Jonathan Pryce as Mr. Dark, of course.
Prologue
Night descended on the town, shadows stretching like phantoms over streets and lawns. The neighborhood was quiet at this hour—rural, dark, wind blowing across fields and trees. The atmosphere suited Claudia Green perfectly as she emerged from the woods south of town. She took a shortcut across farmland, crickets and peepers singing in the dark. It was far too late for others to be out.
She paused as she neared the road into town. There, in the field behind the schoolhouse where the ball diamond sat, were tents. It wasn't unusual for a fair or carnival to be held each summer, but summer was nearly gone, and there had been no tents when she'd started her evening stroll.
Strange. How was that even possible?
She peered through the darkness. There were no lights, no sounds to indicate activity. Against the stars stood the silhouette of a ferris wheel and white stripes on canvas roofs. She observed a moment longer before returning home to a small shop with attached rooms. She passed her parents' house on the way. Most of her belongings were still there, tucked away in her childhood room, but a certain privacy and lack of pressure came with holding her own quarters elsewhere. It was a topic of conversation amongst town folk—the price paid for such a relatively small community.
Claudia stopped as a piece of paper drifted across her path. Snatching it up, she smiled. "Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show." Now that certainly sounded interesting and unusual for a carnival. Pandemonium, she mused. She took the paper inside with her.