Midnight Amusement Park

Creative Writing Piece. Prompt- "At midnight, the abandoned amusement park came alive"

At midnight, the abandoned amusement park came alive. It was jarring at first, but easily chalked up to electrical issues. By dawn the park was inactive once more, and all seemed right with the world.

Then it happened again, and again. Not as easy to sell the "electrical malfunction" story the longer it went on. The questions swirled. Was something deeper manifesting, or were the ghosts simply playing? Well, that's where I come in.

I'm Monica Monday, my friends call me Monday, and I'm a paranormal investigator. I say paranormal investigator, but "hauntings" are rarely paranormal at all. Ghosts are not nearly as prevalent as people seem to think. In this case, however, I was hopeful there would be something supernatural going on. When I was called I immediately packed up my car and drove the 14 hours there in one day.

When I arrived, the town was... strange. Unnervingly quiet, not a soul in sight, and the population sign? Well it said "population pending." Never seen that before. The amusement park was seemingly larger than the town too, which was, again, strange. I try not to judge a place without investigating, but this town was unique and I couldn't resist labeling it "never visit again."

I parked outside of the gates to the park, and took a quick nap in my car. It was supposed to be quick at least, I was rudely awoken at midnight, when the park came alive. I hit my head on the roof of my car, and muttered a few choice words on instinct, but my attention was drawn to the park.

I didn't know what equipment to use, so I chose to do recon first and double back with a game plan. The gate was open and I walked in. Initially, the park was empty, but as I walked further into the park, I started to see guests. I felt as though I had ice water dump over my head, my whole body freezing and covered in goosebumps. This wasn't right. No, this was wrong. The guests all looked human, and alive.

I continued to walk around, actively avoiding any contact with... whatever these beings were. No one spared me a glance, and by the time I had made it back to my car, I still didn't know what equipment to get. This wasn't a haunting, this was just an amusement park, the same you'd find anywhere else. So why was I here?

I decided to drive through the town, a feeling settling into my gut. As I drove through neighborhoods, there were finally people out and about, houses with lights on, the smell of campfires permeating the air. I was speechless. I stopped in front of a random house and I knocked on the door, fingers crossed hoping they would be willing to speak with me.

The door opened and a normal middle aged couple asked me what they could help me with. I told them that I was there to investigate the amusement park but that I was unsettled by the whole thing. They smiled kindly, and said that the amusement park opening was wonderful! A much needed escape for the town. I explained I was there because the amusement park wasn't supposed to be opened, but they just laughed as though I was joking. I didn't feel that I was going to get anywhere with them so I thanked them and returned to my car.

I then did what I should have done all along, and googled the amusement park. That's when I saw the headline "Amusement Park Tragedy." Reading the article left me with more questions than answers. The Ferris Wheel, the worst part of any amusement park, had a loose bolt on the night of the incident. The bolt came off during the loop and the whole wheel careened down the hill and the resulting carnage and fires, devastated the town below. The malfunction caused a wave of other damage that resulted in the death of all 565 residents of the town. The amusement park was rebuilt along with the town. The state officials wanted to rebuild the population, but everyone fled within a week of moving.

Most haunted places aren't actually haunted. This town though... This town is a ghost town in the most literal sense. I high tailed it out of town, my eyes glued to the road. I didn't dare look in the review mirror until hours later.

I have taken a step back from investigating, but I know I'll be back. The allure of the unknown is too strong to stay away.