Harlequinade: Act One

Step right up… into the nightmare that never ends.No one quits Willetts & Parker. The show is eternal. Gaslight flickers, masks shift, and the Harlequin whispers: The show must go on...In 1901, as the carnival rolls toward its next destination, whispers of unease ripple through its performers. Annie, a melancholy clown, feels the weight of something unseen pressing against her—watching, waiting. Then, she discovers the carnival's secret.A sinister Harlequinade lurks in the shadows, pulling strings, orchestrating nightmares. Its master, Brickles—a monstrous Harlequin clown—does not tolerate deserters. When Annie tries to flee, the carnival tightens its grip. No one quits the Willetts & Parker Show. Trapped among cursed performers and flickering gaslight, Annie must face a terrifying truth: the carnival is more than a spectacle. It's a graveyard of souls bound to a never-ending nightmare, puppets in Brickles' undead Harlequinade. And now, he's found a place for her in the show.Step into the velvet shadows of a haunted circus, where masks hide more than faces and secrets bleed through the seams of every performance.When Annie, a clown with a past she can't escape, soon discovers that the carnival doesn't just entertain—it ensnares. Beneath the gilded lights and whispers of forgotten tragedies lurk forces far older than the stage itself. Annie must decide to either play her part or tear down the illusion before it consumes her and everyone she cares about.A gothic horror tale of illusion, obsession, and the price of fame—Harlequinade is perfect for fans of dark fantasy, eerie suspense, and supernatural thrillers.*First published as a serial story in 2024. Cover art illustration by Lia Renee.