Midnight Under the Big Top: Tales of Madness, Murder, and Magic

by Brian James Freeman (Editor), Stephen King

Featuring Stephen King, Joe Hill, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Neil Gaiman, Kelley Armstrong, Robert McCammon, Tananarive Due, Lisa Morton, Heather Graham, Richard Chizmar, Billy Chizmar, and many others... Plus a BRAND NEW novella by Josh Malerman!

About the Venture inside Midnight Under the Big Top, where your wide eyes and pounding heart will

• the world's grandest tales of murder, madness, and magic set in and around the circus by renowned storytellers such as Stephen King, Joe Hill, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Neil Gaiman, Kelley Armstrong, Robert McCammon, Tananarive Due, Lisa Morton, Heather Graham, Richard Chizmar, Billy Chizmar, Amanda C. Davis, Nayad Monroe, Jeff Strand, Amanda Downum, Robert Brouhard, and Dominick Cancilla!

• the world's finest poetry intermission featuring Norman Prentiss, G.O. Clark, Marge Simon, Bruce Boston, Robert Payne Cabeen, David E. Cowen, Alessandro Manzetti, Christina Sng, Stephanie M. Wytovich, K.A. Opperman, Ashley Dioses, and Terri Adamczyk!

• and for the grand finale, Josh Malerman, author of the New York Times bestseller Bird Box, will introduce you to Dandelion Andrews, a very unusual man who hasn't seen daylight in three months because he's digging a hole destined to become a most unusual carnival house of horrors!

These death-defying tales aren't for the faint of heart, but they are perfect for the long lost child deep inside of you who instinctively understands you should never trust a circus clown.

Table of

ACT
"The Night of the Tiger" by Stephen King
"Twittering from the Circus of the Dead" by Joe Hill
"The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch" by Neil Gaiman
"The Girl in the Carnival Gown" by Kelley Armstrong
"Herd Immunity" by Tananarive Due
"Pickled Punks and the Summer of Love" by Lisa Morton
"Courting the Queen of Sheba" by Amanda C. Davis
"The Circus Reborn" by Nayad Monroe
"The Black Ferris" by Ray Bradbury

POETRY INTERMISSION
Norman Prentiss
G.O. Clark
Marge Simon
Bruce Boston
Robert Payne Cabeen
David E. Cowen
Alessandro Manzetti
Christina Sng
Stephanie M. Wytovich
K.A. Opperman
Ashley Dioses
Terri Adamczyk

ACT
"The Great White Way" by Robert McCammon
"Buried Talents" by Richard Matheson
"The Carnival" by Richard Chizmar
"Mr. Bones' Wild Ride" by Billy Chizmar
"Fair Treats" by Jeff Strand
"Smoke & Mirrors" by Amanda Downum
"Circus Maximus" by Robert Brouhard
"Laughable" by Dominick Cancilla
"Count Zardov's Circus and Museum of Terrifying Grotesques" by Heather Graham

THE GRAND
Dandy, a short novel by Josh Malerman

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Audiobook, Suspense

435 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 11, 2020

About the author

Brian James Freeman sold his first short story when he was fourteen years old and now writes full-time thanks to the support of his patrons on Patreon. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, three kids, a German Shorthaired Pointer, and an English Pointer. More books are on the way.

Reviews

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ponder the title and you'll determine the types of stories that wait behind the cover of this book. Midnight Under the Big Top. The Circus. A Fair. The Carnival coming to your town. Do you remember those days? High upon a Ferris Wheel, holding an elephant ear covered in sugar, and then entering the house of the weird and wonderful. Well, not all is cotton candy in here. What lies behind the curtain will be scary. And the clowns. Never forget the clowns. Eighteen short stories. Eighteen poems. One novella to close it out. Some of these are only available within this limited edition, but others have been collected before. Let's open the curtain just a tad and take a peak inside:

Act One opens with a story Stephen King had first penned at 16, and then seemingly touched up before its successful magazine publication a few years later. “Night of the Tiger” has been collected, but never with his other short stories. It's a decent way to begin this book, but many of the next eight are stronger, including Joe Hill's “Twittering from the Circus of the Dead”, which displays his uncanny style of humor. Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradury and Kelly Armstrong are recognizable names, but I don't recall ever having read Tananarive Due, Lisa Morton, or Nayad Monroe who each excel here with ”Herd Immunity” (a tale about a pandemic); ”Pickled Punks and the Summer of Love” a story that's easily as good as its name; and ”The Circus Reborn” where a lonely is given a special invite, by no other than a clown, to a secret circus.

