions just happen to be [[spoiler: the fighting of CreepyDoll versions of ''three different Kamen Riders''.]]
94* In ''Fanfic/{{Misunderstandings}}'', the very human Peter Collins is captured by one of these, run by an evil [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic unicorn]] named [[ManipulativeBastard named Big Top]]. When he escapes, other ponies are concerned that this [[HumansThroughAlienEyes "alien"]] might be violent because of his poor treatment and both sides are overly cautious towards one another, especially due to a language barrier separating the two.
95%%* The Vocaloid fanfiction ''Fanfic/RottingCamellias'' takes place in one of these.
96[[/folder]]
97
98[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
99%%* ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCatTheMovie'' takes place in one of these for most of the film, since the BigBad sends the DamselInDistress there to perform for his amusement.
100* ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'': The Coachman locks about half the boys-turned-donkeys in crates that appear to be heading for a circus (the others are heading for the salt mines).
101* ''WesternAnimation/PinocchioAndTheEmperorOfTheNight'': A circus mysteriously appears from the ground in the middle of the night, hinted to be a creation by [[{{Satan}} Sat]]-er, "the Emperor of the Night" themselves. Pinocchio in this version of the classic tale also takes a visit to this carnival, where after seeing Twinkle, a puppet belonging to the puppetmaster, [[MeaningfulName Puppetino]], who called her "The most beautiful puppet in the world", he becomes love-struck by her, [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter loses his judgement]] and directly falls into Puppetino's scheme, being trapped in an InvoluntaryDance as [[spoiler: he turns poor Pinocchio [[PuppetPermutation right back into a puppet]] in a ''very'' disturbing sequence. Thankfully, the Blue Fairy does manage to turn him back into a real boy.]]
102* ''WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory'': The BigBad runs a literal Circus of Fear. Everything in it is geared towards horror. Except for the clown, ironically enough.
103[[/folder]]
104
105[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
106* ''Film/AIArtificialIntelligence'' and its "Flesh Fair": a traveling circus-like event where obsolete Mecha are destroyed before jeering crowds who hate Mecha, believing them to be both dangerous and a cause of human unemployment.
107* ''Film/AirBud:'' The villains of the second movie are two sinister (albeit bumbling) Russians who own a run-down circus staffed solely by themselves and who aren't afraid to kidnap animal attractions.
108* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''
109** ''Film/BatmanReturns'': The Penguin secretly runs 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.
110** ''Film/BatmanForever'': Two-Face's goons dress up as two-sided clowns when they attack the circus.
111** Oddly enough, this has been mostly averted with ComicBook/TheJoker in later live action outings--though he does come close in ''Film/Batman1989''.
112* The 1968 British horror film ''Film/{{Berserk}}'' starring Creator/JoanCrawford and Creator/MichaelGough is set in a circus where there are a series of gruesome and unexplained murders.
113* The movie version of ''Film/TheElephantMan'' involves the title character's escape from one of these. The movie was directed by Creator/DavidLynch, who must have jumped at the chance to try his hand at this trope.
114* ''Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari'' is probably the [[TropeMakers Trope Maker]]. Caligari sets up a weird carnival show with his cabinet, which contains a semi-comatose sleepwalker who can, apparently, tell your fortune from his dreams. By night, the sleepwalker sneaks out into town to murder his master's enemies. The whole movie is dripping with a surreal, highly-stylized atmosphere.
115* Creator/ChristopherLee starred in a 1966 film actually titled ''Film/CircusOfFear'', where a circus becomes the location for stolen loot and murder..
116* In ''Film/CircusOfHorrors'', a plastic surgeon must beat a hasty retreat to France when one of his patients has ghastly problems with her surgery. Once there, he operates on a circus owner's daughter, deformed by bombs from the war. Later he becomes the owner of the circus, and continues transforming disfigured women into the beautiful stars of his show. The police and a nosy reporter (as well as Scotland Yard) become interested when the women who want out of the circus begin dying in freak accidents, and they begin suspecting the good doctor is responsible.
117* ''Film/TheDevilsCarnival'' is about a carnival run by... guess.
118* In ''Film/TheFreakmaker'', Lynch runs a travelling carnival and freak show that he rules through fear and a fist of iron. He uses the freak show as a means of disposing of the experiments of Prof. Nolter that have gone wrong. The actual freaks who work for him are genuinely nice people, however, who only stay because they are afraid of Lynch and have nowhere else to go.
119* 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 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]].
120* ''[[Film/TheIncrediblyStrangeCreatures The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies]]'', often considered one of the worst movies of all time, is set in a carnival where patrons are transformed into zombies. The film actually features surprisingly few zombies and much, much, MUCH more bad singing than would be expected.
121* After the bus crash in ''Film/JackTheReaper'', the teens find themselves next to a carnival in the middle of the desert. When they get there, all of the rides are lit up but the carnival is deserted.
122* The monsters in ''Film/KillerKlownsFromOuterSpace'' are aliens that look like {{monster clown}}s and come to Earth on a spaceship that looks like a circus tent.
123%%* In ''Film/TheLadyFromShanghai'', before he gets to the famous HallOfMirrors, Michael O'Hara is dumped in one of these.
124* Downplayed in ''Film/{{Madeline}}''. The circus appears to be pleasant, but the main performance is controlled by [[TheMafiya Russian gangsters]] posing as clowns who wish to kidnap Pepito, the son of the Spanish Ambassador to France for ransom. They do so by bringing the Ambassador and his wife to the stage, distracting them as the mobster posing as a tutor takes the boy away under the pretense of getting a balloon.
125* In the ''Film/JamesBond'' film ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'', the titular female lead uses a circus as a cover for her criminal activities as well as using circus acrobats and aerialists to commit crimes for her, while a [[RenegadeRussian renegade Soviet general]] plants a nuke in her circus. Not necessarily evil, but initially misguided.
126* In ''Film/RingOfFear'', The Clyde Beatty Circus seems jinxed, falling victim again and again to apparent accidents which are actually the acts of a murderous saboteur.
127* ''Film/Thir13enGhosts'' has two ghosts, the Great Child and Dire Mother, that was in at least one of these. Specifically the Tall Man raped the mother and she gave birth to her son. They left (the stories are a little hard to follow) and were treated badly because of her son's disability, which was largely fueled by her being an extremely overprotective parent. They went to Jimbo's circus and conditions were so bad, that when she was kidnapped one night as a cruel prank, her mentally handicapped son destroyed the circus in search of his mom and axed the other freaks for killing her. The bodies were displayed for everyone to see and a mob later torn the Great Child apart, despite him being ''two years old'' in the head.
128** Similarly, the 1960 William Castle original, ''Film/ThirteenGhosts'', has two ghosts, The Tamer and The Lion, who would fit the theme: The Tamer seems to have lost his head in a lion-taming act gone wrong, an event reenacted by these ghosts in one of their scenes.
129* No prizes for guessing what the Hammer horror film ''Film/VampireCircus'' is about.
130* The movie ''Film/{{Waxwork}}'' is about a group of teenagers coming across an evil wax museum.
131[[/folder]]
132
133[[folder:Gamebooks]]
134* ''Literature/EndlessQuest'' also had an entry actually titled ''Circus of Fear.'' Decide for yourself whether the title's talking about the circus being run by bad guys or all the usual circus animals and attractions being replaced by creatures from the D&D bestiary.
135* ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' books had ''Literature/LegendOfTheShadowWarriors'' in which the Circus of Dreams had their performers replaced with evil Mandrakes, ''Literature/HowlOfTheWerewolf'' had a more benign version in the Carnivale which is a travelling show full of real supernaturals, runaways & freaks - they're dangerous but generally law-abiding people who take in all manner of outcasts, and ''Literature/{{Stormslayer}}'' where the hero could encounter the Menagerie of Monsters.
