The Jackson County Fair

In my travels late one night 
upon a country road
Across the fields and in the distance 
something surely glowed

Perhaps a fire over there? 
Though I could smell no smoke
'Go and take a closer look' 
a voice inside me spoke

The road ahead, by happenstance 
directly brought me there
And I beheld to my surprise 
a lovely county fair

The smells and sounds and all the rides
were such a welcome sight
And yet it seemed so out of place
for this late hour of night

The time upon my watch had read
eleven forty five
Yet this old fair was in full swing
and very much alive

I looked around nostalgically
while thinking of my youth
I walked past games and rides galore
and saw a kissing booth

The cotton candy was so cheap
I bought some for a taste
It was so stale and very dry
my quarter went to waste

But something didn't feel quite right
as I looked 'round the place
I saw expressions so devoid
of life on every face

Not only that, but all their clothes
seemed years, no decades old
And suddenly this summer night
began to feel quite cold

They stared at me, so quizzically
I did the same right back
And a little child glared at me
with eyes of solid black

A sudden chill went up my spine
as they all gathered 'round
And then an eerie stillness came
as nothing made a sound

A gust of wind came whipping through
striking me with violence
And in a flash the fair was gone
leaving me in silence

Just then I looked upon my watch
twelve midnight was the time
I peered around that darkened field
in horror so sublime

I made my way back to my car
so shaken to the core
The nighttime air was warm again
just like it was before

And that was when I noticed
the For Sale sign by the road
a weather beaten witness
to an evil it forebode

The next day at a diner
I approached an elder local
and asked about that property
and he became quite vocal

'We used to have a fair out there
but that was long ago
The tragedy of '59
was quite a horror show'

'A gas explosion burned it down
killing sixty five
and I was with the lucky ones
who made it out alive'

I asked him what the date was
when the accident occurred
And recognition crossed his face
before he said a word

'Well son, now that you mention it
I knew that date was soon
Just yesterday marked sixty years
the 24th of June'

'Oh my God' I said in fear
and slowly walked outside
'All those folks I saw last night
were all the ones that died'

In my car that fateful night
upon that country road
I wish I'd never gone to see
that thing that surely glowed

And you may not believe me
but I saw it, I was there
That ghostly reenactment of
The Jackson County Fair


© Mike Wise
2/21/19

Tags: Weird, Fear, Dark, Scary,