Intermission: Poetry My typical reaction to a section like this would be, “wtf, poetry?” But have you heard of Horror Poetry? I certainly had not. Nearly all of these entries drew me, written by authors in the likes of Norman Prentiss, G.O. Clark, Christina Sng, and quite a few others I'd never heard of before. The best by far, ”Clowns”, is also the longest by Robert Payne Cabeen – a dark tale about a regular man suddenly caught up in the middle of a party of cannibal clowns. Could you imagine? This is exactly why a phobia of clowns can be all too real.

Act Two Robert McCammon shines a light on an abused women finding twisted love and murder within the circus. Richard Matheson has a man in black of his own who pitching perfect ping pong balls into fishbowls to the utter dread of the carny behind the counter. I don't think I'll ever forget the character, “Mr. Bones” that Billy Chizmar introduces in a truly never-ending mirror maze. Dominick Cancilla made me laugh out loud in his story, ”Laughable”, about a clown who is also a hit man, “cause things are slow on the usual job”, ya know.

Josh Malerman closes Act Two, and the book, with the novella, ”Dandy”. Is it a dandy? Although a little too long (can't believe I'm saying that), I'd say yes it's a good closer. An introspective look at the merging paths of two completely different introverts brought together not wholly by circumstance. Dandy just wants to scare people. Not the faux scare that a haunted house, or a movie attempts to provide. Everyone knows there's safety on the other side. So Dandy digs. And Susan is caught in the cross hairs, under the house of horrors.

Lastly, I wish you could see the interior artwork by Glenn Chadbourne. Each hand-drawn, pen and ink piece expands upon the story it represents. And Vincent Chong's cover art speaks for itself.

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always loved stories that involve the carnival, circus or an exhibition of oddities.

I didn’t hesitate on picking up Midnight Under the Big Top: Tales of Madness, Murder, and Magic. Each story has some type of theme that involves all things associated with the circus.

As with every collection of short stories, there will be excellent, good, and some meh plots.
I was surprised on how decent the whole collection was. There's a few plots that didn’t make much sense but the writing wasn’t bad and there's also a collection of poetry if that's your jam.

So without further ado, here are my favorites:

5 Stars

Dandy by Josh Malerman - One of the best in the collection. I loved this one and it gave me the creeps!

The Great White Way by Robert McCammon - Excellent! Anything involving the character of Michael Gallatin is a win for me.

Ranging around 4 to 4.5 Stars

The Night of the Tiger by Stephen King
The Girl in the Carnival Gown by Kelley Armstrong
The Black Ferris by Ray Bradbury
Circus Maximus by Robert Brouhard
Buried Talents by Richard Matheson

Ranging around 3.5 to 4 STARS

Pickled Punks and the Summer of Love by Lisa Morton
The Carnival by Richard Chizmar
Herd Immunity by Tananarive Due
The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch by Neil Gaiman
Mr. Bones Wild Ride by Billy Chizmar
Fair Treats by Jeff Strand
Laughable by Dominick Cancilla
Count Zardov’s Circus and Museum of Terrifying Grotesques by Heather Graham

As you can see, lots of well known horror writers in this collection. I loved how in depth this collection was and I'm glad I picked this one up!

[Kandice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I review the contents, let me gush about the volume a bit. This is oversized, and despite being a paperback, it's a "nicer" version of that format. There are a lot of little flourishes and extras interspersed with the headings and text, and it is heavily illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne. My one complaint is that his name isn't really featured anywhere. He isn't listed on the cover, spine, back or title pages. Ben Baldwin, who only does the cover illustration, is credited on the back. I think Chadbourne should have been a name featured on the cover, and short of that at least a couple of prominent places. His art makes me uneasy, and while I don't know that I can say I really like it, I can appreciate how perfect it was for these tales. It's heavy, dark and chaotic, which lends itself well to what is being shown. I have quite a few CD books illustrated by him and I always end up with mixed feelings. Feelings of any sort evoked by art may be indicative of success, so maybe I do like his work? Something to ponder.

