

In the morning, however, everything appears normal at the carnival except for the Mirror Maze. The experience is eerie and terrifying there is definitely something creepy up with this carnival. They follow the train to a meadow where the carnival sets up.

At three in the morning, Jim and Will are awakened by the sounds of a train and a calliope (sort of like a travelling piano). According to the handbill, the carnival will be arriving in town soon. Halloway have separate encounters with handbills for a carnival presented by Mr. The boys jog to the library that evening where they check out books and say hello to Will's father, a 54-year-old man who works as a janitor there. Will persuades Jim to install the rod, though Jim initially refuses, wanting to see what happens when the storm hits. He points to Jim's house as the victim and leaves a lightning rod behind for him to put up. Will and Jim are lying on the front lawn when a lightning-rod salesman comes by and warns them that lightning will strike one of their houses. The story begins on a lazy October afternoon. They were born one minute before and one minute after midnight, respectively, and are next-door neighbors.

The Prologue opens with a brief description of two thirteen-year-old boys: William Halloway and James Nightshade.
