The Fortune Teller | Sweetwater, Tennessee in 1968

Do Not Follow the Candy Man

You don’t want to go there

Anything you want You’ve come to the right man Because I’m the Candy Man Sammy Davis Jr.

Bazooka Gum, Bit-O-Honey, Blow Pops Candy Corn, Charms, Gumdrops

Come, children, come, Listen to the Candy Man.

Children harkened to his call. Come, boys and girls, one and all. You must taste the candies sweet, Fill up your hands with my treats.

Laffy Taffy, Sour Patch Kids, Lifesavers M& M’s, Tiny Tarts, Necco Wafers

Come, children, come, Follow the Candy Man.

The children did gather round, From the country and the town, Followed him through that red door, Boys and girls we saw no more.

You’ve met this woman at the wrong time. There will be no running from your crime. Goodbye, Candy Man.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin (German: Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the titular character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to the Middle Ages, the earliest references describing a piper, dressed in multicolored (“pied”) clothing, who was a rat-catcher hired by the town to lure rats away with his magic pipe.

When the citizens refuse to pay for this service as promised, he retaliates by using his instrument’s magical power on their children, leading them away as he had the rats……Wikipedia

I was in Sweetwater, a small rural town, hidden deep in Appalachia. My carnival, sponsored by the Lions Club, had set up for a four night stay. No place, no matter how small, is safe from predators. I knew what he was the moment I saw him. He was a monster who preyed on children, their innocence and eagerness to trust leaving them vulnerable to his charms. I am reluctant to use my powers except to heal and help, but I had to stop him. Deborah

This poem is told from the point of view of a fortune teller, named Deborah at this point in AD 1968. A combination of a curse and her own powers has allowed her to live many centuries and travel all over the world.

She has rescued children from a deadly enemy before.