136* ''Literature/GiveYourselfGoosebumps'' has the fittingly titled ''Literature/TrappedInTheCircusOfFear''.
137[[/folder]]
138
139[[folder:Literature]]
140* There's a G-rated version in the children's picture book ''The Amazing Spider-Man: The Big Top Mystery''. To be sure, the circus in itself isn't scary, but it becomes this way once Spidey learns that he has to stop a saboteur from causing deadly "accidents" for the performers and spectators. Among the perils are a panicky elephant, a [[PantheraAwesome crazed lion]], and [[spoiler: a [[MonsterClown murderous clown]] who had "arranged" all the accidents and whom Spider-Man had [[TheFarmerAndTheViper rescued from the aforementioned lion earlier in the story]]. After he is finally caught, arrested, and questioned, the clown admits that he wanted to prevent the owner from selling the circus so he wouldn't lose his job]].
141* Jean-Claude, from the ''Literature/AnitaBlake'' series, owns and runs a fully functioning vampire circus, clowns with fangs and all.
142* The ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' novel, 'Circus Of Souls'. She figures it out soon enough, but is then zapped by the brain-altering magics of the circus.
143* The game of ''Literature/{{Caraval}}'' takes place at night, giving it a bit of a spooky, mysterious atmosphere. Participants can never really be sure whom to trust, or whether anything that happens is real or an illusion. Some people have even gone mad or died while playing the game.
144* ''Literature/TheCircusOfDoctorLao'', the one novel by Charles G. Finney. One amazing novel.
145* ''Circus of the Dead'', a short e-book by Seth Blackburn, is about a circus that features a real zombie as its main attraction. As is expected, [[GoneHorriblyWrong things don't end well]].
146* The main antagonists in ''Literature/DevilsCape'' are the Cirque d'Obscurite, a group of carnies who developed superpowers based on their talents when they were exposed to the death of a superhero and murdered first one hero, then the rest of his team. They're led by the Behemoth, formerly part of the freakshow, but also include [[PlayingWithFire Hector Hell]], [[RubberMan Kraken]], [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Werewolf]], [[WingedHumanoid Osprey,]] and [[FeelNoPain Gork.]]
147* Not a circus, but an amusement park - ''Literature/FullTilt'' by Neil Shusterman. Good ''god'', ''Full Tilt''.
148* Averted/inverted in Iain Lawrence's ''Ghost Boy''. The main character discovers that the freaks are kind and good-natured, but they still unsettle him a little, and the non-freaks are much better at being charming.
149* Nick Harkaway's ''Literature/TheGoneAwayWorld'' subverts this by having a circus help and support the good guys.
150* ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'': ''Literature/ANightmareOnClownStreet'' 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]].
151* In several ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'' books, ghosts run an ethereal amusement park, where the ghosts try, and often succeed, in scaring the visitors. Amusingly, people kissing seems to scare the ghosts, in return. However, the rest of the amusement park is typical, if ghostly, fare such as a smoke ring toss.
152* ''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 weapon.
153* ''Literature/TheManualOfDetection'' has [[Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari Caligari's]] Travels-No-More Carnival, which is this trope in spades.
154* Angela Carter's ''Literature/NightsAtTheCircus'' doesn't feature an ''evil'' circus per se, but some scary and strange crap definitely goes down.
155* The Fun Fair, ''Literature/{{Nightside}}'''s first amusement park ended up this way. It's considered a very bad place (and this is Nightside we're talking about) and requires services of major exorcists just to keep it quiet. The protagonist even comments on the nerve and bravery of someone who graffittied the front gate sign.
156* ''Literature/ThePiloFamilyCircus''. An extradimensional travelling circus of madmen, magicians, and monsters, where the employees are paid in bags of management-controlled wishing powder made from the crystalised remains of human souls- extracted from the audience. Oh, and the managers have a nasty habit of causing global chaos on Earth via the [[ChessMaster Fortune Teller]] and the [[MonsterClown Clown division]], on behalf of a race of reptilian demigods [[SealedEvilInACan imprisoned beneath the showgrounds]].
157* Count Otto Black, a RunningGag recurring villain in Creator/RobertRankin's insane versions of novels, is often seen running a circus.
158* The setting for the ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' novel ''Carnival of Fear''.
159* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'''s Slagar the Cruel runs a traveling show which ''seems'' perfectly benign (except that all the performers are [[AlwaysChaoticEvil weasels and stoats]]). The show is used to distract the good guys while a performer drugs their drinks and Slagar himself hypnotizes them, and when they wake up the "show" has vanished, taking their children with it.
160* The Peabody-Ozymandias Traveling Circus & Oddity Emporium of the eponymous novella in the Literature/RepairmanJack universe by F. Paul Wilson serves as this. Peabody is more or less a regular owner of a circus, but Ozymandias's freaks bear an otherworldly taint.
161* Subverted in ''Literature/TheSagaOfDarrenShan'', where the "Cirque Du Freak", though intended to be nightmarish and slightly horrifying (and potentially dangerous), actually provides a warning beforehand of what it will be like, and gives patrons an opportunity to leave. If any are injured, the show is halted until they are fixed up. Also, the "freaks" are rather friendly and personable people, and the Circusmaster, Mr. Tall, actually runs the cirque as a means of providing people with strange abilities with shelter, family, the opportunity to travel, and a circumstance where their unique abilities can inspire wonder rather than fear.
162** The Cirque is a beacon of home and safety for the main characters to the point where it even becomes something of a sanctuary from the vampire wars of the later books - and when [[spoiler: it is invaded, that is the clearest of signs that we've reached a point of no return.]]
163* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'': ''The Carnivorous Carnival'' has the Calligari Carnival where its freaks will be fed to hungry lions to increase audience interest.
164* ''Serenity Falls'' from [[Literature/TheBlastedLandsSeries James A. Moore]] is a horror trilogy about the titular cursed town. After a number of horrific supernatural events, it climaxes with the sinister necromantic Circus of the Fantastic coming to Serenity Falls for revenge.
165* ''Literature/SomethingWickedThisWayComes''. Its carnival is strongly implied to thrive on fear and unhappiness.
166* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
167** According to the short story "A Boy and His Monster" in ''Literature/TalesFromJabbasPalace'', Malakili the Rancor Keeper was previously employed by the Circus Horrificus, where Hutts paid to see weird creatures get tortured to death.
168* Inverted in ''{{Literature/The Traveling Triple-C Incorporeal Circus}}'', when the main characters, one of whom is a mime, put on a circus show to ''calm'' some actual monsters.
169* The ''Theater des Vampires'' in ''Literature/TheVampireChronicles'', who are vampires hiding in plain sight. They manage to be both scary and complete jackasses at the same time. They ''act'' out vampires killing humans on stage while the human audience watches in oblivious entertainment, and sometimes even satirically offer themselves in place of the victim they don't believe is a victim.
170[[/folder]]
171
172[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
173* ''Series/AceLightning'''s appropriately named Carnival of Doom. The one seen in the actual show would be pretty innocuous if not for all the digital supervillains who happen to live there, though.
174* ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryFreakShow'' ran on this trope: some of the usual suspects include a freak show full of dark secrets, killer clowns, sadistic side-show managers, and the like.
175%%* The first phase of ''Series/BigBrother 17's'' final competition required players to survive hanging on "candy apples" in one of these.
176%%* ''Series/{{Carnivale}}'' embodies this.
177* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
178** 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.
179** Subverted in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E2CarnivalOfMonsters Carnival of Monsters]]'', with the showman Vorg portrayed as ignorant of the horrors he's leading.
180** 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.
181** ''[[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.
182** ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' series 2 had Spellman's Magical Museum of the Circus in ''[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS2E3E4TheDayOfTheClown The Day of the Clown]]''.
183** ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' series 2 had the carnival performers known as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Night Travellers]] in [[Recap/TorchwoodS2E10FromOutOfTheRain "From Out of the Rain"]], who stole the souls of their audience members.
184* ''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}}'').
185* An episode of ''Series/GetSmart'' involves Max tracking down a murderer and jewel thief in a circus. Turns out most of the circus members are part of the crime ring.
186* In season three of ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', Jerome Valeska, a {{captain ersatz}} of the Joker who was actually raised in a circus, uses his [[PsychoSupporter followers]] to take over the carnival grounds in Gotham. He dresses as the ringmaster of a circus while his followers dress in clown-themed clothing, and they kidnap normal citizens of Gotham so they can kill and torture them by making them participate in deadly carnival games for their own amusement. Like the version of the Joker in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Jerome is a {{straw nihilist}} who believes that [[HumansAreBastards everyone is just as terrible of a person as he is deep down,]] and he actually [[TheCorruptor inspires some of his followers to turn on their neighbors and family members]] during this carnival.
187* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' headed in this direction in their final season. The season opened with the role of primary antagonists falling on a group of carnies, led by a man named Samuel who [[spoiler:injected ink into people and manipulated it inside their bodies along with creating earthquakes and manipulating earth]]. In the end it turns out this is a subverted trope as the carnival was a protected home for people with powers where they could openly be themselves. Most of the carnies aren't really evil, just misguided by [[spoiler: Samuel. He was manipulating them to give him more power. The carnies were just looking for an safe haven to openly use their abilities and earn a living.]]
188* Papa Lazarou's circus in ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen'' might qualify as a subversion. While Papa Lazarou's appearance is pure Nightmare Fuel and he spends all his spare time kidnapping women ("You're my wife now!") Royston Vasey is already so full of freaks that the circus [[HorrifyingTheHorror soon flees in terror, as the town is too weird even for them.]]
189%%* ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', first-season episode.
190* An episode of ''Series/{{Mutant X}}'' dealt with a travelling circus led by a man whose power was to trap people inside funhouse mirrors.
191* The short lived series ''Series/SheWolfOfLondon'' (aka ''Love & Curses'') featured an episode during it's first season, ''Big Top She-Wolf'', that dealt with a demonic circus.
192* The ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E23TheThaw The Thaw]]" has a circus run by an anthropomorphic manifestation of fear (depicted as a MonsterClown, naturally).
193* In ''Series/TheWinchesters'' (a spinoff of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''), the episode "The Tears of a Clown" featured a MonsterClown named Limbo who went from carnival to carnival turning sad people into more Monster Clowns. This trope applies inside his own travelling tent, which is full of sinister clowns and funhouse mirrors.
194[[/folder]]
195
196[[folder:Music]]
197* 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 the trope.
198* The music video to Music/AnimalAlpha's "Bundy" is set in a creepy circus to go with its MurderBallad theme.
199* Music/BattleBeast: The titular circus from "Circus of Doom" is frightening at first glance, but ultimately the biggest victims are the performers.
200-->The lions are hungry\
201And filled with rage\
202Afraid and angry\
203Locked in a cage
204* The aptly named Dark Cabaret group The Carnival are centered around this.
205* This is kind of the whole schtick of Seattle-based group Circus Contraption, especially during their "Grand American Traveling Dime Museum" show.
206* 'Circus metal' is slowly becoming its own sub-genre for a combination of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin circus music (or more generally dark cabaret) and metal]]. Good examples of this are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHDhA35KR_I Stolen Babies]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvgDLx4VA1k Unexpect]].
207* Creature Feature's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Yb5jzRTBI "The Greatest Show Unearthed"]] and its sequel "The Greatest Show Unearthed Returns" is about a travelling carnival of fantasy and terror, where your every wish can come true (for a deadly price) and the sights will drive you to insanity.
208-->Come inside, for the ride,\
209Your deepest, darkest fear!\
210The best night, of your life,\
211You're never leaving here!\
212The unknown, the unseen,\
213Is what you're gonna find!\
214Witness this, witness that,\
215Until you lose your mind!
216* The album cover of ''Music/StrangeDays'' by Music/TheDoors features some freaky [[note]] Well, not exactly ''freaky'', but wearing dark clothing and appearing to be vaguely poor, which was unsettling enough for the 1960s. [[/note]] circus people too.
217* ''Circus of Sour'' by Music/{{Donovan}} doesn't sound like it's about a particularly ''nice'' circus.
218* Music/BobDylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man" from ''Music/Highway61Revisited'' if the lyrics are taken literally, takes place at least partially in a Circus Of Fear.
219* Music/EmersonLakeAndPalmer: The second half of the first impression of "Karn Evil 9" describes a number of bizarre acts and exhibits in the sideshow of a dystopian future circus, including "supersonic fighting cocks", a display of severed bishops' heads, "a real blade of grass" kept in a glass case, a Vaseline-covered "Gypsy Queen" who will "perform on guillotine", and more.
220-->''Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends\
221We're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside''
222* The titular Music/EvelynEvelyn ConjoinedTwins spent their teenage years a part of a freak show act. It was better than their previous place, though that's not saying much as they used to be pimped out to people. It's implied they were sexually abused by the clowns, the elephants were fed so poorly that they died, and the twins were overworked and beaten. The only good thing about their experience at the circus was that they learned how to play the ukulele, which helped them get interested in a music career.
223* A lot of Music/HannahFury's music evokes feelings of this, but [[http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858568453 "Carnival Justice (The Gloves Come Off)"]] especially makes use of some creepy carnival imagery.
224* "Circus of Death," from Music/TheHumanLeague's first album ''Reproductions'', tells the story of a singularly destructive circus. The song is also, oddly enough, a Series/HawaiiFiveO {{Fanfic}} of sorts.
225* The Music/InsaneClownPosse's appearance and Dark Carnival mythos is based on this trope. Many of their songs, including "Murder Go Round", "House of Mirrors", "Halls of Illusion" and "Tilt-a-Whirl" relate to Circus, or rather, Carnival of Fear-based themes.
226* "Cirkus" by Music/KingCrimson is a rather [[MindScrew mind screwy]] version.
227* The cover art, title track and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWIW6Ti0PbE its music video]], and associated merchandise (comic books, action figures and [[VideoGame/KissPsychoCircusTheNightmareChild a PC game]]) of the 1998 Music/{{KISS}} album ''Psycho Circus'' make use of this concept.
228* Creator/SeananMcGuire's song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFI9xOqO_g0 The Poisonous Circus]]" is about a circus for {{Nightmare Fetishist}}s. Some of the lyrics are on the quotes page for this trope.
229* ''Music/MiracleOfSound'''s song "Call of Duty Circus" portrays ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' as one of these.
230-->Roll up and see the terrifying ripper with his blade!\
231His magic knife will end your life\
232Of one-hit-kills it's made
233%%* The exact details aren't specified, but Rachel Rose Mitchell's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBgHqG2ZHM8 Carnival]]" is clearly set in one of these.
234* The ConceptAlbum ''The New World's Fair'' by Creator/MichaelMoorcock and his band Deep Fix (yes, [[HiddenDepths Michael Moorcock sang and wrote songs]]!) involves the denizens of a carnival in a post-apocalyptic world.
235* Music/MotleyCrue's 2005 "Carnival Of Sins" tour (documented on the DVD of the same name) was described by Nikki Sixx as "a circus gone wrong".
236* The artwork for [[Music/MrBungle Mr. Bungle]]'s self-titled first album centers around this trope, as does the song Carousel (off the same album).
237* ''Music/{{Nightwish|Band}}'s'':
238** The song ''Scaretale'' has a part like this.
239** As does the music video for ''Storytime''.
240* Music/NoxArcana's CD ''Carnival of Lost Souls'' is based on [[Literature/SomethingWickedThisWayComes ''Something Wicked This Way Comes'']], so features one of these.