The Night of the Tiger - 3
I hate to give only three stars to King, but this didn't grab me. There was some beautiful imagery, but the "mystery" was a little too blasé and unexplored to really make an impact.

Twittering from the Circus of the Dead - 4
I loved this when I first read it in 2013, and the clever way it was presented here, in almost text/thought bubbles, was great. I think it's a story that may not age well. That, or it will be a huge hit with people when Twitter is a distant memory.

The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch - 5
Gaiman is great at narrative experimentation, and this is a grand example. We begin at the end and snake around to the beginning. The very end was a little anti-climactic for me, but the journey there was phenomenal.

The Girl in the Carnival Gown - 5
This may have been my favorite of the short bunch. The narrator was superb, the story went in directions completely unexpected, and the girl saved the day. I couldn't ask for more. The title might be questionable, but when the mentioned dress appears in the narrative my mental image was lush with detail and other than the polyester fabric, I want one.

Her Immunity - 5
Perfect timing for those who enjoy The Walking Dead, The Last of Us, The Stand, any biological apocalypse. I am one of those, so loved this!

Pickled Punks and the Summer of Love - 3
Atmospheric, but left a little to be desired in the way of resolution.

Courting the Queen of Sheba - 4
A little silly, but a fun read nonetheless.

The Circus Reborn - 3
This made me very uncomfortable, and while that's a good thing when reading horror, I didn't like it.

The Black Ferris - 4
Just an excerpt from Something Wicked This Way Comes, basically the mother of all coming of age horror. Think A Boy's Life, It, The Body, etc. Slice of (weird) life.

Then there was an "Intermission" of poetry. It was all fine, but I am not into poetry, so unless something really gets to me, I don't remember a lot if it. None of this did.

The Great White Way - 3
Femme Fatale, or whatever the horror equivalent is of that.

Buried Talents - 5
Matheson. What else needs to be said?

The Carnival - 5
Best quote of the collection ' This isn't cowardice. It's common fucking sense.

Mr. Bones Wild Ride - 3
Great descriptions, no real destination.

Fair Treats - 5
At turns unsettling and amusing, with a WTF ending that leaves you thinking existential thoughts.

Smoke & Mirrors - 5
Jerusalem Morrow (MC) was incredibly interesting and we don't learn enough about her to be sated. This is exactly how a perfect short story should be told. The door left open for more.

Circus Maximus - 4
I thought I knew precisely what I was reading and then the final paragraph turned that completely on it's head. Very, very clever!

Laughable - 5
Good Fellas and Casino, but on helium and grease paint. Not scary in the least, but hilarious.

Count Zardov's Circus and Museum of Terrifying Grotesques - 5
Shelley (MC) was so lovable. The story itself was fine, but her character and actions were what made this story hum. I would really love to read a novel about her.

Dandy - 5
Best example of WTFery in the whole collection, and that is saying a lot. Malerman writes in a very, very visual way. I could see this story as I read. I knew which camera angles would be used, how the scenes would shift and what would be blurred as opposed to hyper-focused. The first half is all set up to lull you into a matter of fact calm, but then all hell breaks loose and I found myself unable to set the book aside for even a much needed potty break. I don't want to spoil anything, but someone is strong, and good, and saves themselves in the absolute best possible way.

[Joanna Spock Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of unsettling stories taking place in and around the circus. Great art by Vincent Chong & Glenn Chadbourne. There is poetry in it as well, listed as 'Intermission', and I enjoyed it as well, and am not a big poetry fan.

[Irene Well Worth A Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome to the dark side of various carnivals and traveling circuses.

Midnight Under The Big Top is a feast for the senses, featuring gorgeous artwork, dark poetry, grim stories, and one novella.

