The Haunting Circus

Chapter 1

Egon did some writing on the notepad, checking out the Containment Unit in the basement of the firehouse. He checked through the scope and noticed something out of the ordinary. "Absolutely not good," he said.

"What?" Winston said.

"P.K.E. readings in the grid are fluctuating in a horrific way," Egon said. "I've been checking on the grid, and it appears these readings are what I expect the worst."

"So you're saying the grid's not holding up good again? Man, it's just like having to swim around that river of slime during the Vigo incident. I'm just glad they had the entire subway pumped out."

Peter went down the stairs. "What's that you said about the subway?" He asked.

"The P.K.E. readings in the Containment Unit are fluctuating horrifically," Egon said. "I think we might expect a big cross rip Ray had mentioned."

"Egon, I think those calculations had wrecked your health. The unit's working fine."

"Peter, I would remind you that something big could be the future result, like I told Winston about the big Twinkie."

"Bigger than the lawsuits we had over a building?"

Egon fell sternly silent. "Yes."

"I think what Egon means is that if the readings in that Containment Unit tend to get worse, results would be just as big as that series of lawsuits we had years ago," Winston said.

"Oh, and I'm glad I stayed home that time," Peter said, shrugging. "Anyway, when Ray comes in, tell him he's late." He then went back upstairs.

"Late for what?" Winston asked.


Meanwhile, outside New York City stands a giant tent, appending to be the Big Top Circus. The ringmaster had finished putting his clothes on and left the trailer. The clowns were juggling, and the midget clown, Tiny Goof, arrived.

"Hey, boss. How long will it take to get things prepared for the circus?" The midget clown asked.

"Patience, Tiny Goof," said the ringmaster. "It will open when everything is secured. We'll be ready for the show. Besides, everything is well ahead."

"I see. So I guess we shall have the circus ready for..."

"Tonight."

"Tonight? But boss, we might not have enough time!"

"That's why we're well ahead, and if I were you clowns, I'd get busy rehearsing for tonight's show. Understand?"

"Yes, Sir." Tiny Clown left, only to slip on the banana peel and fall.

The ringmaster headed into the tent. Inside, the elephants were seen standing on hind legs. He walked by and entered the room, where he went to his trunk to get his tailcoat and top hat. He opened the trunk and gathered his stuff, but as soon as he turned around while putting them on, he saw a balloon from out of nowhere, floating.

"Who left it there?" The ringmaster wondered. He approached the balloon, but as soon as he got close, it popped, splattering slime on his face. "Ack! Yuck! What kind of prank was that?!"

"It was for you," a voice said, laughing.

"Who said that?" He looked around and saw a clown in a silver costume with red Pom Pom balls on it and the shoes, and he gasped. "No! You can't be!"

"Want a balloon? Because you'll float too," the clown said, holding a balloon.

"N-No, this can't be!" The ringmaster cried, terrified.

The clown laughed, and then he roared when he sprouted sharp, pointy teeth. The ringmaster screamed and ran out, closing the door. He held his back on the door, panting. He then opened the door and looked back in, but the clown was gone. He walked around the room, wondering if it was all a hallucination or dream. He pinched his own hand to see if he was dreaming. But then he shrugged it off and assumed it was a prank. He picked up a towel from the trunk to wipe his head. "Pranksters," he said.


Nighttime came. It was the grand opening of the circus, and everyone went in. The light shone on the ringmaster as the drumroll played.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Big Top!" The ringmaster announced. "Tonight will be the best show on the face of the earth!"

The snow went well for the audience, with tigers jumping through fiery hoops, a man flying from a cannon and landing on a net, elephants standing on hind legs, and even with a man holding a chair and whipping at the lion. Then, the clowns were doing silly stunts and making people laugh, especially with Tiny Goof slipping on a lot of banana peels. But as the show went on, the ringmaster heard laughter and saw the same clown from earlier, and he gasped.

"I got a balloon for you," the clown said, cackling. "What's that, one balloon not enough? How about many?!"

The ringmaster saw many balloons raining from the roof of the Big Top and falling towards the audience and the clowns. Just then, they started popping, splattering slime all over them. Everyone screamed and scrambled out of the Big Top, as the clowns slip on the slime. One balloon floated down and popped slime on the ringmaster, and he screamed. The clown stood there laughing.

Everyone had scrambled out of the circus, disgusted about the slime and seeing the clown.

"Mommy, what was that clown?" a boy asked.

"I'm a mess!" The woman groaned.

"Boss! That clown we saw is a ghost!" Tiny Goof said.

"You saw it too?!" The ringmaster gasped. "Oh, dear. There's only thing to do." He approached the phone and dialed it.

"Hey, boss, who are you calling?" The fat clown asked.


Back in New York, the bell of the firehouse rang. The Ghostbusters were having lunch when they heard it. They slid down the pole, hopped aboard the Ecto-1 after suiting up, and they drove out with sirens on. They drove out of the city and arrived at the circus entrance.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here," the ringmaster said as the Ghostbusters strap on their Proton Packs. "I was hoping you would."

"So what's the story here?" Winston asked.

"I was running the circus for tonight's show when this clown scared everyone away with the balloons."

"What? How does a clown scare everyone away with balloons? Did he he happen to have spiders in them?" Peter asked. "I'd call the exterminator about that."

"Actually, Peter, this is way worse than spiders," Egon said, noticing the slime. "It appears they've seen a ghost, judging by the recent signs of ectoplasmic mess these people became victims of."

"I hope you guys could get this done tonight," The ringmaster said.

"Nothing to worry about, we are highly paid professionals with unlicensed proton shooters," Peter said.

The Ghostbusters went into the Big Top, as Egon pulled out the P.K.E. Meter to check the area. Ray pulled out his Neutrino Wand and scanned his Ecto Goggles.

"Hey, Ray, did you once had a dream about a forest, but with balloons instead of trees?" Winston asked.

"Well, no. Why?" Ray asked.

"I think I see them there."

The group saw the balloons floating around. Egon checked his P.K.E. Meter, and the wings went up with fast beeping and flashing lights. "Curious. There appears to be signs of psychokinetic readings within the balloons," he said. "But these readings are negative."

"Negative readings? So that means whoever we're about to face is all an entity like the Boogeyman, right?" Ray asked.

"Ray, entities and ghosts are pretty much the same," said Peter. "I think we should split up."

"Good idea, Peter," said Winston.

"That way we'll cover as much area as we can," Egon said.

The Ghostbusters walked in separate directions to look for the entity. It's about to become the night of their lives.