Creepypasta - Spinworld

When I was little there used to be an amusement park on the outskirts of my hometown. It wasn't large, but it did serve its purpose as a fun little distraction during the weekends. Since it was a small amusement park in an even smaller town it didn't make a whole lot of money; you could tell from the fallen decor, cheap prizes and unenthused carnies. Despite that, it did earn enough to stay in business.

The park was your standard affair: it had a couple of shooting ranges; a cotton candy-stand; a merry-go-round; a haunted mansion-ride and even a small roller-coaster, to name a few. The attractions were scattered across an open field, with a big plot of grass left empty in the middle of it all. We assumed that the reason behind that was so people could move around more freely; a plaza of sorts, you could almost say. However, as it turned out, the reason behind this structure was something completely different altogether.

This wouldn't come to light until several years later, when an announcement was made that a brand new attraction would come sometime in the near future. Exactly what it was wasn't revealed right away; no names or pictures were shown to the public. All we got to know was that it was big, loud and totally hilarious, and it was going to put the town on the map. The hype of this new elusive machine was so large and exaggerated, one could easily mistake it as the anticipation for the return of Jesus or something.

Now, since I grew up with the park I had a nostalgic connection to it, so when the announcement was made I - unadmittedly - got some of that childlike wonder back; I honestly couldn't wait for the new attraction to come. But sadly, I wouldn't be around to see the premiere as I had to move to a bigger town to study at a university. However, my family stayed behind, and would often keep me updated on certain affairs through correspondence. But they weren't as interested in the amusement park as I was, so the only things they would tell me about it was that the new attraction had arrived and that it was an apparent success.

I wouldn't hear another word about the park until after my graduation, when I moved back to my hometown. I remember the warm welcome I received by my friends and family; they were standing outside the train station, holding balloons, signs and parcels. They all had big smiles on their faces, and they greeted me with hugs, hi-fives, pats on the back and handshakes. I had a grand time reconnecting with my childhood friends, passing around some stupid jokes and exchanging old memories. One of the girls even gave me a necklace she had made out a piece of string and some shells; it was honestly one of the most genuine gifts I had ever received. At that moment, I had completely forgotten about the park.

After everything had settled down, my mother declared that we should head back home and prepare for the Homecoming supper. Since our house was on the other side of town, we had a long walk ahead of us. I honestly didn't mind, because I wanted to see how much the town had changed since I last saw it.

The town looked... pretty much the same; there were very minor changes like the peeling paint on some of the older houses and a slight increase in the number of tombstones in the graveyard. The most subtle of changes must've been the fact that the post office was a different shade of brown.

When I noticed all these things, I began thinking about the amusement park again, and much like before, my childlike wonder rekindled my intrigue. I was finally home to see the thing that has been in the back of my mind for the last couple of years. It was only a matter of time before we heard the loud noises and upbeat music; it was only a matter of time before we could see the bright and colorful lights; it was only a matter of time before we would make that right turn and pass by the grassy fields...

But the closer we came... I heard nothing. Absolutely nothing. The music wasn't there, not even the faintest sound of it, and the bright lights didn't light up the sky. When we finally made the right turn and walked towards the field... the only thing that was there was a white tarp, covering what looked like something in the shape of a circus tent. Everything else? Gone. There was absolutely nothing else left.

As you probably can imagine, it felt so weird looking at that field right then and there. That image you've had in your mind ever since childhood didn't match up with reality anymore. Now the spot that used to hold the very things that made children of your generation laugh heartily was a vacant void... and in the middle of it all: a white tent.
I was seriously about to ask someone what had happened, but I also didn't feel like spoiling the mood. After all: I had a lot of time on my hands at the moment, so I held off investigating until the day after.

It was a sleepless night that night. I lay in bed, twisting and turning, trying in vain to find a comfortable position. Right around the same moment when I had finally found something, the clock was about 5:31 in the morning. I looked out the window, and saw that the sun was about halfway over the horizon. I figured that trying to fall asleep at this hour was kind of pointless, and I felt that the sooner I got some answers, the quicker I could let it go. So I got up, got dressed, went outside and headed for the tent.