Some of the stories were familiar to me. I'm not sure if I have read them elsewhere but I did see Joe Hill's Twittering From The Circus of The Dead on tv when it was made into one of my favorite episodes of Creepshow. The classic story The Black Ferris by Ray Bradbury is included which was later turned into Something Wicked This Way Comes, and also an episode of the tv series Ray Bradbury Theater.

Excited kids blow off their last day of school when the carnival comes to town in The Girl In The Carnival Gown by Kelly Armstrong There's something more wild and twisty than a roller coaster going on in this one.

Josh Malerman's novella Dandy is a dark and claustrophobic tale of a girl who wishes she had not gone into the fun house alone. It had me nearly hyperventilating.

All this and more awaits you at Midnight Under The Big Top.

My thanks to Cemetery Dance

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb collection of stories and poetry centered around the circus and the carnival. It's topped off with a gripping novella by Josh Malerman. Very highly recommended.

[Mylene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed Bag of Stories

Amazingly talented bunch of writers. All the stories were well written but only a few stood out in my mind. This is the usual case with anthologies. Since there were so many stories, I am going to only list the ones that are must-reads.

1. The Night of the Tiger by Stephen King.

Not necessarily a scary story. This is a Stephen King story and what a storyteller he is. The symbology in the tale gave the ending away, but it does not matter because the narrative is so engrossing.

Story told from the perspective of a roundabout at a circus. Tale revolves around 2 men : one mysterious and the other a Lion Tamer. The lions also play a role. There is a fight between two forces and the question becomes: which one is which?

2. Twittering from the Circus of the Dead by Joe Hill

X-ering from the Circus of the Dead does not have the same ring to it as Twittering. Clever tale with neat Twitter format. This narrative makes you question how stunted we have become that we believe everything we see is fake news and what we are willing to market and sell to make a buck. Story is told from the perspective of a teenage girl who attends a circus they find on the backroads travelling back from vacation. She tweets all the action that happens and her feelings about her family; namely her mom. Sounds meek, but was scary. One of my favorite stories in this anthology.

3. The Girl in the Carnival Gown by Kelley Armstrong

Excellent story. Went in a completely different direction than expected. You raced through the tale because it was so good. THIS IS A MUST READ!

Story is told from the perspective of a twelve year old girl who gets involved helping set up a fair that turns up in town. She ends up being invited to be the assistant to a magician who owns the fair and meets his daughter. Way more to the story but you have to read it to find out what happens.

4. The Circus Reborn by Nayad Monroe

A little trippy but quite the story of spectacle. A girl who is just not enough becomes more than she ever thought capable.

5. Clowns by Robert Payne Cabeen

Excellent poem about a killer cannibal clown convention on Halloween. You have to read it to see how it ends.

6. Cages (and The Clown, and The Magic Show and Lucifer at the Carnival) by Christina Sng

Love this poem. Really digging all output from Christina Sng. This one is about the bond between an old circus bear and a child. Read until the end.

7. Beneath the Fullest Moon by Ashley Dioces

This poem flows really well. The story of the carnival hiding werewolves to feast on the town before the pack up for the next. There is a creepiness to this poem because the implication is that you are being tricked.

8. The Great White Way by Robert McCammon

Robert McCammon is such an excellent story teller. Here again, he tells an intriguing tale of a gypsy girl, a wrestler and her lover.

9. The Carnival By Robert Chizmar

Excellent story. Had me whipping through pages to see what would happen next. This seemed like a story within a larger story though. Terrific regardless!

10. Fair Treats by Jeff Strand

Jeff Strand at his best! In my eyes, he is the king of Horror Comedy and this was pure Strand excellence! A boy meets a food seller at the fair. The dialogue is killer.

11. Circus Maximus By Robert Brouhard

You just did not understand where this was going until the end. Well done! Very unique.

12. Dandy by Josh Malerman

Longest story by far and to me that was part of the issue. It ran a little too long. That being said, it was a really cool idea for a story. It is the story of an invisible girl who decides to you to the Carnival. She ends up in the house of horrors but has an experience that is different than what we normally pay for.


