Laugh, Clown, Laugh: 2

They drove a van and carried bags of candy and bright ballons, and bouquets of flowers exploded out from their oversized sleeves.
They had a machine in the back of that van that knocked kids out in under a second, and once you were unconscious, you never woke back up.
While you were out, but before you died, they took turns on your body.
Then they cut your throat.
And because they were clowns and their mouths were painted that way, they were always smiling.

From "Darkness, Take My Hand" by Dennis Lehane

Laugh, Clown, Laugh: 1

And Quaid knew, meeting the clown's vacant stare through an air turned bloody, that there was worse than dread. Worse than death itself. There was pain without hope of healing. There was life that refused to end, long after the mind had begged the body to cease. And worst, there were dreams come true.

From "Dread" by Clive Barker