Speculum Mortis

I hope you enjoy my short scary clown story. :)

“Clowns. Friggin Clowns.” Mary said as she kicked a rock.

She absolutely hated them and of course he would choose to bring her to a carnival of all places for a first date. She had always been scared of clowns, even as a little kid. Her family thought it was funny to torment her about her phobia.

Mary was meeting her blind date at the carnival, and now she wished she had planned this differently. Tim Mattson was her mother’s friend’s son, and both of them thought they would be perfect together. Normally she didn’t go on dates her mother set her up on, but she didn’t want to hear her mother saying, “Mary you aren’t getting any younger; your eggs will shrivel up and you’ll die alone.”

She shook her mother’s voice out of her head, and got out of her 2006 Honda Accord. Mary started to walk towards the carnival, but stopped short when she saw a clown at the entrance taking tickets. He had rainbow colored hair, black triangles around the eyes, a bright blood red painted mouth and of course a round red nose. She knew she should leave, that this date couldn’t be worth facing her worst nightmares.

Mary and Tim were supposed to meet up at the entrance, but she didn’t want to stand too close to the clown. He reminded her of a scary clown she saw in a movie once, her brother made her watch it and she couldn’t sleep for almost a month. Tim was supposed to be wearing a red shirt and she knew his hair was brown. She told him that she would wear a pink shirt with faded light blue jeans. When they talked on the phone he told her he would be waiting for her.

Mary glanced around and sighed; she didn’t see him anywhere. She turned around to face the parking lot, and to keep herself from looking at the clown. Many adults and children passed her all excited to be going to the carnival. She knew that there was a mini circus inside, but she loved the food. She glanced around looking for her blind date, and grinned when a man with a red shirt was walking her way.

Tim Mattson had brown wavy hair, and looked like he was a model with his perfect cheek bones and chiseled jaw line. As he got closer to her she noticed he had dark green eyes. Tim smiled at her and she returned his smile.

“Mary?” He asked, and she recognized his voice from the one phone call they had.

She nodded. “Yes.” Tim smiled and looked past her.

“I was hoping that it was you and not the woman behind you.” Mary looked over her left shoulder and saw a woman probably in her forties; she was wearing almost the same outfit. She laughed, and turned her attention back to Tim.

“Shall we head inside?” He asked as he waved his hand in the air, and bowed to her.

Mary giggled, and nodded.

They walked to the entrance together, and when they got up to the clown Tim paid for them. The creep clown looked at her, and gave her a wicked grin that would be haunting her for a while. Mary looked at his teeth and wondered how he got the tips to look pointed; she shivered and reached down to take Tim’s hand.

She forced her eyes away from the clown and looked at her date. He smiled down at her, and squeezed her hand. She was so happy when they passed the clown and strolled into the carnival. The first thing she smelled was food, and her stomach growled; she needed to get something to eat. Spine-chilling music filled her ears, and she shuddered.

“What would you like to do first?” Tim asked her, and she looked up into his dark green eyes.

He wouldn’t normally be her type but he seemed nice. “Can I get a funnel cake first?” Mary didn’t eat before she came, she was too nervous.

He chuckled, and nodded. “Of course.” Tim squeezed her hand, and they walked to the funnel cake stand that was about forty feet from them. Another clown stood to her left making balloon animals for some kids; she moved closer to Tim.

“Are you afraid of clowns?” He asked, and she sighed. Most people thought she should just get over it, but she couldn’t and had tried.

Mary nodded. “Yes.” She whispered, and he lifted her chin with his free hand.

“You should have told me, we could have done something else.” He said and she shook her head.

“I love the rides and the food is always amazing.” She smiled at him, and he nodded.

When they got to the front of the line he ordered them two funnel cakes, and it tasted amazing. “Let’s go to the House of Mirrors.” Mary nodded as she licked the powdered sugar off of her fingers.

They walked towards a tent with a large sign with red wording that said, “House of Mirrors.” At least inside there she wouldn’t see any more clowns, what could happen with a tent filled with mirrors.

There was another clown that was taking tickets to get into the House of Mirrors, and he was only allowing two people in at a time. She and Tim were next, and she couldn’t wait to get inside.

“Does this date totally suck for you?” Tim asked, and she shook her head.

“No, I’m happy my mom set us up.” She said, and meant it. She was only twenty-three but hadn’t had a boyfriend since she was eighteen. Tim brought her hand up to his lips and gently kissed her knuckles, she felt heat rising to her cheeks.

“Love birds are up.” The clown said, and she looked at him. He was grinning with the same pointed teeth. “Enjoy the house of mirrors and remember not everything you see is real.” He said in a warning tone.

Tim tightened his hand around hers, and walked towards the door. They walked in and a flashing white light almost blinded her; she put her hand up to block the bright light, and Tim led them to the first room. The first room had mirrors that made her look really skinny and then really plump; it was kind of fun and she hadn’t laughed so hard in her life. Room two was lit with candles, and there was a scraping noise that came from somewhere in the room. Mary stopped in the opened door; she could just make out poofy hair that she knew was from a clown. She thought she wouldn’t see them in here, she thought she would be free for a few minutes.

He picked up a candle and it lit up his face. It was the same clown from the carnival entrance, but he had fresh blood that dripped from his sharp teeth. His eyes were glowing a bright red, and she backed up until her back hit the door. Mary reached behind her to open the door but found there was no doorknob.

The clown threw his head back and laughed. “Welcome to Speculum Mortis.” He said in a deep voice with a thick accent she couldn’t place. The clown lifted his hand to reveal a large bloody knife, as blood dripped down his arm. Tim moved in front of her, and the clown ginned.