Several of the other stories were decent but these were by far the ones that intrigued me the most. Many celebrated and renowned authors to be found in this anthology.

The four must reads here are: Twittering from the Circus of the Dead, The Girl in the Carnival Gown, Fair Treats, and The Carnival.

[Paul Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

37 Short stories, poems, and a novella all based upon the world of the carnival. The tents are set up, the clowns are waiting, the freaks are lurking in the dark. Do you want to play a game of chance? The ring master has called for the ohhh’s and ahhh’s to begin.
With the leaves blowing around and the cool nights getting dark so early the master story tellers spin their web. King, Bradbury, Hill, Gaiman, McCammon, Matheson, Chizmar, Strand, and finishing with a great novella by Josh Malerman. This is an all star cast and I didn’t even list half the authors let alone the incredible poetry intermission with stand outs like Christina Sng and a 12 page poem by Robert Payne Cabeen that I wanted to give a standing ovation.
5 Star story’s by Joe Hill, Neil Gaiman, Kelley Armstrong, Jeff Strand, and Josh Malerman.

This was a super fun read that make me long for autumn and the fairs

[Crush Critiques · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the stories are rather terrible and aren’t more than a few scant paragraphs, then you have the last story which dragged on and on. Some stories aren’t even remotely scary, but since their subject matter included a clown they were tossed into this anthology.

There were a few stories I truly liked:
The Girl in the Carnival Gown by Kelley Armstrong, The Circus Reborn by Nayad Monroe, and The Great White Way by Robert McCammon were really good.

Mr. Bones Wild Ride by Billy Chizmar was pretty decent.

All in all it was a letdown, but I can see where it would appeal to certain individuals. I’m just not one of them.

[Michelle Villmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one has something for everyone. The circus or carnival is usually fun, but there is always an element of something a little off behind the clowns, the "freaks", the House of Horrors....

This collection features three sections: Act One is a collection of short stories by Stephen King, Joe Hill, Ray Bradbury and others. Intermission is an eerie poetry collection, and Act Two delivers more short stories by Richard Chizmar, Robert McCammon, Billy Chizmar and others. But the novella by Josh Malerman is the grand finale. Titled "Dandy" it's a tale of two high school loners. Dandy was raised by his mother to despise all fake emotions...including the scares of horror movies and carnival houses that deliver "safe" thrills. Because people "really don't want to be scared". Susan is the tall girl who has no friends and goes to the carnival alone because she can. When their paths cross she is plunged into the most terrifying few hours of her life. This story is definitely movie material "Silence of the Lambs" style from the eyes of a victim.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of good creepy tales.

[lee_readsbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 2020, Midnight Under The Big Top is an assortment of short stories, poems, and one novella by names such as Stephen King, Joe Hill, Neil Gaiman, Richard Chizmar, Heather Graham, and Josh Malerman.
I'm a huge fan of carnival and circus stories, so this book was right up my alley. These are stories of dark magic, murder, carnie madness, and Dandy, the creator of the new house of horrors.
I'm not much of a poetry fan, so I'll leave it to the experts to comment on those, but I didn't enjoy them as much as the stories.
Josh Malerman's novella is definitely the winner here. I'm not a huge Malerman fan, but his creativity with Dandelion Andrews is something else.

I read the ebook because this book is full of illustrations, and I didn't want to damage my physical copy. I highly recommend getting the physical copy to check out the amazing illustrations.

[Brett Littman · Rating 3 out of 5]

At its best when it’s funny-scary. A couple of three ringers in there. Some all top hat, no elephant. Step right up. If you dare. Oh, the highlight is Glenn Chadbourne’s amazing illustrations.

[Milly Mangum · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few of these short stories were 4s most were 2s, so I’m giving the collection an overall 3. Hands down the best stories were the ones by Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, and Joe Hill.

[myreadingescapism · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many good stories but didn’t realize I enjoyed horror poems so much. 😂

[Thomas Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

An anthology, 3 different acts and lots of mayhem. I've read the first 2 stories before in other anthologies the others were all new to me and all equally great especially the last one. Dandy by Josh Malerman that story was basically the best one my opinion of course.

