Author's Notes: Scooby Doo and all related characters and trademarks are copyright 2010 Hanna-Barbera Productions/Warner Brothers/Cartoon Network; as always I do not plan on making any money off of this story, I am just a fan.

Chapter 1

Hello to all my fans and readers, thank you for all your support since I started writing Fan Fiction and thank you for reviewing all my stories, I read all your reviews and I greatly appreciate them.

This is one of several one shot ideas for Fan Fics that I came up with, I hope everyone enjoys them; the idea for this story came to me actually a couple days ago, it takes place during the Scooby Doo Where Are You? Episode Bedlam in the Big Top; basically I got to thinking that in later years it's revealed that Velma has a fear of clowns, however in the aforementioned episode the villain is the Ghost Clown, but Velma is not afraid of him, this is my idea of why she was not afraid of him and how she conquered her fears.

The story basically picks up after Mr. Barnstorm talked to the gang, only it's a little different from the original TV episode, but I think everybody will still like it.

It all started fairly simply for the group of four high school students and their Great Dane Scooby Doo, the four youngsters named Fred Jones, Velma Dinkley, Daphne Blake and Norville "Shaggy" Rogers along with their pet and mascot were traveling down the road in their psychedelically painted van the Mystery Machine.

So far the four amateur sleuths and their canine, unofficially known as Mystery Inc. had solved a few cases around their hometown, all involving crooks who would dress up in scary costumes and would pull all sorts of Halloween hocus pocus to try and scare people away from whatever asset or treasure the villain would try and steal.

Being high school students with classes during the week, along with social lives and other activities, such as cheerleading for various sports teams at the school for Daphne and Velma (who was dragged by the red headed member of the group into trying out for), Football for Fred, and Gymnastics and Track for Shaggy, mystery solving was low on the group's totem pole as far as activities were concerned.

However, seeing as how the members of the group were fairly independent for high school students and their parents didn't mind them solving mysteries that much, only after their studying, practices and chores were done, the four teenagers and their Great Dane were always glad to solve a case for anyone, involving anything for that matter.

Of course being teenagers, they never got paid for any cases they solved, considering they weren't professionals; however, many of the state's law enforcement agencies had learned of the group's prowess for solving crimes and were always willing to cooperate and assist the amateur sleuths whenever possible.

Most of Mystery Inc.'s cases had to be worked around their schedule of high school activities, that is to say most of the mysteries Scooby Doo and his friends had stumbled on so far were weekends, during the evening hours after the teens had completed their scheduled activities, and on holidays like Halloween, which was one of the group's favorites as they enjoyed dressing up in costumes and attending the school's or community's activities.

Coincidentally one of the times the gang liked to travel is how they were driving down a seemingly deserted stretch of road when the occupants of the Mystery Machine noticed two men on a broken bicycle going in opposite directions down the road; after a crash, one of the men was knocked to the ground while the other was flung into a tree, thinking quickly Scooby Doo stood underneath the tree and as the man's grasp was slipping he fell right onto the Great Dane's back.

After the two men brushed themselves off and thanked the gang, they explained to the curious teenagers and their canine that they were Samson the Strong Man and Max the Midget, two employees of a nearby circus, who had quit said attraction; the two men then explained to the gang that the circus was jinxed and warned the group to leave the area as soon as possible.

Curiosity getting the better of the group, they decided to travel to the circus grounds and spoke with the ringmaster of the circus, a man named Mr. Barnstorm, who was upset to hear that Max and Samson had quit; he then proceeded to tell the gang that without the two men whom they had met earlier, his circus would be unable to open for the year.

Fred, the unofficial leader of the group then asked Mr. Barnstorm about something that Samson and Max had said about a jinx at the circus, the ringmaster then obliged Fred by explaining that the circus was haunted by a ghost clown, and while he had been lurking about, mysterious things began happening at the circus, like trapeze wires coming undone and lions acting like scared pussycats.

As Fred, Daphne, Velma. Shaggy and Scooby Doo sit and speak with Mr. Barnstorm, their curiosity continues to become piqued and they begin asking the ringmaster other questions about the circus, such as about other employees and what motive someone could have to close a circus, finally Fred makes a decision and informs the ringmaster of his intentions.

"Mr. Barnstorm, my friends and I don't want your circus to close, in fact we would like to offer our services to you, if that's all right" Fred remarked.

"What kind of services?" Mr. Barnstorm asked.

"Well sir, we happen to be amateur sleuths who specialize in the supernatural and I think this case might be right up our alley" Daphne replied.

"I don't know kids, that Ghost Clown could be dangerous and I wouldn't want any of you to get hurt" Mr. Barnstorm said, sounding quite concerned for the group's safety.

"Don't worry Mr. Barnstorm, we're very good at taking care of ourselves and we think we can solve this case for you" Velma replied.

"Hmm… well, no one else has offered to investigate these occurrences, and the police haven't been much help, although I'm still unsure about this" Mr. Barnstorm remarked, looking as if he was deep in thought.

"Like don't worry Mr. Barnstorm, Scooby and I are pretty fast, so we can outrun that creepy clown in case her tries to capture us" Shaggy replied.

"Reah, re ron't ratch us" Scooby added.

"Well, if you kids and your dog insist, then I have no problems with you investigating the grounds and trying to solve the mystery" Mr. Barnstorm relented.

"Thank you Mr. Barnstorm, you won't regret this and don't worry, we'll stop this Ghost Clown before he wreaks anymore havoc" Fred said as he stood up and shook the ringmaster's hand.

"I certainly hope so, now I have some things I need to get done, so you five can go ahead and start your search" Mr. Barnstorm said as he began walking away towards the exit of the tent.

"Don't worry Mr. Barnstorm, we'll catch this Ghost Clown for you, believe us when we say that your circus will open this year on time" Fred called as the ringmaster left the tent.

"Well, like there he goes" Shaggy remarked.

"Right, and now it's time for us to get started on solving this mystery" Fred replied.

"L-like I w-wonder what this Ghost Clown looks like and what he's capable of?" Shaggy asked nervously.

"Well the only way to find that out is to look for clues: Daphne, you and I will search the Animal tent, the Costume tent and the other areas that we might find something, while Velma, you, Shaggy and Scooby check the big top, if there's any clues or if you see the Ghost, don't let him out of your sight, okay?" Fred explained.

"Right, come on guys" Velma said as she, Shaggy and Scooby began searching the big top, while Fred and Daphne headed out of the tent towards the costume and animal areas.

"Zoinks, like this tent is huge, how are we ever going to find any clues?" Shaggy inquired.

"Simple Shaggy, we split up: you and Scooby take one side, and I'll take the other" Velma replied.

"Like are you sure Velma? What if something happens to you?" Shaggy asked nervously, knowing that he would never forgive himself if something happened to Velma, considering the two were dating.

"Don't worry Shaggy, I'll be fine and I can take care of myself" Velma said as she gave Shaggy a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Like I hope so Velma, I really hope so" