Samantha McClanahan
THE BOOKS
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WELCOME TO THE UNDERGROUND CIRCUS
Gore/Horror
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Tonight is Halloween, and Paul is going to get the best birthday present ever. He’s going with his friends and big brother (well, someone has to drive) to an underground circus. It will be about a thousand times better than walking around the neighborhood begging for candy.
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When the flyer said underground, it meant it. When Paul and the boys arrive, all that's there is a lone tent surrounded by miles of corn, and a deep hole. Oh, and there's a sign that points down and says ENTER HERE. Because that's not creepy. But what would Halloween be without a bit of creepiness?
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A slide down a dark tunnel, and Paul and his friends are in the most amazing place they’ve ever seen. It’s got popcorn fountains, a robot that makes caramel tigers, fire eaters, toy ballerinas that spin perfect cones of cotton candy, and more. But then there’s the terrifying tarot reader and the aerialist who walks on barbed wire.
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Soon, the treats turn into tricks. When a girl in a blue Bo Peep costume dances off the stage with tigers and never returns, Paul decides to follow her path. What he encounters makes him realize that he, his friends, and his brother are in danger. The only way out of the underground circus, however, is to go through it, and there are some very hungry monsters who will do anything to stop them.