“Are you looking to bring sparkle and pizazz to your life? Are you looking for a brand new ambiance? Well come join us at Shadow Haynes’ Circus this Saturday! Watch death defying feats that will simply amaze you! Laugh with the clown acts! See our contortionists, magicians, living statues and more! You won’t believe your eyes! Come one, come all!” The man on the corner sounded like a canival barker. In a way, I suppose he was. Advertising and enticing with a fake, syrupy charm. Dressed in a too-small, pin-striped suit and a shabby top hat, he certainly looked the part. His black, handlebar mustache didn’t hurt either. My best friend Kissy Preston punched me in the arm. “Hey, wanna…

Have you ever heard of the Grand Circus of Mysteries? You can recognize us by the large banner set up over the entrance; a circular sign with several slightly faded looking clowns, magicians, leaping acrobats and other exotically dressed performers decorating its length. A large, open circus tent sits in the background with the entrance lit up in yellow, and the name of the circus is printed out in bold and stylised letters in a semicircle above the scene. The sign is over fifty years old and it’s been a tradition for the past century for it to be erected right on top of the archway over the circus gates. I would have hoped you’d heard of us. We’re a…