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Carole Gill
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Circus of Horrors Kindle Edition

by Carole Gill (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 126 ratings
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What exactly is wrong with this circus?

There are demonic, flesh-eating clowns, murderous midgets, a fat lady with some peculiar tastes and an old man with one hell of a secret. Old Pa keeps a trunk with some very special souvenirs.

When a stranger joins up who has second sight, among other talents, the old man's son gets nervous. There are a lot of very strange beings, not to mention a succubus or two and some beings from hell. Welcome to a wild ride to damnation.

This book contains graphic violence, strong language and sex scenes.
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    March 17, 2016
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Editorial Reviews

Review

The 50 Best Indie Books of 2016
#34 CIRCUS OF HORRORS
***************************If you've read any of Ms Gill's books before, be prepared to be shocked. This tale is one of the darkest, twisted, sick reads I've read in a very long time. Her voice in this book is totally different from anything she's written. It took me awhile to get into the story and characters, but once I did, it just sucked me in further and further. I really don't want to go into the plot or characters too much, as the enjoyment of this story is the discovery that the reader makes as Gill unfolds the evil lurking everywhere.Fred Dodger is totally clueless to everything going on around him, he just knows something is off and not right. But he and his father have terrible secrets, some he's forgotten. At the end of almost every chapter, Gill slips in little clues about what Fred isn't seeing or acknowledging. Quite ingenious. All of the supporting characters from the clowns, to the midgets and Baby Alice have their own terrible, dark secrets. You can't help but feel sorry for them. Then along comes Joe and everything changes.I wasn't too happy with the cadence of the writing at the beginning, but the characters and plot were so strong, I just had to keep reading. I was thoroughly entertained in the most horrific way and I give this book 5 feathers. If you love true horror, this has to be on your TBR list.SAHARA FOLEY BOOK REVIEW5 FEATHERS.Holy Circus!!!!!! Talk about a book going in a direction that I certainly didn't see coming. I mean I knew something was off, but it was more off than I was thinking.
You first meet the crew from Fred Dodger's Circus, really they just travel around in a van and try to work wherever they can. They live off the land in the beginning, among other things that I'm not even going to tell you!
So there is Fred Dodger and his dad who goes by Old Pa, Fred takes care of his dad and his little group of misfits as best he can. There are the three clowns, Happy, Danny and Noble. The two midgets, Hank and Al and the fat lady, Baby Alice.
These are not your NORMAL people, and I'm not talking about them being characters in a circus! They all have some freaky stuff going on!
Then one night out of the blue this hobo named Joe wanders into their camp telling them stories of a circus they can join and never have to move again. Well, of course, this makes everyone happy. They soooo want a place that is home.
I'm going to put it mildly here, that circus is not a place you want to call home and if you read this book you will see all of the freak show (no pun intended) that is really going on! I think all horror fans would like this or just someone interested in crazy stuff.MELISSA MARTIN'S READING LIST BLOG.Carole Gill has hit the ball out of the park in this collection. Imagine all the circus horrors and madness you can think of, and see them leap off the page at you.LEE PLETZERSKOBE FICTION

From the Author

First, about this book. I write two kinds of horror as many of you know. This is the dark, contemporary, twisted horror I enjoy writing. I have no idea why, truthfully. Having said that, go watch the news sometime. For years I was caught up in serial killers and forensic journals. I find fascinating criminal profiling. I read loads of books. Books written by FBI profilers, detectives and forensic psychiatrists. I suppose I did this in order to understand, better human evil. .Why did Bundy look normal? Using him as an example, why did he do what he did? How many people suffered because of what he did to their daughters, sisters--girlfriends--friends? Look how many serial killers there are! It's  shattering to think of all the people suffering because of their acts. .If you take that interest and you add to it my love of scary things, you can see where this novel came from. The thing is, I wrote about damaged people. I gave the clowns, in particular, horrendous childhoods so that they became what they did. I did not do that, however with one of the other characters who was a serial killer. .I hope readers find something more in here than a horror novel. My fiction always aspires to embellish characters and situations. Always..I write dark paranormal and Gothic romance as well as dark horror. The Gothic romantic fiction I write is combined with horror. This fiction is replete with tortured vampires, passionate sex and feeding. I believe vampires are wanton, highly sexual creatures and I depict them that way. Having said that, they are capable of deeply felt emotions. They are complex creatures. There are good and bad among them as there are among all beings..With regard to the horror, it tends to be contemporary. I have all sorts of monsters, some human and some human-like. Serial killers, monstrous beings inside, don't necessarily look like what they are. That to me, is most scary..My 8th book, a novel based on the infamous Blood Countess, Erzsebat Bathory and held absolute power in 16th Century Hungary has just been released by Creativia. She was a sexual sadist and predator. That book was a challenge to write, but I love challenges!Thank you for reading this. I hope you will check out my writing!