241* The circus folk in Music/PanicAtTheDisco's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc6vsl5dkc "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"]] are a subversion since, while definitely creepy, they're [[CreepyGood actually the good guys]].
242* Music/{{Pink}}'s Funhouse Tour featured quite a few freakish clowns. The name comes from one of her songs: "This used to be a fun house/But now it's full of [[MonsterClown evil clowns]]".
243* Music/PoetsOfTheFall's "[[https://youtu.be/MKk1u5RMTn4?list=PLjACqN5i5sDWIIpg-5EB4WcitMMqnXhFP Carnival of Rust]]." The Carnival is run down and creepy, and the staff is menacing and vaguely predatory. The video's plot revolves around Zoltar, a [[SadClown depressive]], decaying Carnival automaton with flaking paint, and the experiences of the [[PostApocalypticGasmask gas-masked]] female customer who he tries to persuade to stay with foreboding, increasingly desperate pleas and demands for a relationship while [[HostileAnimatronics banging on the walls]] of his case.
244* The Song "Devil's Playground" by the Rigs is seemingly inviting someone to one of these, though, the Devil being the Devil isn't exactly trustworthy. The attendee is given a throne, encouraged to feast from the fruit of every tree told that they can look and touch and given "Chains of Freedom". Constant reassurances are: I promise that it's safe and [[FalseReassurance "I swear it won't cost much."]]
245* A K-pop version is the video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjBHPvYW3GkI Midnight Circus]] by the group Sunny Hill.
246* The Song ''Flohzirkus'' by Samsas Traum is exactly about this. One of four thrown knives is guaranteed to hit, and the woman is actually sewn in half.
247* "Circus Apocalypse" by the dark cabaret act, Vermillion Lies.
248-->Come down and join the circus\
249It's the end of your world\
250Come down and join the circus\
251All you dead boys and girls\
252If you still have a pulse\
253We can remedy that\
254You can check your life\
255While you check your hat
256* ''Music/{{Vocaloid}}'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsjTBdiPq8o "Dark Woods Circus"]] is a song about children being kidnapped, mutilated and turned into gruesome circus freaks. The attractions include Rin and Len stitched together to make artificial conjoined twins, Miku as a siren with deformed legs, and Kaito as a cannibal.
257* A lot of Music/TomWaits' stuff, especially the albums ''Music/{{Swordfishtrombones}}'', ''Music/FranksWildYears'', ''Music/RainDogs'', ''Music/{{Alice|TomWaitsAlbum}}'' (which includes a song about Johnny Eck), ''Music/TheBlackRider'', and ''Music/BloodMoney''.
258* The song "Grease Paint and Monkey Brains" by [[Music/RobZombie White Zombie]]. It even starts with a circus calliope breaking down mid-song.
259[[/folder]]
260
261[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
262* The original {{Heel}} Wrestling/DoinkTheClown qualifies, of course.
263* Wrestling/TheOddities, in 1998 Wrestling/{{WWE}}, started as this, as a traveling carnival freak show complete with creepy music led by [[Wrestling/DonCallis the Jackyl]]. The group [[HeelFaceTurn turned Face (Good)]], and the Jackyl was replaced by Wrestling/{{Sable}}, and the Music/InsaneClownPosse came on board and would rap their new theme song, "Oddities", as the group danced down to the ring. ICP later [[FaceHeelTurn turned heel]] on their way out of WWE in late 1998. The Oddities, by early 1999 down to [[Wrestling/JohnTenta Golga (John Tenta)]], Wrestling/{{Kurrgan}}, [[Wrestling/GiantSilva the Giant Silva]] and [[Wrestling/GeorgeSteele George "The Animal" Steele]], suffered through BadassDecay[=/=]RedemptionDemotion and were released in February 1999.
264* Wrestling/SinnBodhi's Odditorium in Wrestling/{{Chikara}}
265* Wrestling/{{AAA}}'s Psycho Circus and later, Mini Psycho Circus.
266* [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling Total Nonstop Action]] debuted "The Menagerie" in 2014, headed by [[Wrestling/MikeKnox Knux]] and including [[Wrestling/TaneaBrooks Rebel]], [[Wrestling/SteveScott Crazzy Steve]], and [[Wrestling/RobTerry The Freak]] as [[WrestlingDoesntPay wrestling carnies]].
267[[/folder]]
268
269[[folder:Podcasts]]
270* The Circus of the Other (more accurately translated from the original Russian as "Another Circus") from ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'' certainly qualifies as this. It has had disturbingly deformed freaks in its freak show (including people without ''heads''), kidnapped a child and forced him to walk a tightrope as two clowns fought brutally below, and ripped an audience member's skin off as part of an advertisement. It toured in Russia in the 1940s and 50s and was never seen again, until it returned in London in 2013. [[spoiler: It serves as the ArcVillain for Season 3, with its ringmaster being Nikola Orsinov, a mannequin who wears people's skins.]]
271* Inverted in one episode of ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale''. A carnival arrives in the supernatural town of Night Vale, and the host on the local radio station, Cecil, clearly believes them to be the trope, using his program to repeatedly caution the local citizens against them by describing them as weird and disturbing. Eventually, Cecil's scaremongering leads to a mob gathering and chasing the carnival out of town, at which point it becomes obvious that the carnival was perfectly normal and benign all along, and that it was the townsfolk who were the scary weirdos antagonizing them.
272[[/folder]]
273
274[[folder:Radio]]
275* G-rated example: The 54th album of ''Radio/AdventuresInOdyssey'' features a carnival that is a front for a counterfeiting ring.
276[[/folder]]
277
278[[folder:Roleplay]]
279* It has been announced that once ''Roleplay/GraveAcademy'' starts, a part of the academy or a separate location will be this.
280[[/folder]]
281
282[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
283* The Pale Moon clan of ''Anime/CardfightVanguard'' is less grisly than most other examples on the page, appearing to all intents and purposes a regular circus run by fetish-appealing performers, but these staff are monsters, the circus animals are chimera, and one stronger performer of note is a giant UncannyValleyGirl.
284** And considering they're also [[CarnivalOfKillers all top tier assassins]] for the Dark Zone Nation...
285* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''
286** The titular organisation from ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'''s Carnival box set seems like this at first, with the workers divided roughly between mutated freaks and [[EnemyMime spooky, utterly silent folks in bizarre face paint]], many of which work as [[MonsterClown rather disturbing clowns,]] but it actually subverts the trope. The Carnival is one of the most accepting and hospitable places in the Demiplane of Dread, and most of the workers are good people. Most of them... there are some members who are actually evil, though they've managed to hide this from their fellows. One of the options for the true nature of Isolde, their leader, (and which has more or less been adopted as the truth), is that [[spoiler: she's a rogue angel who came to Ravenloft to pursue the [[SuccubiAndIncubi incubus]] known as the Gentleman Caller, with the Twisting resulting from the interaction between her nature and the sheer corrupt nature of Ravenloft]]. The original workers for Isolade's Carnival, however, are escapees from a now-dead Darklord called "The Puppetmaster", who ruled a domain (the Carnival l'Morai) that played this trope straight (''Carnival of Fear'', mentioned in Literature above, deals with the original domain, not the current Carnival).
287*** Despite all this, as is only appropriate in Ravenloft, the Carnival's still very creepy. The Skurra are attendant Vistani who wear strange black and white facepaint (the Skurra-verra) that protects them from the Twisting at the cost of making them mute. The Twisting causes people who stay overlong in the Carnival to mutate, their form changing to reflect their hearts and souls- for example, the bitter and malevolent Professor Pacali's repressed plots take life as deformed midget "things" that grow from his flesh. This is the source of his "Pickled Punks". One of the "attractions" are the horrifically warped Chaos Spawn-like remnants of people who attacked the Carnival, entities referred to simply as The Abominations. And some of the populace were strange and unnatural before they entered the Carnival, like a bloodthirsty leopard with the ability to assume a humanoid form, a Seawolf (an amphibious werewolf), the Fetch of an evil wizard and a Wax Golem.
