Perry the Clown

Short story.

Perry the Clown

Perry the clown wasn't like other clowns at the circus, he could never make the audience laugh as the other clowns did. Perry was a short guy in his 40's with a double cheeseburger belly and extra fries chin. It wasn't so much that he couldn't make the crowd roar with laughter, it was always unintentional and always at him rather than because of him. I suppose that's what did it- drove Perry the clown to jump off the acrobat's platform, breaking his neck in the fall and so came to end the miserable life of Perry the clown. But our story doesn't begin there, it begins much later, 30 so years later after the reopening of the Marvellous circus. The decision was made by the son of the late owner, sensing profit and ignoring superstition. It was the first opening night when Perry the clown was spotted atop the platform, diving in showmanship and disappearing before hitting the ground. The crowd cheered in awe and Perry the clown became the most popular 'act' the circus had to offer. That was until it grew old and people no longer found amusement in the death defying clown. Eventually the crowd faded and with it, the circus' charm. 

As is the undeniable truth, all that lives must die and all that dies must be forgotten. Hence was the case with Perry the clown. He was soon forgotten and never seen again. The Marvellous circus has been shut down ever since with little to no interest in its revival. Perhaps one day someone will reopen it and perhaps Perry the clown will reappear, to entertain the crowds again.

Author's Note

Any grammatical errors, spelling mistakes are welcome.

Reviews

[Stan Lee]

This was a great short story. Definitely had an unexpected tone and twists. Very enjoyable read. Stay inspired! :)

[Eliot Knight]

Thankyou Andronicus !

[Sesame]

Hello Eliot,

This read like some sort of campfire story. I found the name Perry interesting, if I recall correctly Stephen King's IT was named Perry as well, which made me believe that the ghost had a remarkable career switch somewhere. But to be quite honest, this story is no more than campfire material up until now. We do not really get to know the clown and therefore do not yet really care for what happens in this 'brief history of Perry the Clown'. You see I use the word 'yet' because I do believe the theme is interesting enough to turn into a longer story. One with dialogue, characters, plot twists and tension. If you feel the same, why not give it a go? I would be glad to review it if you do.


Regards,

Sesame

@followsesame on Twitter
www.themagiccave.com

[Eliot Knight]

You are right about it being a short story, I have no intention of extending it. Thanks for the review :3

[nightshade]

I read this despite my fear of clowns. I thought that the story would be scary or meant to be of the horror genre but this was a sad little story. Though it was sad it was a very good story and I really enjoyed your nostalgic tone.

[Eliot Knight]

My sister is afraid of clowns so I know that must have been some gamble, I appreciate you reading my story despite your fear. Thankyou, I'm glad you liked it!

[Not here]

i thought this was gonna be really creepy. but it turned out to be kind of sad. i enjoyed this very much :) great job

[Eliot Knight]

Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

[Imperfection2aT]

You've done a great job in this story. Way to go!

[Eliot Knight]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[Bear]

(Perry was a short guy in his 40's) You might consider making him a short man in his 40's.
"a double cheeseburger belly and extra fries chin" What a great line, I still have images you evoked with your powers of description stuck in my mind of them. I want to thank Alondra T. N. for the read request, it was a pleasure reading this and I look forward to reading more of your work :~)

[Eliot Knight]

I'm sorry, I don't follow the comment about his height.
Thankyou for reviewing, I'm glad that you like it!

[Stan Lee]

I think Bear meant you should use the word "man" instead of "guy" ;)

[Eliot Knight]

ahh thankyou so much for clarifying!
@Bear: man and guy set two very different tones, guy goes better with it I think, thankyou though

[Bear]

I am so sorry for taking so long to respond, for some reason I did not receive an email letting me know you had posted a comment till in got notice of Andronicus post so please forgive me. Andronicus is absolutely correct, the term guy makes it less personal and the poem is about him so you want to personalize him in every way you can and while Perry is a clown he is also a man.

[Eliot Knight]

I actually don't want to personalise him at all, I wan't him to be just another person in this world, no one extraordinary, I do see your point, much appreciated Bear.

[Coyote Poetry]

I enjoyed the tale. Old world circus is gone. Clowns, animals and pure entertainment. Memories of the past. I enjoyed the set-up of the story and the story line. I did like the open ending. Thank you for sharing the excellent story.
Coyote

[Eliot Knight]

Yeah, I always found the circus pitifully beautiful. Thankyou for the review!

[Coyote Poetry]

Me too. Now kids don't enjoy. Light show and less humor.

[justdandy]

I really like this. One of the best stories that I have read.

[Eliot Knight]

You are too kind, thankyou!

[justdandy]

All I am saying is the truth

[Terry O'Leary]

Original, clever story!
Good work!!!

[Eliot Knight]

Thanks a lot Terry!

[Rachel McLean]

All while reading this, I was thinking it was gonna be some creepypasta(scary story basically) type thing, but it was actually really enjoyable. I think you might want to describe a few details a bit more, like why did the crowd laugh at him, rather than with him? Other than that, I think you did an excellent job writing a short story, and I didn't seem to notice any grammatical/spelling errors. Thanks for posting!

[Eliot Knight]

Yes, you're right, a little more description would be wonderful though to be frank, I enjoy ambiguities and just the entire essence of the unknown, makes one wonder don't you think? Thankyou for the review!