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01D575EPA
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Creativia; 2nd edition (March 17, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 17, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 662 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 191 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1530653894
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 126 ratings

About the author

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Carole Gill

Carole Gill

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Carole Gill is published by Creativia. She writes dark Gothic romance as well as contemporary horror.

Preditors & Editors’ Readers’ POLL

#2 BEST HORROR NOVEL 2016

I, BATHORY, QUEEN OF BLOOD

BEST INDIE BOOK FINALIST

2016

CIRCUS OF HORRORS

Her acclaimed 4-novel series, The Blackstone Vampires:

2014 - Amazon Bestseller in Dark Fantasy - THE BLACKSTONE VAMPIRES OMNIBUS

2015 - Amazon Bestseller in Vampire Horror - THE BLACKSTONE VAMPIRES OMNIBUS

2015 - Amazon Bestseller in Horror Anthologies - HOUSE OF HORRORS

AWARDS:

eBook Festival of Words 2014

Best Horror: The House on Blackstone Moor and

Best Villain: Eco

Top 10 Books - 2013 - The House on Blackstone Moor

Aoife Marie Sheridan - ALL THINGS FANTASY

Publisher, Ultimate Fantasy Books

'

92 Horror authors you need to read right now,

Carole Gill - The Blackstone Vampires Series. ~Charlotte Books Examiner,

Justine: Into The Blood Book One - Blood and Passion Series is on sale at Amazon.

Book 2, Anat: Blood Princess, follows.

I, Bathory, Queen of Blood, a novel about the Blood Countess Erzsebat Bathory is her latest book. For dark horror fans there is, Carole Gill's House of Horrors and the novel, Circus of Horrors.

In 2000 she was selected by Northwest Playwrights of England for further development. Short stories and novels were what she preferred to write.

Her story, The Devil's Work is being broadcast web and television in the Fragments of Fear Program in 2016.

Blog:

http://carolegillauthor.blogspot.co.uk/

facebook author page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carole-Gill-Author/120405794703293?ref=ts

She is widely published in horror and sci-fi anthologies:

Fragments of Fear tv and YOU TUBE, 'THE DEVIL'S WORK'

Killing it Softly, Digital Fiction Publishing Corp.

Sideshow, published by PsychoPomp

After Armeagedon short story collection by Brian L. Porter (guest story by Carole Gill)

Rogues Gallery, The Illustrated Police News, Firbolg

Enter at Your Own Risk: Dark Muses Spoken Silences Firbolg

Vampires: Romance to Rippers an Anthology of Tasty Tales

A S Publications: Enter at Your Own Risk: Old Masters New Voices, An Anthology of Gothic Literature,

Fresh Fear: Contemporary Horror

Triskaideka Books' Masters of Horror Anthology One,

Triskaideka Books' Masters of Horror Damned If You Don't,

Sonar 4 Publishing's Ladies and Gentlemen of Horror 2010,

SNM's Bonded By Blood3 Languish In Lament,

Sonar 4 Publishing's Whitechapel 13, Anthology,

Rymfire's Undead Tales,

Rymfire's Zombie Winter,

Rymfire's Zombie Writing

Angelic Knight Press' Satan's Toy Box: Demonic Dolls and

Whitechapel 13, An Anthology of the Victorian Era

Sci Fi Almanac 2009 and 2010 and

Science Fiction Freedom Magazine, issues 1-4,

Sci Fi Talk's Tales of Time and Space.

Customer reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5 out of 5
126 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Lori Safranek
5.0 out of 5 stars Circus of Horrors delightfully creepy
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2015
Verified Purchase
I'm never going to the circus again. Nope, no sir, no way. Not after meeting the characters in Carole Gill's excellent "Circus of Horrors." Gill doesn't fool around with rampaging elephants or slippery footed acrobats (two of my fears about going to the circus). She takes the reader on a twisted, dark journey to a circus filled with strange folks, all with their own secrets, their own sins, their own dreams. Dreams don't come true, however, for anyone in the troupe of unemployed circus workers Fred has under his wing. White face and a big red smile hide mutilated faces of three clowns who have a taste for evil. Two little people who are tortured by their desires. And a fat lady who is tragically disappointed in life. They think they've found their deliverance when they're invited to join a small circus, but nothing under the Big Top is what it seems. Gill puts so many twists and turns in this book, it is impossible to put it down. And readers might have a bad dream or two later. But such delightful, dark dreams! This is a must read.
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Melissa 'Dog/Wolf Lover'
4.0 out of 5 stars This was an awesome little creepfest!
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2015
Verified Purchase
Holy Circus!!!!!! Talk about a book going in a direction that I certainly didn't see coming. I mean I knew something was off, but it was more off than I was thinking.

