Behind the Tilt-A-Whirl

Behind the tilt-a-whirl lay a door in the ground, not unlike a storm shelter door. It was carefully hidden by tall grass, and was further concealed by a woven mat of straw masking the metal hinges and door handle. From a distance, a casual observer would easily miss it. Although, even if it weren't hidden, few were brave enough to wander behind the ride. No sane person would try to sneak by Gerry Lucer, the biggest, ugliest, man anyone had ever seen, who also happened to operate the ride. Not that being ugly was a sin, but Gerry was also mean. So mean that the story was that the last person who snooped around down there was picked up by the neck, thrown down through the door in the ground, and never seen again. The police were told about it, but when they investigated and opened the door, all they found was dirt on the other side. Most of us kids weren't fooled though. Why have a door that didn't lead anywhere?

One night a few of us were out there after hours, just fooling around. It was a dark night with no moon or stars shining. We walked by the tilt-a-whirl, and honest to God, we saw a bright light shooting out from the corners of the door. As if that wasn't enough to scare us, we also heard loud music playing and the voices of two people screaming. We ran from there as fast as we could. We told the adults that were supposed to know what to do, but once again, when the police went out to investigate, all they found was a door that opened to dirt.

No one ever did believe us, but it was the truth. After that summer, the carnival moved on to another city. We never saw Gerry Lucer again. We also never found the door in the ground again. It just disappeared with all the rides and games and people.