The Clown Brigade

by Stephen Graham Jones

It’s a brand-new day for Kyle: He’s flying across the country to meet a woman he connected with online. His last relationship still haunts him, but just because it didn’t work out with Steph, a wildly popular spin-class instructor, doesn’t mean it won’t with Jenna. When the plane hits some turbulence, Kyle feels the world go still even as the cabin’s insides churn, and he sees down the aisle, of all things, a clown – a real clown, white face paint, eyes drawn like diamonds, a wilted red wig – looking right at him and no one else. He briefly wonders if it’s some kind of an omen. He might be a fool for love, but he’s no clown, right?

He plans to surprise Jenna and shows up at her building with a single red rose in hand. What could be more romantic, more innocent? Yet Kyle’s the one treated to surprise after surprise: Another clown, in white face and red wig – the works – pops up out of nowhere, and security on the premises isn’t as friendly as Kyle had hoped. He’s just a young guy looking for love. But looks can be deceiving, and in Jones’s hands boy-meets-girl becomes daring and darkly funny social commentary, a deeply disturbing and tragically timely Poe-esque reckoning with a culture where the fantasies of fools and clowns – in fact a whole brigade of them – too readily turn to senseless violence and end in chaos and destruction.

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Short Stories, Fiction, Novella, Adult, Indigenous

100 pages, Audiobook

First published January 1, 2022

About the author

Stephen Graham Jones is the NYT bestselling author thirty-five or so books. He really likes werewolves and slashers. Favorite novels change daily, but Valis and Love Medicine and Lonesome Dove and It and The Things They Carried are all usually up there somewhere. Stephen lives in Boulder, Colorado. It's a big change from the West Texas he grew up in.

Reviews

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not expecting that. 🤡 The synopsis is careful not to spoil any reader discovery here, so I'm not going to either. I didn't have any expectations going into this short story apart from my usual anticipation for a great horror experience. SGJ is a master when it comes to short works of fiction to unsettle even the most unflappable genre junkies.
This is another example of Graham's expert mixology of humor, horror, and social commentary. I can always count on something unexpected--in this case, the story's beginning has a hilarious scene that will always be in my mind now when I'm on an airplane and a woman flips a cascade of hair over the back of her seat. Ha! You'll see.
Also, this story is of particular interest to those of you who exercise on spin bikes (me)
and have a fear of clowns (also me)
Stephen Graham Jones fans-this one is a must :)

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Clown Brigade is short but Dark. I love Stephen Graham Jones' writing. He can take you to those dark places without making you feel gross.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on the Everand app (formerly Scribd). For only being a little over an hour, this story of a deranged man packs a lot into it. No plot summary here as this is way too easy to spoil. the narrator was quite good and made this that much creepier. You might want to avoid it if you have a fear of clowns. Definitely recommend otherwise!

[Jesse On Youtube]

a non-lingering horror novella brought to life by Tutt’s diverting performance. unreliable/deranged narrator on a doomed quest for love. the audio is only an hour and it’s a pretty fun ride :)

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick little thought provoking horror novella. I like the evolution we get from main character Kyle, as we're slowly shown his true colours. For a story that I read in under an hour there was a lot of character development, and certain moments that I found quite chilling. It helps that I absolutely hate clowns.

Yeah, I liked it. Which is actually a first for me and SGJ because I find he tends to rely on tropes that I'm just not normally a fan of (mental health as an unreliable narrator springs to mind). It gives me hope that I might find some more SGJ ill enjoy, because his horror does have a lot of social commentary I enjoy.

[Katie T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good, so interesting and then so very messed up! Very complex for a short story.

[The_5ft_reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

for a short story, there's a lot going on here ... I don't like clowns anyway, and this is an unsettling little story!

[Rebel Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Give me a great psychotic meltdown story any day! A guy travels to surprise his newest fling when he starts to see clowns everywhere. I don't have a fear of clowns so this didn't scare me in that way. But just hearing how someone starts to lose it - especially in the way only Jones can do - is brilliantly scary. I loved The Only Good Indians and this one is just another great example. This is a quick listen and by the time you have reached the end you will be enthralled and hoping for more.

[Sarah Hamatake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not spooky, thrilling, or that interesting to me. Quick read, and it wasn’t bad enough that I couldn’t finish it, but I certainly would have dropped it if it had been an hour longer.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scribd original this was a surprising novella! In a good way.

SYNOPSIS:
"It’s a brand-new day for Kyle: He’s flying across the country to meet a woman he connected with online. His last relationship still haunts him, but just because it didn’t work out with Steph, a wildly popular spin-class instructor, doesn’t mean it won’t with Jenna. When the plane hits some turbulence, Kyle feels the world go still even as the cabin’s insides churn, and he sees down the aisle, of all things, a clown – a real clown, white face paint, eyes drawn like diamonds, a wilted red wig – looking right at him and no one else. He briefly wonders if it’s some kind of an omen. He might be a fool for love, but he’s no clown, right?"