288** 1st edition supplement ''Adventure Pack I'', adventure "The Circus of Gandolfo". The title circus is just a cover for a Doctor Frankenstein-like MadScientist who likes to kidnap people and perform bizarre experiments on them.
289** ''The Guildmasters' Guide To Ravnika'' has the Cult of Rakdos, mentioned below. As if being a cult full of sado-masachistic serial killers wasn't bad enough, most of the high level members and demons in the cult have the ability to inflict [[HatePlague mindless fury and bloodlust]] on anyone in their vicinity, so there's a good chance that any given show of theirs ends with the audience members tearing each other apart.
290** The third-party setting of ''Heckna!'' takes place in The Revelia, a magical realm that looks like a circus and drifts in and out of different planes. The Revalia's master, the RepulsiveRingmaster [[AntagonistTitle Heckna]], likes to lure people to his carnival in his search for greater, more spectacular challenges. Some of The Revalia's notable residents include {{Puppeteer Parasite}}s that look like clown noses and turn their hosts into zombie-like Clown Thralls, bloodthirsty and mischievous {{HumanoidAbomination}}s that look like small, colorfully dressed children, and a giant AntlionMonster that lives under the ballpit.
291* One of the canon Abyssal ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' is The Melkin Fool in Red, who is the ringmaster of the Circus Moribund. Little information is available about the Circus itself, but much can be inferred from the fact that it is run by an Abyssal.
292* One of the playable "families" in ''TabletopGame/{{Gloom}}'' is ''Darius Dark's Den of Deformity.'' The description for Darius Dark himself is: "The circus is in Darius' blood. And there is an awful lot of blood in Darius' circus." Although creepy and weird, the circus performers don't seem to be evil [[CrappyCarnival so much as incompetent]], like a midget opera singer [[DreadfulMusician who can't sing]], an illustrated lady who's [[ShrinkingViolet far too modest]] to show off her tattoos, and a "bearded man". Then there's [[MonsterClown Mister Giggles...]]
293* [[http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=3327 The Circus Maximus]] for ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}''.
294** Also for ''GURPS'', Poponax the Evil Clown's carnival from the ''Magic Items 2'' sourcebook. The carnival itself is relatively harmless, but all the prizes and souvenirs the visitors receive [[ArtifactOfDoom are cursed]].
295* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has the sado-masochistic hedonist Cult of Rakdos on the plane of Ravnica, led by the giant demon Rakdos, with its [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Rakdos_Carnarium_Cropped_851.jpg circuses]] [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom of DOOM]]. They're the official Ravnican guild in charge of entertaining the masses.
296* In the ''TabletopGame/MutantChronicles'' Universe, the Dark Apostle Semai's method of obtaining sleeper agents in human society is by having carnivals in big cities abduct children to brainwash them.
297* The ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' has the Midnight Circus, a wandering circus of horrors and evil that eventually got its own sourcebook to reveal its secrets. It's literally packed with ''every'' kind of monster that exists in the World of Darkness, from vampires to werebeasts to faeries to Formori to witches to full-fledged demons. All of them are either evil, or so deformed and horrific that they have nowhere else to go. To put this in perspective, a Midnight Circus member who almost qualifies as a TokenGoodTeammate would be "Tub of Flesh", a Nosferatu who had the misfortune of falling into the hands of Sascha Vyskos. Consequently, whilst he deeply loves children and strives to protect them, he's basically a roiling mass of semi-liquid purple-black flesh that constantly forms and reabsorbs eyes and fanged mouths. And even then, he's still a vicious killer when he needs to be, and he has to feed on blood. That's right, one of the nicest members of the Midnight Circus is a blood-drinking Shoggoth-expy with a soft spot for kids.
298** In the ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'', ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' gives us the vampiric bloodline called the Carnival. Every last vampire of the bloodline bears a circus-freak deformity (their founder suffered from sirenalia, and was billed as "the Andalusian Mermaid"), and they often act as traveling or static carnivals, the better to hide in plain sight.
299* The ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' module ''Carnival of Tears'' showcases a carnival where icy fey have taken over, and are slaughtering the attending townsfolk in gruesomely creative ways. No one notices, due to powerful illusion magic that replaces every event of horror with a completely normal, even enjoyable, carnival scene.
300** Second Edition has the Adventure Path "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkIr4jwRfPc Extinction Curse]]", in which your group of circus performers has fled from one of these dubbed "The Celestial Managerie" to StartMyOwn competing circus.
301* The Swords & Sorcery ''TabletopGame/ScarredLands'' setting has a Circus of Fear ''nation''. The Carnival of Tears in Blood Bayou.
302* Appearing in the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' spinoff game ''TabletopGame/{{Mordheim}}'', and referenced in Warhammer too, is the Carnival of Chaos, a circus staffed by Chaos worshippers and daemons of Nurgle (who, despite being the Chaos God of despair, is a rather jovial fellow). The show seems to be benign until the climax when the Carnival members and and their stage's true putrid corruption is revealed. At this point the entertainers slaughter anyone who hasn't already fallen to the diseases secretly spread during the performance. They then round up the women and children who survived, the Carnival Master [[{{Fingore}} taking a finger]] from each woman and taking them as his [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe "wives"]].
303** The ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' roleplaying game ''TabletopGame/DarkHeresy'' introduces The Menagerie, which uses carnivals, revels and fetes as a cover to expose innocent people to [[BrownNote sanity-blasting]], [[BodyHorror flesh-warping]] horrors. [[MadnessMantra Come and see! You must come and see!]]
304** The Carnivora from ''Literature/{{Ravenor}}'' is a Roman-style circus where gladiators fight to the death as the main event, while acrobats perform death-defying stunts without safety nets and drugged clowns get eaten alive by alien beasts as sideshows. Ravenor’s people infiltrate the Carnivora as part of their investigation into the flect trade, getting into fights with some of the staff and beasts in the process.
305[[/folder]]
306
307[[folder:Theater]]
308* In the 2013 Broadway revival of ''Theatre/{{Pippin}}'', the ShowWithinAShow "Pippin, His Life and Times" is specifically being performed by a circus troupe (with performers from the RealLife Canadian troupe Les 7 Doigts de la Main). The reason it's this trope is that over the course of the production, particularly in the second act, matters become increasingly disturbing until the GrandFinale - [[spoiler:where the players try to convince Pippin to commit a dramatic suicide in order to be "Extraordinary". When he refuses, the Lead Player becomes hostile and takes away the "magical illusions" of the show and he and the company encourage members of the audience to come and take Pippin's place. Because "we're right inside in your heads!"]].
309[[/folder]]
310
311[[folder:Theme Parks]]
312* [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal's]] Theatre/HalloweenHorrorNights.
313** The event as a whole, along with similar Halloween events at other theme parks like Ride/BuschGardens, can be considered a harmless staged version of this, as the entire appeal is for attendees to get scared in a festive environment filled with actors in macabre costumes and makeup.
314** Halloween Horror Nights has also made use of circus themes 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, while in 2016 his [[DistaffCounterpart female assistant]] Chance would take over.
315[[/folder]]
316
317[[folder:Toys]]
318* ''Toys/MonsterHigh'' plays on the atmosphere of this trope (not the menace) in the Freak du Chic line, which introduces [[GiantWoman Gooliope Jellington]], a circus-raised giant and gives the gang elaborate circus looks to go with her. This is also invoked by the Scared Silly add-on guise of one of the Inner Monster dolls, and by Merry Trotabout, a carousel-horse Fright-Mare.[[note]]The Fright-Mares are a centaur offshoot line of smaller dolls[[/note]]
319[[/folder]]
320
321[[folder:Video Games]]
322%%* Antonio Petronelli's lair in ''VideoGame/TwoDark'' is an abandoned circus.