[Shel Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun!

Great writers and great stories. I even enjoyed the poetry. Especially the clown convention one. I couldn’t pick just one story to love. But the last one was a nail bitter.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Night of the Tiger-Stephen King ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Twittering From the Circus of the Dead-Joe Hill ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch-Neil Gaiman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Girl in the Carnival Gown-Kelley Armstrong ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Herd Immunity - Tananarive Due ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pickled Punks and the Summer of Love-Lisa Morton ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Courting the Queen of Sheba-Amanda C. Davis ⭐️⭐️
The Circus Reborn-Nayad Monroe ⭐️
The Black Ferris-Ray Bradbury ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Great White Way-Robert McCammon ⭐️⭐️
Buried Talents-Richard Matheson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Carnival-Richard Chizmar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mr. Bones’ Wild Ride-Billy Chizmar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fair Treats-Jeff Strand ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Smoke &Mirrors-Amanda Downum ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Circus Maximus-Robert Brouhard ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Laughable-Dominick Cancilla ⭐️⭐️
Count Zardov’s Circus and Museum of Terrifying Grotesques-Heather Graham ⭐️
Dandy-Josh Malerman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Gary Gomes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the stories seemed pretty average even the ones written by the better known authors. The long section of poetry was a bit much as well. However, the stories kept my attention well enough. They saved the best for last though.

[Ginger Snaps · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Midnight Under the Big Top: Tales of Murder, Madness & Magic”
I’ve rated each story between 1 and 5 and given a short synopsis.

“The Night of the Tiger” Stephen King
This was not Steve’s best work. I feel like I could have written this story…and then people would tell me it wasn’t my best work. Sorry, Steve. You can’t win them all. My rating: 2

“Twittering from the Circus of the Dead” Joe Hill
This story, written entirely as Tweets, starts off annoying, then gets disturbingly creepy. I still think about it sometimes. *shudder* My rating: 4.5

“The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch” Neil Gaiman
The facts were lacking. I wish this story hadn’t followed the Twittering one. I think it lost some of its luster due to the fact that I had a story hangover. It was too similar in all the wrong ways, and didn’t hold up. My rating: 3

“The Girl in the Carnival Gown” Kelley Armstrong
I had a sneaking suspicion about that girl, but it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. My rating: 3

“Herd Immunity” Tananarive Due
This story was very short about a girl who has survived an apocalyptic flu outbreak. She follows another person for several days and when she finds him she thinks they should stay together and he does not. My rating: 3

“Pickled Punks and the Summer of Love” Lisa Morton
I am not a fan of stories with no resolution. I am not even sure what this one was alluding to . My rating: 1

“Courting the Queen of Sheba” Amanda C. Davis
This one was creepy. My rating: 2

“The Circus Reborn” Nayad Monroe
This was extremely weird. And kind of sick, but in a very shallow way. My rating: 2

“The Black Ferris” Ray Bradbury
This was a spooky story like you might read in one of those “Scary stories to read in the dark” books that we so popular in the 80’s. However, it’s a good one. My rating: 4

There’s an “intermission” of poetry. I am not a huge fan of poetry, and I didn’t read all of them. I do not feel the need or inclination to rate them.



“The Great White Way” Robert McCammon
I really like Robert McCammon. This story had some substance and I wish it had been longer. My rating: 3.5

“Hidden Talents” Richard Matheson
I felt like the end on this was a little bit of a flop. I wanted more to happen. My rating: 2

“The Carnival” Richard Chizmar
This one felt more like a real story. Creepy and weird. My rating: 4 stars

“Mr. Bones’ Wild Ride” Billy Chizmar
Short and unexpected. My rating: 3

“Fair Treats” Jeff Strand
Goofy, tongue-in-cheek humor with some pain thrown in for good measure. My rating: 3.25

“Smoke & Mirrors” Amanda Downum
I enjoyed this story, although I do not know that Jacob was, exactly, and I don’t really understand exactly what happened. Sometimes I’m too literal for this kind of story.
My rating: 3