MY THOUGHTS:

🤡 A fascinating and disturbing short story. It's W I L D!

🤡 Stephen Graham Jones has an amazing way of getting you into the head of the main character an unreliable narrator that is both compelling and horrifying.

🤡 Yes clowns are scary but this is more than just about a clown/clowns it has a much deeper chilling story.

🤡 A layered, terrifying tale - the less you know going in the better.

[Victoria Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an unnerving and complex story in such a short time. Superbly written and perfectly narrated. Still thinking about this story long after listening to it. Also the authors notes were really interesting, so nice to hear the author talk about his experiences, motivations and feelings around his own work. Very current and highly recommend this.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a love hate relationship with SGJ, I love his writing, characters and plots. I hate that he often uses mental health as a reason his protagonists do what they do, as I think he adds to the stereotype that people mentally I’ll are dangerous. It can feel lazy and unimaginative as he does it often. However this one got to me, I hate clowns, so the thought of a delusional stalker seeing clowns everywhere is horror. This felt in tone and character like a cross between American Psycho and The Joker, very well done what made it horror is how real this seemed. Very short but great pay off.

[Fred · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cool, but not what I was expecting going into this one

[Diana Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been on a Stephen Graham Jones binge for a minute, and dammit I love his work. I laughed out loud while being amazingly uncomfortable. I don't know what else you could ask for from a horror novella than that!

[Bryce Napier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed the metaphor of the clown! I thought it was a great way to demonstrate the mind of a true psychopath by a creepy character!

[Chey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This didn’t make me hate clowns any less 🤡

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

huh....

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so disturbing because it felt so real and possible.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad way to spend an hour. This really had a 'written for a close deadline and rigid wordcount' feeling to it, but Stephen Graham Jones can really spin a sentence, and his narrative style just clicks so well into the grooves of my brain that it didn't bother me too much.

Pretty typical formula - a man who's traveling to visit his long distance girlfriend gradually acts more and more alarming until the point where the story (but probably not the reader, who can see this coming) realizes that this is a stalker situation. Outside the formula, the narrator also keeps seeing clowns, and that element's pretty fun.

Honestly what I enjoyed the most was the little five-minute interview with SGJ afterward where he talks about his inspiration for this story and a creepy clown experience he had when he was younger. I could listen to Stephen Graham Jones talk about writing horror for hours! I also was reminded of a horror Zoom class he led during the early months of the pandemic, where he talked about how a lot of the horror characters who he related to growing up were female characters, so he's spent a lot of time thinking about what it's like to move through the world as a woman. It comes across really well, and I think it also made this story where he's writing about violent misogyny a lot less, like, lurid than other iterations of this story that I've read.

[Kevvie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand the point it’s trying to make; toxic men are clowns. BUT, being told from the perspective of the toxic man made it very hard to read. He’s been doing online spin cycle and convinced himself that the instructor is his girlfriend and behaves more and more inappropriately towards her. I feel like we really don’t need more stories from this point of view. Yes, toxic and dangerous men exist, and should of course still be a part of books, but they don’t need to be the star. There's been enough of that.

[Maddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I am always amazed by is how an author can literally scare the crap out of you in a audiobook that is under an hour and a half (of under an hour depending on your audibook speed).

Stephen Graham Jones has a sick mind and I love it - this book was terrifying and unexpected. God I hate clowns.

[reese · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this short story on Everand (narrator did an awesome job btw) and it was so random but so funny and interesting. I love SGJ’s writing, and even though I’ve only read two of his books he seems to always have such interesting story ideas. He’s also amazing at writing characters from the third person. Will be reading more of his books!!

[Cristi Smith-Jones]

Buckle your seat belt and get ready for a (quick) wild ride as you journey into the mind of a man who is the definition of an unreliable narrator. Creepy!

This one is only available on Scribd and is available there as an ebook and audiobook. I've never been disappointed by one of SGJ's stories, and as always, it's nice to hear the author's thoughts afterward.

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Please check trigger warnings before reading this**
I listened to this on Scribd. I expected this to be super creepy, particularly with the clown theme but I was disappointed with it. I still enjoyed SGJs writing just this one was not for me.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a ride. The conclusion left me reeling, and listening to SGJ wrap everything up at the end gave me full body chills. Check content warnings, but highly recommend if you love a good unreliable narrator.

[Mattie B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an escalation! I loved the quick turn of insanity that Kyle faced. I think I’m starting to understand SGJ’s type of horror and I can appreciate it. Looking forward to reading more from him.

[Tattooed Horror Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never been afraid of clowns...till now. So unnerving!

[SpellsBooksandKrystals · Rating 5 out of 5]

A steady decent into madness; that was awesome.

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Graham Jones taps into the darkest corners of human psyche so effortlessly.. I mean, this story gave me the creeps. Loved it.