Nightmare circus

Beneath the blood-red silk tent of the Circus of Eternal Shadows , logic was nothing but a bad memory. At its center, enveloped in a velvet frock coat that seemed to absorb the torchlight, stood Nightmare . He was not a man, though he dressed like the most elegant of gentlemen. His face was usually hidden behind a cracked porcelain mask, and from his back sprouted filaments of darkness that moved independently, like tentacles of smoke.
Nightmare didn't consider himself a jailer, but a collector of misunderstood wonders . For him, the outside world was the true horror because of its monotony. "Come one, come all," he would whisper in a voice that vibrated straight into the bones of the spectators. "Here, what you call a nightmare is our only currency. "Nightmare presented his "children" with almost paternal pride, though his affection was as sharp as a razor: Lira, the Bone Weaver : A creature with four arms and elongated fingers who played a harp made from the ribs of ancient giants. The music wasn't heard; it was felt like a shiver running down the spine.
Vaelth, the Reflection Devourer: A faceless being who lived within a labyrinth of mirrors. Nightmare allowed the brave to enter, but warned that Vaelth always took the best part of the visitor's reflection.
The Garden of Chimeras: Creatures that were half botanical, half beast; flowers that roared and wolves with mossy fur that exhaled narcotic pollen
One night, a young aristocrat tried to buy the freedom of one of the creatures, a crystal-skinned nymph who wept diamonds. Nightmare approached him, his shadow growing until it covered the stands.

"Sir," Nightmare said, bowing his head unnaturally. "You believe she is a prisoner. But outside of here, she is a rare specimen to be dissected. Here, she is a goddess."