323* ''VideoGame/ApeEscape'' takes this trope and packs every element into the first half of the first game's monstrously huge VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. The main area is an amusement park taken over by the BigBad, with lots of separate areas branching off, including a crazy mine cart style roller coaster, and a more literal circus flavored area, where you must defeat an evil clown. The other sections are mostly other common video game settings, including TheWildWest and a BigBoosHaunt. This is only the first half of the level. The other, even longer, half is the Big Bad's flying castle, which includes elements of {{Tomorrowland}}. Yeah, this series really likes its location tropes.
324%%* Music/TheResidents' ''VideoGame/BadDayOnTheMidway'' had this setting.
325* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'': The circus in Waukeen's Promenade starts out normal -- until their disgruntled illusionist Kalah uses powers gained from some kind of an implied DealWithTheDevil to turn the inside of the tent into a weird personal world of his own that is BiggerOnTheInside and that no-one can escape until he is defeated.
326%%* The first mission of Circus Park in ''VideoGame/BillyHatcherAndTheGiantEgg'' certainly fits the bill. And the second stage too. Sure, it may not be dark anymore, but that's a pretty messed up funhouse you have to go through.
327%%* ''VideoGame/BinkyShow'': Binky set up his "Horror Circus" in the town of River-Road.
328* Ryan Amusements in ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'''s Rapture is designed mostly as a propaganda device to scare children into never going to the surface.
329* ''VideoGame/Blood1997''[='=]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]].
330* Okay, so it's a carnival, but Tokkentakker's little three-ring terror ride that is the basis of ''VideoGame/{{CarnEvil}}'' certainly fits the bill, complete with demonic floating clown head.
331* The Nation of Fools from ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin''. Enemy types include demonic clowns and evil acrobats. The circus appears to be in some post apocalyptic world surrounding a black hole. [[spoiler:At the end of the level, the black hole turns out to be the level boss Legion.]] The creepy mock-circus music just to drive the point home. There is also another Circus Level at the HubLevel within the HubLevel.
332* The higher levels of play in the MMORPG ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' include a "Circus of Fear"-style villain group called the Carnival of Shadows. In addition to crime, the members of the Carnival feed on their patrons' souls.
333* [=LeChuck=] converts a part of Monkey Island into an amusement park of doom (the "Carnival of the Damned") in ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'' as part of his master scheme: Reasoning that the first thing a sailor wants when he arrives to port is a family-oriented fun-park, he builds the Carnival of the Damned, and its centerpiece ride, the Rollercoaster of Death, leads straight into Big Whoop and converts everyone who boards the ride into a ghost pirate minion.
334* The first level of ''VideoGame/DarkChronicle'' had one of these coming to Max's town, which culminated in a boss fight against the deranged clown Ringmaster and his pet elephant, Linda. And then he chases you onto a train and throws bombs at you until the whole train derails.
335* A free update of ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'' added the Butcher's Circus mode, a PVP mode. In it, the attraction is your set of heroes against an opposing set of heroes in a fight to the death in a gladiatorial arena. Character attacks, abilities, and trinkets have different properties, such as dealing stress to enemies or giving more balanced buffs/debuffs and damage-scaling.
336* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'':
337** This is the theme of two levels in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest'', the world Krazy Kremland. Interestingly, these circus levels have [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic nice music]], and a fun MinecartMadness design. However, levels in the same section of the game, including the boss fight, take place [[HornetHole inside a giant beehive]], which serves to show just how run down (or possibly deliberately dangerous) the park is.
338** The Seal Pompy the Presumptuous in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze'' is fought in one set up by the Snomads.
339* ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' has this in the city of Threed. It already starts off with a scary circus and a town overrun with undead/spectral monsters. The trope is inverted at first, as the big top is the sanctuary for townspeople. When another circus tent mysteriously shows up, there's a variation on the circus tent being where the monsters are held, as [[spoiler:the tent itself is a monster]].
340* ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim 2'' provides an example with ''Circus Of The Scars'', also known as ''Inflated Head'', best summed up by Website/SomethingAwful forumite Phiggle in his LetsPlay of the game as such:
341-->''"You ever been to a carnival? You know that game they have with the water guns and they're shooting water into these clowns' mouths and there's a water balloon that inflates and inflates, eventually it explodes, everybody's happy, whoever won the race gets a prize from, you know, the carny who's got, like, three thumbs on both hands, you know what I'm talking about? Well, that's basically this level. Except for the part where everybody's happy. [[DifficultySpike This level's hard]]."''
342%%* ''VideoGame/FallFromHeaven 2'' has a whole nation, the Balseraphs, ruled by a MonsterClown and his CreepyChild daughter.
343%%* ''[[VideoGame/{{Gauntlet}} Gauntlet: Dark Legacy]]'' had one of these as a final level.
344* ''VideoGame/HouseOfTheDeadOverkill'' has one with [[MonsterClown Mutant Clowns]] and a freakshow complete with a freak as a boss. A freakier freak than a normal mutant.
345* The yearly summer sideshow event in ''VideoGame/KillingFloor'' turns all the specimens into circus-themed versions of themselves. For instance, the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast flesh pound]] becomes the flesh clown, and the patriarch becomes a ringmaster. There is also a map made for said event called "Abusement Park."
346* The fourth level of the second world in ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe'' is an abandoned circus crawling and teeming with ghosts that can be only seen via reflective mirrors.
347%%* ''VideoGame/KissPsychoCircusTheNightmareChild'' is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
348* The third campaign of ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' is "Dark Carnival", a dreary trek through the Whispering Oaks Amusement Park. While it wouldn't have actually been an evil carnival under normal circumstances, taking place during the ZombieApocalypse means it's a dark, run-down place where hordes of undead are drawn into roaming packs by the squeaky shoes of the zombie clowns.
349* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' has a giant music box that plays what can only described as scary circus music. It doesn't even help much that it also scares the mummies away.
350* ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance'' has a level in Murderworld, mentioned in the Comics section. Complete with kamikaze bots, android copies of party members, and clowns with radioactive flower-squirts.
351* ''VideoGame/MysteryCaseFiles'' sets two of its games, ''Madame Fate'' and ''Fate's Carnival'', in the titular Madame Fate's Carnival. The detective is tasked to investigate the death of Madame Fate herself and a curse that's engulfed her carnival.
352* ''Website/{{Neopets}}'' has the flash game aptly named ''Carnival of Terror'' and has a world called The Deserted Fairground. Both are located in the Haunted Woods.
353* ''VideoGame/NexusClash'' has the [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Circus Carnivorous]], a blood-soaked amphitheater in the heart of FireAndBrimstoneHell. A giant obelisk of living stone-flesh festering with the unholy madness of the dark god [[EldritchAbomination Tholaghru]] occupies center stage, and needless to say it's not safe to sit in the audience.
354%%* The Megadrive game ''VideoGame/NightmareCircus'' is set entirely in one of these.
355%%* Donbalon's stage from ''VideoGame/NiGHTSJourneyOfDreams'' probably qualifies for this.
356* ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}}: Battle out of Hell'' has a circus/fun fair called Loony Park with killer clowns and monsters made out of snack food.
357%%* One of the levels in ''[[VideoGame/{{Painkiller}} Painkiller: Overdose]]'' features a spooky circus of doom.
358* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash'' with The Emerald Circus--it is a deathtrap, and the most potent one on Prism Island, but it's targeted largely at Mario, and any other targets are active and known allies of Mario. Nevertheless, from Mario's perspective, he has to face down firebreathing Dino-Rhinos and their trainers, Shy Guy acrobats who can dodge Mario's attacks, juggling Hammer Brothers on tightropes Mario cannot cross, and [[spoiler:Lemmy Koopa]], a StageMagician determined to make Mario "disappear" for good.