“Circus Maximus” Robert Brouhard
Stupid and gross. My rating: 1

“Laughable” Dominick Cancilla
A clown as a hit-man. And the ways the hits were carried off. They were laughable. My rating: 3

“Count Zardov’s Circus and Museum of Terrifying Grotesques” Heather Graham
This story had a murderer, but it was also a love story. My rating: 3

“Dandy” Josh Malerman
Dandy is not what anyone would consider dandy. He’s warped and creepy and absurd. This story was weird and unnerving.
My rating: 3.5

[Mike Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Act One
- Night of the Tiger, Stephen King: 3/5 - (Maybe I'm harsher on this one than deserved because I have higher expectations when it comes to Uncle Steve, but this just didn't quite work for me, and it's not a great start to the collection.)
- Twittering From the Circus of the Dead, Joe Hill: 5/5 - (I've read this one before and I absolutely love it. So fun, so creepy, and really innovative. I love this one.)
- The Facts in the Case of the Disappearance of Miss Finch: 3.5/5 - (Neil Gaiman can write a creepy story, maybe because he's a total creep himself. Fun characters and an interesting set-up.)
- The Girl in the Carnival Gown, Kelley Armstrong: 4/5 (I don't know what it was about this one that really clicked for me, but it was a fun time with a great twist.)
- Herd Immunity, Tananarive Due: 4/5 (Tananarive Due, I love you.)
- Pickled Punks and the Summer of Love, Lisa Morton: 3.5/5 (Interesting setting! The mystery is never quite pulled off properly, but I have a hell of a fun time getting there.)
- Courting the Queen of Sheba, Amanda C. Davis: 3.5 (excellent set-up and fun characters, but a finale that doesn't really work.)
- The Circus Reborn: Nayad Monroe: 2.5/5 (What? What the hell just happened?
- The Black Ferris, Ray Bradbury: 3/5 (Bradbury has never been a favourite of mine, based on the very few things of his I'd read. Still, this was interesting enough.)

Intermission: Poetry
-To be honest, I'm not really a poetry guy, so I don't know how to rate whether it was good poetry or not, so I won't. In saying that though, I loved having a poetry intermission and I enjoyed reading them all.

Act Two
- The Great White Way, Robert Mccammon: 3.5/5 (very reminiscent of Tod Browning's Freaks.)
- Buried Talents, Richard Matheson: 4/5 (Really evocative. So much happened without much happening.)
- The Carnival, Richard Chizmar:3/5 (Okay. Interesting story. Could have done without all the fatphobic stuff, but whatever.)
- Mr. Bones' Wild Ride, Billy Chizmar: 3.5/5 (fun! Spooky!)
- Fair Treats, Jeff Strand:4.5/5 (oh man, I loooved this ridiculous little story. Absolutely gleeful.)
- Smoke & Mirrors, Amanda Downum:2.5/5 (felt like the first chapter of a mediocre YA fantasy novel.)
- Circus Maximus, Robert Brouhard: 3/5 (I read this ten minutes ago and I've already forgotten what happened.)
- Laughable, Dominick Cancilla: 3.5/5 (Not horror and felt like half a story, but it made me giggle.)
- Count Zardov's Circus and Museum of Terrifying Grotesques, Heather Graham: 3.4/5 Interesting premise and excellent characters, but the ending felt way too schmaltzy and unearned.
- Dandy, Josh Malerman: 3.5/5. I often struggle with Josh Malerman stories, but this is the closest I've gotten to getting it. I don't think I needed a full-on novella at the end of this collection, and it felt like it went on a bit, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.


Overall, this was a fantastic collection. It didn't feel as lopsided as a lot of these can be, and most of the stories were consistently good. One of the best anthologies I've read in years.

[Sweet book of mine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro es una compilación de 20 cuentos cortos  y 19 poemas  (terroríficos, inquietantes y perturbadores)  de diferentes autores, todos relacionados con la temática del circo. Mis favoritos:

The night of the tiger: Un domador vs un tigre, ambos orgullosos y poderosos, tan parecidos entre sí, mucho más de lo que nos podríamos imaginar...

