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"Clown Cemetery" is what the site of the 1923 carnival tragedy has affectionately been called. In the fall of that year, the minimum security patients at the Woodin Valley Psychiatric Hospital proposed the idea of putting on a carnival for the community as part of their treatment, much to the protestations of the local townsfolk. But with the okay of the city fathers the carnival went on as planned much to the dismay of the citizenry. On the night of October 30th the daughter of Alderman Jacob Reims went missing. The last place she had been seen was near the vicinity of the carnival. The hysteria spread through the town like wildfire and with local government endorsement coming down hard and fast the mob descended on the carnival tent. Surrounding the big top and cornering the terrified patients inside, a sudden stillness befell the angry townsfolk. Then, as if carried by the talons of a vengeful winged demon, a single gas lantern sailed through the crisp night air setting the tent alight. What followed was a chaos of screams and the crackling of flames and exploding timbers. When the flames smoldered out all twenty nine patients had perished. It wasn’t until the following morning that they realized their terrible mistake when the little girl was discovered wandering in the woods, having been lost while exploring. Since the entire town was involved in the act from the highest level down, the decision was made to cover the whole incident up and declare it an accident. And there it would remain, shrouded in a veil of speculation, rumor and urban legend. Now, some 86 years later, a business center resides upon those same grounds. Business people go about their daily routines unaware of the horrors that once befell the site. The facility houses one particular business devoted to bringing families together through laughter and fun. A child’s laugh can be a powerful thing. Perhaps powerful enough to awaken evil in its truest form? Recently people in the area have begun documenting strange events – distant calliope music, clown horns, strange demented laugher, and the occasional sighting of balloons floating high in the distant sky. Strange markings on nearby trees, once thought to be the work of local pranksters, now seem to have a more supernatural origin. Talks of the occurrences around the water cooler have become more and more commonplace, creating a sense of uneasiness among the people in the area. Their fears grow stronger, chills become commonplace, and every faint creak in the floor or slight gust of wind takes on new meaning. It’s definitely no laughing matter…at least not for them. Yes, the peculiar thing about the ghosts of the past, sometimes they don’t rest easy...  Jump Planet - Site of the Clown Cemetery as it exists today. |
