In the dusty town of Tonopah, Nevada, stands a place that has fascinated travelers, ghost hunters, and thrill seekers for decades. The Clown Motel is famous for its cheerful yet unsettling décor, its massive collection of clown memorabilia, and its location right next to a historic cemetery. Many visit for the novelty. Some come for the ghost stories. But in the hands of author Meg Infiorati-Fleming, this unusual place becomes the heart of a chilling and clever story in her book The Halloween Misfits Conference.
Meg has lived a life that feels like a novel on its own. She has been a paralegal, a software executive, a police officer, and an organizational psychologist. She has traveled the world, lived in Nepal, and collected experiences that most people can only dream of. These chapters of her life feed directly into her writing. She understands human behavior on a deep level, and she uses that skill to create characters and situations that feel real, even when they are strange and eerie.
In The Halloween Misfits Conference, the Clown Motel is not just a backdrop. It is a living, breathing presence in the story. It greets guests with smiling faces painted on walls and vintage clown dolls in glass cases. But behind the laughter, there are shadows. The book follows a rodeo clown named Danny and his wife Alison as they attend a Halloween event at the motel. What starts as a fun getaway turns into a series of unsettling events.
Meg Infiorati-Fleming draws on her background in psychology to make the horror feel deeper than simple jump scares. She shows how fear can start small, like a flicker in the corner of your eye or a note that feels too personal. The unease builds slowly. Guests are drawn into games, meals, and tours that seem harmless at first but begin to feel strange. People smile too much. Food tastes too good. Unusual pieces of gift shop memorabilia seem to appear where they weren’t before. The question grows in the reader’s mind: is this just part of the show, or is something else happening?
The Clown Motel itself adds to this uncertainty. It is a place where bright colors and playful décor should make you feel safe, yet somehow they make you uneasy. Meg plays with this contrast. She knows that fear is stronger when it comes from something familiar that feels wrong. This is not about monsters jumping out of closets. It is about the creeping thought that the people around you might not be what they seem.
Throughout the book, the characters face situations that test their sense of reality. A gift shop display moves when no one is looking. A friendly dinner turns into something that feels like a trap. A cemetery tour shows more than the guide intended. These moments are not only spooky; they make you wonder how easily you could be caught in a web like this yourself.
Meg’s talent lies in making the reader feel like they are part of the story. Her dialogue is sharp, her pacing pulls you forward, and her settings are vivid. Because she has seen so much of the world and studied how people think, her fiction has a layer of truth that makes the strange parts even more believable. You start to think, maybe this could happen. Maybe it has happened.
By setting her story in a real-world location like the Clown Motel, Meg also taps into its existing mystery. Anyone who knows about the motel will recognize its quirks, from the endless clown faces to its haunted reputation. This makes the book even more engaging for readers who love strange travel spots and unusual Americana. The motel becomes a character in its own right, full of charm and danger at the same time.
The Halloween Misfits Conference is not just about scares. It is about how people react when they are pushed into the unknown. It is about trust, perception, and the little details that can change everything. Meg Infiorati-Fleming has taken her love of eerie twists and created a story that leaves you questioning what is real long after you close the book.
If you have ever been curious about the line between fun and fear, this book invites you to cross it. Just be ready for the moment when the smiles start to feel too wide and the laughter lasts a little too long.
Step into The Halloween Misfits Conference by Meg Infiorati-Fleming and see if you can make it to the last page without second-guessing your own reality. Dare to visit the Clown Motel from the safety of your favorite reading chair…
Think you’re brave enough? Grab your copy today on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other top book platforms, and discover the chills everyone else is whispering about.