Now, when I say: "get some answers", I mainly meant that I wanted to know what it was that the park left behind. To be honest, I thought it was the fabled new attraction, but the problem with that theory was that it didn't make a whole lot of sense; why would they spend God knows how much money on the calculated cash cow, and then just not bring it with them? Was it too big to bring along? Was it broken? Was it because it costed too much to maintain? Did they sell it to someone, and the new owners forgot to claim it? The more I thought about it, the more perplexed I got.

As it turned out, I was right: The thing under the tarp was the brand new machine that would make the town flourish. As I pulled away the tarp, I saw a massive and beautifully crafted contraption, painted with the most lushous shades of purple and yellow, and with coloured lights all over. Above the entrance, there was a sign:

"Spinworld"

It didn't take much thinking to figure out what to expect with a name like that. To make it even more interesting, there was a sign on the side of the entrance as well, that stated the following:

"These rules must be followed"

"1. You must be at least 15 years or older to ride"

"2. Only 50 customers per ride"

"3. Please keep a safe distance to your fellow riders"

"4. Do not bring food or drinks with you"

"5. Take off your shoes"

"6. No pushing"

"7. If you are sensitive to motion sickness, we advice you not to ride"

"8. You can't ride if you are suffering from heart decease or epilepsy"

"9. You can't ride if you are pregnant"

"10. The park takes no responsibility for lost items. Keep them close to you at all times"

With that, I just had to go inside. It didn't sound like your typical spinning carousel: I mean, "Keep a safe distance?" "No pushing?" "Heart decease and epilepsy?" I don't know about you, but I have rarely seen a spinning carousel with such elaborate and - mostly - out of place safety rules. I mean, some of these rules felt more at home with attractions that go really fast, like a rollercoaster, and some rules were more at home in attractions where you stand up and have free movement at all time, like in a bouncing castle or something. The two scenarios weren't exactly what I imagined with a name like that, but I promised whoever that I would be genuinely surprised if they managed to combine them.

But upon opening the door and inspecting the insides, I had no idea on what to make of it. To my surprise, it didn't look like what I would define as a carousel; I was looking into a big and dark circular room, with padded walls and a padded floor. There were no seats or safety belts anywhere, and on the opposite side of the entrance there was another door (which I assumed was the exit). I don't know what to call it or even how to react to it, to tell you the truth. It looked so bizarre and unlike anything I had ever seen before, and there was no real indication as to what this would do when put into motion. I assumed it would spin somehow, but the lack of anything mystified me.

As I stood by the door, taking in the weird nature of this, I heard a random "click" somewhere in the room. Then a low humming started up, the room lit up with warm colours and a jolly tune started playing. While I was about to question the fact that it was still operational and just leave it be, it had this warm and enticing feel to it, which made me want to go inside. I figured that if anything, I would probably get a free ride, which I thought was a pretty sweet deal. With that, against my better judgment, I went inside, and closed the door behind me.

I would instantly regret this, because when I set my feet onto the floor, it started rotating. It started off slowly, and kept gaining speed by each passing second. By the time I had reached the middle point, it rotated so fast that all the colours in the room sort of blended together. The lights flickered in all sorts of colour combinations, ranging from red to yellow and from blue to purple. After a while, I even noticed that all the colours at one specific spot slowly but surely turned into a pale shade of white, that only got more and more prominent for each spin. I felt dizzy and the brightness of it all stung my eyes, causing my vision to become even more blurry. It was a very uncomfortable experience, and I had no idea how this hellish torture device would attract anyone. I couldn't stand being there anymore, and I wasn't willing to wait for the ride to end; I had to leave. But it was too hard to find the exit at this speed. With the white spot almost covering all of my vision, I closed my eyes and lunged in a random direction, and as luck would have it, I barged through one of the doors.

I didn't open my eyes for another minute or so, but I could tell that I was resting against some grass. I panted like a sweaty dog, my heart was racing like crazy and I was on the verge of breaking down; what a relief! I didn't think that an attraction like this could cause such extreme displeasure, but it just goes to show how wrong you can be at times. After relaxing and letting all the stress subside, I realized that the music had toned down into silence. I opened my eyes and stood up, turning my attention to the big hole I left in the wooden door. The carousel had stopped, and all the lights had long since dimmed. The floor had stopped spinning, and it looked exactly like it did when I first entered. I was ready to accept the unpleasant nature of the attraction as the reason behind its abandonment...

... if I hadn't spotted the white ghost in the middle of the room.