“What the hell is this?” Tim asked and the clown narrowed his red eyes.

“This will be your death.” The clown chuckled when he answered and Tim reached down to take Mary’s hand in his.

She saw a silver door behind the clown, and it had a doorknob. That was where they needed to go, but that meant they would have to get next to the clown. The clown took a step towards them pointing the large silver knife at Tim; he then brought it to his lips and licked the blood off. He moaned loudly and Mary gagged; this was something that she would have a nightmare about. She had never been so scared before, and that was when Tim let go of her hand and threw himself at the clown. She screamed and Tim grabbed the clown’s forearms.

“Mary get yourself out of here.” He turned his head to yell at her, but she didn’t want to leave him.

She ran to the door and a large piece of wood caught her eye. Mary grabbed the wood and was surprised to find it lighter than she thought it would be. She looked over at Tim and the clown, and gulped; the clown had the knife to Tim’s throat.

The clown laughed and she watched blood trickle down Tim’s neck; she ran towards them and raised the wood above her head. She swung it and it collided with the side of the clown’s head; he fell to the floor, and she dropped the wood. Tim rushed to her, and grabbed her hand. He hurried them to the silver door, and she had never been happier when the door opened.

Room three was dark besides the glowing frames around the mirrors. Tim turned to look at her. “I want you to get yourself out of her. No matter what you hear or see I want you to leave me.” There was no way in hell she was going to do that.

Mary shook her head. “No I’m not leaving you.”

Tim smiled at her, and nodded. “You are.” The silver door slammed open and the clown was standing there with blood streaming down the side of his head where she had hit him. Mary took a little pride knowing she did that.

Tim turned around and shoved her behind him again. The clown touched his head and glared at his bloody fingers. “You stupid girl; I won’t be killed that easily. You just pissed me off, I will enjoy sliding my knife into you over and over. I will eat all the meat off of your body and drink every last drop of your blood. Yes, I’m going to take my time with you girl.” The clown turned his wicked grin to Mary, and she wanted to cry.

“You are sick!” Tim yelled, and the clown nodded.

“Sick isn’t the word I would use boy, I am what nightmares are made of.” The glowing red eyes found Mary’s, but she kept her eyes on him. “I tasted your fear before you even walked up to me, and it tasted so sweet. I knew I couldn’t wait to feed from you sweet Mary Moore.” She flinched when she heard him use her full name. He took the tip of his knife and ran it down his cheek.

The clown aimed the knife at Tim, and swung it like he was going to throw it but didn’t let go of the handle. She wondered how many rooms were in this House of Mirrors, and hoped it wasn’t too many more. She didn’t know how much more she could take, and she wanted both her and Tim to make it out alive. Mary glanced around looking for the way out of the room and away from the clown. It took her a few seconds but she found it. It was on the other side of the room, and it was dark. She had no clue how she would get both her and Tim to that door.

“I would kill you way before you made it to that door, but be my guest and try. You may find a few surprises before you get there.” The clown threw the knife and it hit Tim in his chest; he dropped to his knees, and her mouth dropped opened. “See how fast I can kill?” he said and started to walk towards her.

“Mary…go!” Tim yelled at her and she looked down at him. He had a little smile on his face. “You were…the best…blind…date ever.” He said and closed his dark green eyes; she wished she could see them one last time, but she turned around and ran towards the door.

Mary ran until suddenly she tripped over something that didn't seem to budge. She landed in a wet, sticky, sickly smelling puddle which now covered her clothes and hands. Quickly she stood up trying not to think about what she just fell on. Mary ran towards the door with hot tears streaming down her cheeks as she heard the clown laughing, but she kept on moving.

She opened the door and it led her into room four; bright light flooded her vision and there were hundreds of mirrors reflecting her image. That was when she saw she was covered in blood, and it wasn’t hers. Mary noticed that there was a knife on the ground about five feet in front of her. She hurried to it and slid it into the back of her pants.

She saw a wicked smile from a clown in the mirror and she turned around, but nothing was there. “Where are you?” She asked, and his laughter filled the room making her tremble with fear. Mary moved to the closest mirror and touched the smooth cool glass.

“You are cold.” He said, and his voice sounded like it was coming from everywhere. She walked to the next mirror and touched the glass, as she looked up and saw a sign that read, “Exit.”

That was where she needed to go. She moved towards it and was aware that the clown was watching her, she could see his face in the mirror. His white face and black triangles were smeared, and she wondered if that was from Tim; her eyes burned from holding back tears when she thought about him.

Mary screamed when arms wrapped around her from behind. Hot breath warmed the side of her neck, and it smelled like death; she heaved. “You almost made it out of here, alive.” She stomped her foot hard down on his; he groaned and took a step away from her.

She reached for the knife, and pointed it at him; he threw his head back as he laughed. Mary didn’t waste any time she stabbed him in the side of the neck before he could do anything else. Dark warm blood covered her and the clown dropped his head, when he looked back up at her she gasped.

“You can’t be that foolish.” Her own voice said to her, Mary closed her eyes. When she reopened them she saw herself smiling back at her. She must have gone crazy that was the only thing she could think of. Mary turned around and ran to the door.

Creepy music surrounded her, as she noticed someone was holding her hand. She tried to rip it away, and then she turned to look at who it was. His face was pale, and his dark green eyes were wide.

Mary threw her arms around him, and he held her tightly. “I can see why you are afraid of clowns.”