You first meet the crew from Fred Dodger's Circus, really they just travel around in a van and try to work wherever they can. They live off the land in the beginning, among other things that I'm not even going to tell you!

So there is Fred Dodger and his dad who goes by Old Pa, Fred takes care of his dad and his little group of misfits as best he can. There are the three clowns, Happy, Danny and Noble. The two midgets, Hank and Al and the fat lady, Baby Alice.

These are not your NORMAL people, and I'm not talking about them being characters in a circus! They all have some freaky stuff going on!

Then one night out of the blue this hobo named Joe wanders into their camp telling them stories of a circus they can join and never have to move again. Well, of course, this makes everyone happy. They soooo want a place that is home.

I'm going to put it mildly here, that circus is not a place you want to call home and if you read this book you will see all of the freak show (no pun intended) that is really going on! I think all horror fans would like this or just someone interested in crazy stuff.

*Graphic violence, Gore, Sexual Situations* Just wanted to add that for the kiddie's, this isn't for the kiddie's :)

I really liked the book because it was so odd and the cover is so awesomely creepy!!!!!!

MY REVIEWS:
www.melissa413readsalot.blogspot.com
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1379190845
2 people found this helpful
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Qittie deKay
3.0 out of 5 stars This book wasn't the worst book ever written
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2015
Verified Purchase
I think maybe I've been out of the horror scene too long to truly appreciate it anymore, but the last two books I've picked up on Kindle have been very disappointing.

This book wasn't the worst book ever written, but it had a lot of cliches that didn't add much to the plot. Dialogue was a bit off kilter, but that might be due to the time period; I let this slide. Characters might have been interesting, but they spiraled down too quickly for me to really decide if I liked them or not. The omniscient POV made it hard to connect because of the many perspective jumps, most of which only served to ruin the plot arc too early. In the end, I never trusted the MC...with good reason it seems. A lot of the tension was introduced and resolved way too early for me to CARE what was so off about the circus and its people. Lots of gore and sex, most of which didn't heighten the tension and I kind of chalked up to gratuitous use for the shock factor.

I had to read this over the course of a week because I was just...disinterested all around. I had things figured out pretty early because of the writing style, and I kept thinking SURELY I had to be wrong, that CAN'T be it; the author is going to surprise me. Nah, I had it right.

I think this would have benefited from a tighter use of omni POV rather than the free-for-all of perspectives. It would have kept the tension higher if some things were kept back for the big reveal at the end.
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Honey Bee
2.0 out of 5 stars Mostly disgusting
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2015
Verified Purchase
I made it a policy to never give a book I got for free a negative review. I just finished Circus of Horrors and have changed the policy.

This book started out promising. You know that something creepy is going on from the very beginning and
it gets creepier with each chapter. But then, comes the explanation of what has been going on and that’s when the book goes from promising to downright gross and nasty.

Seems as the author couldn’t come up with anything original so she gave the book a rather clichéd ending. Can’t say more without giving away the ending, but trust me, it isn’t scary in the least. And one more thing, the “F” work is considerably overused. These aren’t nice people but still….
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Top reviews from other countries

Sashadoo
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful! Horror with a side order of ribs...?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 5, 2015
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Horror stories are without a doubt Carole Gill's forte and with Circus of Horrors she has really surpassed herself. Having read a number of her earlier works, I expected something similar in this, her latest work, but...no! She totally surprised me with this tantalisingly terrible tale of the most gruesome group of circus performers you are likely to meet, though God forbid that you do! I really don't want to give any of this wonderfully scary tale away, but will say that it had me feeling edgy and nervous throughout. Just when you reach a point where you think Fred and his old Dad are about to be shown as the heroes of this well crafted tale, you are faced with a revelation that is quite simply totally out of left-field and makes you re-think just how the story is going to end. Let me also say that the clowns are clowns, without a doubt, but unlike any clowns you've met or seen before, and the ensemble cast of surrounding characters are never quite what they seem. Congratulations, Carole Gill, Circus of Horrors truly had me mesmerized!
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Weird Characters with Unnatural Habits
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2019
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Shocking? Yes, it was. For these were no ordinary circus carnies. Difficult and troubled pasts had made them do things way beyond normal. Then, the introduction of an over-friendly conjuror escalates their sick behaviour even further, causing a deep division between the depraved carnies and their former self-appointed carer, Fred. He'd looked after them all in the past even though he disapproved of their cannibal ways.