359* The downloadable ''Loon'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QICTjcKO5wE track]] in ''[=POD=]'' featured deformed fairytale castles, giant roulette wheels, an enormous wizard hat and rusted metal plates, located on a planet infested by [[GreyGoo an alien virus]]. Or is it? When you look over the guardrails, [[NothingIsScarier there is only a black void there...]]
360* The final level of ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' is the Meat Circus, a creepy circus made of flesh and bone. The knife-throwers attempt to target Raz and cute bunnies fall into meat grinders and become horrible bunny mutants, who then proceed to target the child you have to protect as a part of the game's escort mission. The reason the final level is a frightening mish-mash of these elements is because [[spoiler:Raz and the BigBad Coach Oleander's minds have been merged. [[CircusBrat Raz's]] mind causes the world to look like the circus he grew up and performed in, while Oleander's mind causes the world to take on features that were part of his upringing as the son of a butcher. Raz thinks his dad hates him because of his psychic abilities, causing the circus to turn hostile. As a boy, Oleander saw his father [[BloodSplatteredInnocents demonstrate firsthand]] that he thought the bunnies he loved were only good for meat, causing the rabbits in the level to become bunny-mutants who attack the mental representation of Oleander as a child.]]
361* The second Soviet mission of ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquer Red Alert 3]]'' which takes place in a vagrant carnival built on an abandoned rocket test site. It seems sparsely populated until the Soviets activate the abandoned launch facility upon which Japanese troops (including a Psychic Commando) burst out of the tents and surround the Soviets. The actual mission itself is called "Circus of Treachery".
362* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilOutbreak'' has a level that takes part in the Raccoon City Zoo, which happened to have a large Big Top set up in honor of Oscar the Elephant. [[OhCrap Who's now zombified, hungry]], and [[SuperPersistentPredator VERY persistent]]. While it's possible to evade him until the end, you can kill him at any point in the level if you're packing enough heat, but you can also distract him by playing his theme music over the loudspeaker which tricks him into instinctively marching around the Big Top and ignoring you. If a marching flesh-eating zombie elephant parading around the Big Top doesn't say "Circus of Fear", nothing does. Also, if you ''do'' kill him beforehand a pair of zombified ''[[FromBadToWorse African lions]]'' take his place in the final battle.
363%%* One level in ASC's ''VideoGame/{{Sanitarium}}'' has this. It's a delusion...
364* ''VideoGame/SavageHalloween'' have an abandoned, ghost-infested circus as one of the stages halfway through. Complete with a ''gigantic'' MonsterClown named Peanuts serving as an AdvancingBossOfDoom.
365%%* Featured as a major setting in Episode 2 of ''VideoGame/ScoobyDooFirstFrights''.
366* The first ''VideoGame/ShiningForce'' game for the Genesis had a circus-based level, with a powerful marionette heading up the attacking forces ([[MonsterClown clowns]] included).
367* Stage 6 in ''VideoGame/SilentAssault'', complete with a MonsterClown head for a boss.
368* The theme park from ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'' is the Dark Silent Hill version of a theme park. Come for the faceless fairytale characters, stay for the hooded, twitching carousel flesh-horses and dark echoes of previous lives!
369* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
370** Take your average Circus Of Fear, add in [[LethalLavaLand untold volumes of molten rock]] for all the geothermal power you'll ever need, have the whole thing built in a week due to harnessing the powers of a monster, and staff it with robots out the ass. Welcome to Eggmanland. [[ThatOneLevel Enjoy your stay]].
371** Also, ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic The Hedgehog 3]]'' had Carnival Night Zone. The music could be described as very catchy, and [[GuideDangIt that damn barrel]]...
372** Casino Park in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes''. Not just a way to make Rings, but doubling as a death trap for Sonic.
373** ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' has Circus Park, overrun by GUN soldiers and aliens, which is also an AmusementParkOfDoom. It was built by Eggman with rings stolen through his evil schemes, to finance his evil schemes, which is also a little scary because it shows Eggman's settling in for the long haul with his own business.
374* ''VideoGame/SpiderMan2'': Mysterio creates a "Funhouse of Doom" to use against Spider-Man, which functions as one of these. It has robots, traps and illusions.
375* In the ''[[VideoGame/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries Spider-Man: The Animated Series]]'' game for Sega Genesis, the Green Goblin takes over Coney Island in the second level, and you have to fight your way into the fun house to capture him. The music on the soundtrack is very Music/DannyElfman-like, creepy and catchy, and among the {{Mooks}} you have to mop up are strong men, fire-breathers, and armless cobra people(!).
376* Parodied by the sixth Halloween update of ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. In the game's universe, the very first carnival was ''made'' to be evil and to appease the Ancient Sumerian Clown God Bonzo, and evil circuses have followed in this tradition ever since.
377* ''VideoGame/TimeSplitters2'', features all kinds of nightmareish characters in the Circus of Fear theme, like cannibalistic clowns, siamese twins that are treated as separate characters by the game, and a lion tamer who brainwashed himself into becoming a lion.
378* ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'':
379** Sweet Tooth's circus in ''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.
380** The reboot gives us Sweet Tooth's Carnival of Carnage, built by his worshippers [[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]]
381* ''VideoGame/{{Wario}}'':
382** The aptly named Wonky Circus in ''VideoGame/WarioWorld''.
383** There's also the circus setting for the third boss (Chortlebot) in ''VideoGame/WarioLandShakeIt'', although it's only ever used as a battle arena against said MonsterClown.
384* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
385** The Darkmoon Faire is a recurring event, and definitely qualifies for this trope. It is most assuredly not a wholesome thing; much of the staff is undead, the colours are flatly ugly, the designs on the tents are disturbing, and then there are the quests.
386** With patch 4.3, it gets even creepier, as you now go to Darkmoon Island. When you enter the portal, you end up in a very ominous forest with gnarled, apparently dead trees. The signs that point you to the fair mention "ignoring the eyes" in the forest. There was some mention of never wandering too far into the woods... And if you decide to look around you might find some cages filled with humanoid skeletons, and a forsaken woman selling some rather [[HumanResources questionable meat products.]]
387** Then there's that all-seeing eye at the entry gate that looks a lot like it belongs to one of the raid bosses... and the NPC who stumbles over his words as he almost says that the Master would be interested in certain items. It is very heavily implied that the Faire is related to the Big Bad of that expansion.
388** And then there's a KillerRabbit based on [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail the trope codifier]].
389** There's also a [[http://www.wowhead.com/npc=67332/darkmoon-eye Darkmoon Eye]] collectible battle pet that is a dead ringer for [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings the Eye of Sauron.]]
390[[/folder]]
391
392[[folder:Web Animation]]
393* 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.
394* {{Hell}} has a subtle circus motif in ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'' and ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' as it's divided into seven rings ruled over by the SevenDeadlySins, each themed after a type of circus performer.
395** [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]], the Sin of Pride, is the [[RepulsiveRingmaster Ringmaster]] as Hell's overall king.
396** {{Asmodeus}}, the Sin of Lust, is dressed like a Vegas-style StageMagician and is a master of teleportation and illusion magic.
397** {{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.
398** {{Mammon}}, the Sin of Greed, is a MonsterClown dressed like a jester who hosts an annual clown competition to pick his industry mascot for the year.
399* ''WebAnimation/NomadOfNowhere'': It turns out the Twindleweed Brothers' Circus is composed of retired bounty hunters who capture the Nomad easily...but the only member who's actively evil is Twindleweed himself; the others are just desperate for money.
400* 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 Cerberus faced off against a zombie tiger.
