Something Wretched This Way Comes - Wretched Darkness 1st Edition Rpg Solo Role Playing Session Report

 "As the title so obviously implies, this scenario is heavily inspired by Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked this Way Comes. Just like in Bradbury’s dark fantasy novel, there’s a mysterious travelling troupe arriving in a small town and granting people’s wishes. As in the source material, making the townsfolk’s desires come true is just a ruse for evil beings to feed upon their life force (and maybe a little more than that). Of course, the events will not be the same, the carnival is replaced by a European circus troupe, and this adventure allows the players to take the roles not only of children but also of the adults being tricked into submission or even the evil circus people" 

So it's Sunday and everyone is away today. My  players are doing family dinners and commitments. Even my wife has Halloween themed family  commitments. 
So what's a dungeon master to do?! Well one of the ways is to take a PC through the Wretched Darkness rpg campaign that I've been working on. I roll up a second level PC called Clive King whose a magus. Some equipment, a few finishing touches and we're off to the circus. 
The Red Room has updated and upgraded Something Wretched This Way Comes. And it's free for download at the moment. 
The demonic circus of Something Wretched This Way Comes stops by the little town of Hudsonville New York. My Wretched Darkness PC Clive King agent for the Legacy is on a mission to locate some missing children. Hudsonville has one of the largest missing kids problems on the East coast of the United States. 
This play session takes place during the early Eighties. I go to the circus grounds at night as the spectle is in full swing. 

My magus encounters a corpse just outside of the circus grounds buried in a shallow grave. The horror springs to unlife and then it's a matter of destroying the horror without alerting the circus. I knock the thing's head off with a lucky roll and the corpse falls. 
Plying deeper into the circus I come across a vampire clown feeding on an unlucky victim. And without even batting an eye we move on. There is no way that I want to take on a vampire at second level even if I've preparred rituals. And next I come face to face with workers who are milling around the bordello tents. A successful sneak roll and I'm around them. I note the chief of police, two city councilmen and one woman, and the mayor's assistant all attending the bordello. 
And this time I might be in deep trouble in between the trailers is very large spider monster feeding on a cop's corpse. He or she can't tell is incredibly brazen about it. And it's noticed me. I decide to run and that's when the webs hit! Three strands take my PC! 

Can I cut the webbing?! A couple of very lucky dice rolls says yes! 
And without thinking I blindly run and keep running until I'm at the end of the circus trailers. Did the thing see me?! 
And that's when I find seven or eight shallow child sized graves in the field. 
And I keep running back to my car which was parked a mile and a half away. And after a pain filled jog back. I run straight into the clowns there are four of them. 
They are armed with baseball bats and then the first one hisses at me revealing fangs. My PC has prepared two Daylight globe rituals and on my intiative I cast the first one rending one of the the things helpless. The second one doesn't take any mind & goes in for a quick hit. He misses because of the globe being at at -2 because of the globe. My next action is too shoot the third one which will distract and a hit! The second clown the  one who isn't gettin fried is trying to club me again. And hits and it hurts! And I can't take another hit like that. So my next action it try and remain conscious. Next round that third vamp is going to be back up. And my next round is another quick shot. And a hit! This isn't going to keep him down at all. And so I bring out a party favor in the form of a grenade and roll to stay conscious again. And destract the two with the fake grenade by dropping it. The first clown losses his action panicing as he sees the grenade. And that's my opportunity to hit with the second daylight globe.  Clown three is back to full strength as his buddy pleads with him to help him because the daylight globe is burning so bad. 
At this point I want to end this badly and roll to stay conscious and make it. Grabbing the gasoline from the back seat of the car I pour it on the ground from the three vampire clowns and then light the whole up. And then grab the hammer and stakes from the back trunk. Three vampire clowns staked out for the Sun! And that's that. 
Here's five things I got out of this session : 

1. I've got to tighten up the encounters and make the monsters far more agressive. 
2. The clues need to be creepy and have a mundane as well as supernatural meaning
3. The circus has to have ringers who are going to lure in the patrons into the special circus encounters.
4. Monsters have to be able to let go certain victims go. 
5. Modern OSR games require modern solution.