Horror? Certainly! You'll find it in bucket-loads here. If horror is your thing, then you won't be disappointed. This is a really imaginative story with extremely diverse characters. Their actions certainly evoke disgust.

Scary? No, not really. The characters would certainly be scary if you came across them alone at night. However, I didn't feel afraid at any point. It flows well and is very readable but, for me at least, there is no edge-of-your seat tension, suspense, or scariness. That's only a personal requirement in horror for me though. For some it's not necessary. Either way, it's still a great read for those who love horror.
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Techno Hippy
3.0 out of 5 stars Some great moments, but felt a little flat overall
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2016
Verified Purchase
I found this book a bit of a mixed bag. It starts well with a trio of cannibal clowns, but loses it's way a bit. The scene is set well with a failing troupe of circus performers who have the fortune to meet a charismatic man who turns their fortunes around. Quite naturally things are not what they seem and this man interferes in their lives in a dramatic fashion. It's here that the book needed more work. This character should have felt more sinister than it did, and indeed to an extent this issues covers the whole story.

The elements are certainly there, and there are some intense horror moments, but they are an exception. These tended to be more limited to the more physical shock horror, but the story cried out for something more insidious. I feel that it needed more of an undercurrent to make the shocking moments a bit more fitting.

There's an interesting array of characters, but apart from a few exceptions they lacked depth, and some more development with them would have helped strengthen the plot. In some ways the number on offer fights against some of the more personal conflicts at play.

The biggest issues for me were the reveals. First you learn the secrets of two of the main characters, and they come out of the blue and make a big claims. To be honest they felt a little forced, and would have enjoyed greater impact as acts in themselves, rather than trying to force them to certain historical events.

Beyond this was the end reveal, and a change in circumstances. Again it felt too much, and wasn't really needed. With some more development the circus itself had all the horror the story needed, and the ramp up at the end could have been something more meaningful. That being said I did enjoy the choice at the end, although it didn't really fit with the characters behaviour throughout the book.

It's true that I had issues with the story, but the writing was solid, and it's a fast paced read. It has some bizarre moments, and I did enjoy it overall. Worth a look if you're searching for something a bit different. I should warn you that it's not for the squamish!
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DaemonGirl79
4.0 out of 5 stars A truly disturbing tale
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 23, 2017
Verified Purchase
I was drawn to this book by the cover. I hate clowns, but love scaring myself so I had high hopes.
If I'm honest,the title pretty much days it all. What you see is what you get. A ragtag bunch of waifs and strays who have come together over a period of time and made a sort of travelling freak show/circus set in 1930's America. The show is failing and is at a point where they don't know what to do for the best.
Fred,the owner, feels wholly responsible for them all. He's taken them under his wing and protected them for years.
Cannibal clowns, midgets, the obligatory fat lady, this has it all. Enter a stranger who offers them an answer to all their prayers.
But don't be fooled, nothing is what it seems.
The story it takes us on is full of murder, gore, explicit pornography and all round shocking gruesome behaviour.
Personally, I felt like it was quite a superficial storyline. I kept reading hoping for something meaty and gripping to come along and grab me. I feel with a bit more depth to it, it could have been great. As it is, it's a good horror story, more gruesome than scary. I would however read more from this author.
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Mark Tilbury
5.0 out of 5 stars A highly recommended horror
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 27, 2015
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This is a circus unlike any other you've heard about. It has clowns, lion tamers and trapeze artists mixed up with pure evil. Fred, His 'Old Pa' and his small band of circus acts meet Joe, who promises a better life. One filled with a big top, making big bucks. But at what price?

This is a dark and disturbing tale. The author's writing and vivid imagination grab hold of you from the first page. Some scenes are very graphic but needed due to the nature of the story.

Some horrors end up being clichéd and/or 'tacky'. Not Circus of Horrors. This is an excellently written book with a great collection of characters. I especially liked the ending. I didn't see it coming but it was very well done and explains why certain things happened earlier on in the story.

This was the first book by this author that I've read. I'll be adding more to my kindle. A highly recommended horror.
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