401[[/folder]]
402
403[[folder:Webcomics]]
404* The Website/{{Tumblr}}-based webcomic ''[[http://circus-of-freaks-webcomic.tumblr.com/ Circus of Freaks]]'' is about two Victorian-era {{circus brat}}s who join a freak show, with the impending doom that the two of them, who are able-bodied, will be [[BodyHorror mutilated into curiosities]].
405* ''Webcomic/GeminiJourney'''s [[http://www.geminijourney.com/index.php?c=33 The Great Barley & Bay-Lily Cricus arc]] features a creepy circus with [[FantasticFoxes vulpine ringmasters]].
406* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': In his [[Recap/GunnerkriggCourtChapter4NotVeryScary introductory chapter]], [[BedsheetGhost Mort]] creates one of these at Antimony's suggestion to scare her classmate Paz.
407* Gamzee from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' more or less has this as his overall intention now that he's "sane", a turn of events which could arguably be the most utterly terrifying moment in the comic to date. Just listen to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=m5RJOBPc1fM "Midnight Calliope"]] or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APWIMf9cIro "The Carnival."]] It's recommended you have a spare pair of pants on hand.
408* ''Webcomic/{{Sparklecare}}'': The Big Frightening Loud Circus Carnival of Death is an aptly named circus that's apparently part of the titular hospital. There, Barry almost burns to death in an accident involving a fire ring.
409[[/folder]]
410
411[[folder:Web Original]]
412* Website/BlackPhoenixAlchemyLab made a series of perfumes with collectible cards designed around the "Carnaval Diabolique".
413* ''Website/SCPFoundation'':
414** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1323 SCP-1323 ("A County Fair").]] This appears to be a carnival run by TheFairFolk. Customers have to buy tickets by paying things like a cherished memory, or (ominously vague) "a favor", and anyone who eats food there has a 17% chance of staying there permanently as an employee.
415** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/herman-fuller-hub Herman Fuller's Circus of the Disquieting]]; the performers found by the SCP Foundation, while creepy, are pretty friendly (and mostly maltreated), but the Man With The Upside-down Face they keep mentioning is decidedly not. And the RepulsiveRingmaster, Herman Fuller himself, is [[FauxAffablyEvil friendly on the outside only]]. Also described as a [[TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday little big top that wasn't there yesterday]] in a tale. After Herman is kicked out of the circus it actually becomes a much nicer place. While it is still a horror-themed circus that employs actual monsters and engages in some morally-gray actions, it has become more of a RagTagBunchOfMisfits that just wants to entertain.
416--->'''''Opening Night''''': Not an eye sees our caravan pull up in the moonlit lot. Not a soul hears the sound of our spikes driven into the earth. One day we're not there, the next day we are.
417[[/folder]]
418
419[[folder:Western Animation]]
420%%* ''WesternAnimation/TheThirteenGhostsOfScoobyDoo'': One episode. Franchise/ScoobyDoo uses this trope ''a lot''. Circuses, carnivals, [[AmusementParkOfDoom amusement parks]], or anything similar.%%ZCE
421* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'': "Wild" Bill Krebb's sideshow in "Showtime." The performers are slaves, the acts have zero safety nets, and he ''gladly'' exploits the fact that Andorians go [[BrainwashedAndCrazy feral in captivity]].
422* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'': In "Circus," Shake sells Meatwad to the circus for $2. Other acts include "Inside-out Boy," and the show does not go well for anyone, especially the audience.
423* ''WesternAnimation/BearStory'': The animals are kidnapped from their homes and made slaves at a circus, driven by whip-cracking circus performers.
424* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'': "Last Laugh" features a circus led by a VampiricDraining MonsterClown named Zombozo, whose members included: Acid Breath, a zombie-looking man [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin breathing acid]]; Thumbskull, a DumbMuscle strong man with a broken horn on his head; and Frightwig, a DarkActionGirl with CombatTentacles as hair.
425* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainCavemanAndTheTeenAngels'': In "Clownfoot", the episode's [[MonsterClown villainous clown]], Clownfoot, uses a circus as his hideout. At said circus, Clownfoot also rigs a tandem bicycle Wilma and Betty are riding on a high-wire to fall apart, over a cage full of hungry saber-tooth tigers.
426* ''WesternAnimation/CyberSix'': [[TheDragon Jose]]'s mechanical circus seems pretty cool to the audience but is actually an elaborate death drap for the titular character. Of course if you get out of line, like [[BigDamnHeroes Lucas does]], you get taken to the back and thrown to a massive two-headed robotic snake.
427* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': Circus Gothica is a cover to rob towns, and the ringmaster (appropriately named Freakshow) uses his staff to brainwash ghosts and force them to work for him. Not to mention what almost happened to Sam when she was forced onto the tightrope...
428* ''WesternAnimation/LoonaticsUnleashed'': One episodes has a circus where MixAndMatchCritters are made and used to perform.
429* ''WesternAnimation/MightyMax'' has an episode where an Evil clown named Freeko kidnaps children, and morphs them into creatures for his freakshow. This episode, as one would expect, is brimming with horror.
430* ''WesternAnimation/MightyOrbots'' had to deal with "The Cosmic Circus", a fake circus designed to duplicate key members in the Galactic Patrol. Was actually kinda creepy.
431* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'': In "Somnambula", the titular witch invites the ponies into her illusory carnival, where she [[LiquidAssets steals their youth]].
432* ''WesternAnimation/RaymanTheAnimatedSeries'' has one of these as the whole plot setting. Did I mention [[BreakTheCutie half the cast are kids?]]
433* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'': The Funhouse. One of the rarest games on the Net (because only User children play it) and is nearly impossible for sprites to beat. Bob and Dot are the only confirmed sprites to escape it alive.
434%%* ''WesternAnimation/SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo'': Episode 12, "Circus of Ooze".
435* ''WesternAnimation/TeamGalaxy'': The season 1 finale features circus clowns who kidnap humans for their performances.
436* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'': "[[Recap/TinyToonAdventuresS1E31SawdustAndToonsil Sawdust and Toonsil]]" has Gogo Dodo caught and imprisoned by a very-Satanic-looking ringmaster when he attempts to rescue some of his fellow Wackyland residents (a sphinx, a unicorn, etc.) from a circus. Babs, Buster, and Plucky have to rescue him. They never really show the rest of the circus, but the Ringmaster's treatment of the Wackylanders is pretty nightmare-inducing.
437[[/folder]]
438
439[[folder:Real Life]]
440* Carnival Diablo: The Ultimate Sideshow plays on this trope. The Carnival is run by the Devil, and the performers are presented as other-worldly beings with bizarre abilities. Many acts seem to put performers, and sometimes audience members, in danger.
441* The ''Circus of Horrors'' is a real circus show that plays on the trope.
442* The mad clowns, Heckles and Twitch.
443* The [[BloodSport original Roman-style gladiatorial arena]], making this trope OlderThanFeudalism. However, the "attractions" were only scary to the people in the pit as most Romans enjoyed these public displays of violence. The gladiatorial games were even more horrible (to us) than most modern people realize, beginning with staged (but still hazardous) hunts of wild animals in the morning, executions of lower-class criminals such as slaves by various gruesome methods over lunch (during which time most respectable people left the arena to eat), then the lesser gladiatorial events such as fights involving noxii (who were sentenced to death by fighting and had their skulls bashed in at the end if they happened to survive the combat) and finally the main gladiator duels, which were relatively safe; a few gladiators actually survived more than ten fights. But the real Circus of Fear here was this: for the Romans, a proper funeral was essential to having a proper afterlife (and the real gladiators were organized in guilds that gave them just that if they fought bravely). For those who were executed in the arena and had their bodies torn apart, burned, or later dumped in trash heaps or the river, the agony and horror of death was just the transition to eternal suffering as a lost soul.
444* Circus Circus in Las Vegas used to have a 3D motion ride with this trope as its theme.
445[[/folder]]

Top