The Funhouse
Published: 1980
Author: Dean Koontz (written as Owen West)
Genre: American, Contemporary, Fiction, Ghost, Horror, Literature, Mystery, Psychological, Supernatural, Suspense, Thriller
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Summary
Ellen, a young woman fed up with being dominated by her meek father and psychotically pious mother, falls in love with Conrad, a traveling carnival barker, in 1955.
Despite her mother's protests, she joins the carnival and marries him. However, it rapidly becomes evident that Conrad is using Ellen to conceive the Antichrist, as she discovers he worships Satan.
She finally gives birth to a horribly disfigured baby while stuck at the fair since she cannot return to her parents.
The demonic baby assaults Ellen one stormy night. She smashes it just as Conrad returns home. Enraged, he beats but does not kill her, threatening to track her down and murder her own children one day. Ellen bolts into the darkness.
Amy becomes pregnant by her boyfriend in 1980. He refuses to raise or pay for the child's abortion. She hurries home, crying, to her pious, alcoholic mother, who is subsequently revealed to be Ellen.
Amy ultimately informs her mother she is pregnant, prompting her mother to hit her. She does, however, agree to pay for an abortion and accompany Amy to the doctor, but only to prevent Amy from "giving birth to the Antichrist."
Meanwhile, Amy's younger brother, Joey, is privately terrified of Ellen since she regularly enters his room late at night, drunkenly raving about how he may be a demon in disguise. He chooses to flee with a traveling fair that will be in town the following week.
Conrad's circus is discovered to be his. The other carnies try to convince the barker that he would never locate Ellen after years of looking, but he refuses to give up.
That night, a young couple is enticed to the carnival's funhouse, where they are disemboweled and half-devoured by Gunther, Conrad's demonic, monstrous kid from his affair with Madame Zena, the carnival's fortune teller. Conrad intends to murder Ellen's children with the help of Gunther.
Amy goes to Liz's Diner, where her promiscuous best friend works. Liz declares her intention to flee to Las Vegas and work as a call lady. She invites Amy to join her the morning after they return from the carnival.
During the day, Joey enters the fair and Conrad recognizes him as Ellen's child. Joey is terrified and lies when asked what his mother's name is. Conrad is upset, but he accepts his fate.
Conrad discovers Amy and Joey are Ellen's children after doing background checks on the town's people with the help of a private investigator.
Madame Zena is terrified when he explains his intention to lure them to the funhouse and murder them. He strangles her to death when she refuses to aid him with his plot.
Amy, Liz, and their dates, Buzz and Ritchie, visit the carnival that night. Joey flees home and goes to the carnival with the intention of escaping with it.
He tracks down Conrad and expresses his attraction to him. Before tying him up, the barker brings him to the funhouse and admits that he knows he lied about his mother.
The party arrives and boards at the funhouse. Conrad cuts the power midway through the journey, leaving the four teenagers stranded.
Gunther drags Richie away through a trap door before severing his head. The three others look for a way out.
Amy equips herself with a knife she found in a showcase. Liz continues alone inside the funhouse before being discovered by Gunther and dismembered in the basement. Conrad comes and shoots Buzz to death with a handgun. He has Joey with him, who is restrained by a rope leash. Amy manages to conceal the knife. She dupes Conrad into thinking she's going to console Joey before stabbing him in the throat and stealing his revolver.
Amy and Joey discover the cellar and descend, where Gunther attacks. Amy shoots him, and he falls into the funhouse's machines and is ripped apart. Amy drags Joey out of the funhouse and into the early light once they discover the exit.
Useful Search Related Words & Keywords
AMC Plus Horror, Amy And Joey, Character Development, Derek Power, Derek Powers, Edge Of Your Seat, Funhouse Loose Ends, Good Read, Jack McDermott, Koontz Books, Largo Woodruff, Long Time, Miles Chapin, Odd Thomas, Owen West, Shawn Carson, Stephen King, Steven Bernhardt, Tobe Hooper, Years Later
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