First published 2000
Dwight Stokes and his two friends discover that a traveling vampire show has set up outside their small town. The performers promise real vampires and genuine terror for those brave enough to attend. Dwight finds himself drawn to the dark spectacle despite warnings from adults who remember when the show last visited years ago. Bad things happened then. People disappeared. As night falls, Dwight and his friends sneak toward the mysterious tent where Valeria the vampire waits to perform. They expect fake blood and carnival tricks. Instead they find themselves trapped in a nightmare where the monsters are real and escape means surviving until dawn. The show becomes a deadly game where teenage curiosity meets ancient evil.
Genres: horror, supernatural, thriller, young-adult
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: monsters, survival
Setting: Africa
Period: 20th-century
534 pages · Hardcover · Cemetery Dance Pubns
Content warnings: violence