Twittering from the circus of the dead: Una adolescente obsesionada con publicar todos sus movimientos en twitter, relata paso a paso una terrible pesadilla al acudir a un circo con su familia.

Buried talents: Un hombre muy habilidoso en un juego de feria, quizá demasiado habilidoso en opinión del feriante...

Fair treats: Quién pensaría que comer golosinas sería tan malo? Para el niño que protagonisa esta historia, es literalmente una tortura. A veces el cielo de unos es el infierno de otros.

Circus Maximus: Un terrible monstruo acecha a Timothy y su padre mientras observan un espectáculo circense, no se dejen engañar por su diminuto tamaño, es terriblemente peligroso y mortal.

Me encantó esta compilación y la cantidad de autores y cuentos!! Están todos muy buenos, unos más inquietantes que otros, pero todos geniales. La portada está muy padre y la temática me parece de lo más creppy, muy pero muy bueno, claro que lo recomiendo!! 💯

[Paul Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome anthology of circus/carnival-themed stories and poems, and I enjoyed it from cover to cover! "Act One" gets off to a great start with Stephen King's "The Night of the Tiger", followed by another one of my favorite short stories of all time, Joe Hill's "Twittering from the Circus of the Dead". This was my second time reading Tananarive Due's rather timely "Herd Immunity", and it still packs just as much of a punch as it did the first time. I'm not typically a fan of poetry, but I absolutely adored most of the entries included in the "Intermission". "Act Two" jumps right back in with more great content including Richard Chizmar's "The Carnival", and the "Grand Finale", Josh Malerman's "Dandy", is exactly that, and even this somewhat jaded horror fan was on the edge of his seat for the bulk of this tale! Well done!

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Midnight Under the Big Top is a collection of horror short stories that all have carnival and circus themes.
I've always loved carnivals and fairs. I grew up going to the fair every summer in my hometown. I've only ever been to one circus, however, and did not enjoy it. I think even as a little kid I could tell the vibes were OFF. That's what makes reading fictional stories about it so interesting.

This book includes tales of murder, madness, and magic by Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman, Tananarive Due, Richard Matheson, Joe Hill + more!
The grand finale is a BRAND NEW novella by Josh Malerman (and my personal favorite from the collection).
Definitely one of my favorites of the summer!!

[Alecia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I expected this to be a collection of half-rated short stories loosely held by things that are in a circus, but I was pleasantly surprised! Most of the stories were really good!! And the circus/carnival theme was prominent. It even has an "intermission" section full of spooky poems that I thoroughly enjoyed! And, shocker of all shockers, there's a pretty balanced representation of FEMALE WRITERS in it!!!! Who even knew women could write spooky stories?!?! 😂

All in all, if spooky stories are your thing, I'd recommend this read. ;)

[Karen Dandurant · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I am not usually a big fan of short stories, I really enjoyed this. Was it because I am already a fan of many of the contributors? Maybe. But I think it was also that the stories are good. I loved the idea of one theme (circuses) and the different, yet still horror take on the concept. Ending it with the Jonathan Maberry story was genius. I highly recommend this for every horror lover's TBR list.

[Hans · Rating 5 out of 5]

bought this for the Josh Malerman story ( it is SO GOOD!) and stuck around to see if I would like any of the other stories, and I did! I love circus horror anyway so that's an easy win win. I won't spoil any of the stories but there are a lot of good authors collected here. You can't go wrong

[Denny Medley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do enjoy good short stories, and to do them well is actually very difficult. This is a pretty great collection of varied styles, but all having the same theme of the Big Top. I really enjoyed this collection. although the Poetry section was a bit long and tedious for me.

[Kristina Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good collection of horror stories and some poetry, all set around a carnival theme. There was really only one story that I didn’t think was as good as the rest of them, so this was well worth the read.

[Melanie Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Carnaval Ride you can’t get off until it lets you!

Long story, short story, poetry, prose, all pull you around the Big Top and over, under, and through the Carnaval! The magic of madness descends and glitters in the dark from tale to the next!

[Christopher Adkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

This is a fantastic collection of horror stories that center around carnivals. Each one is well written. There's nothing negative to say about this collection. A must read for horror fans.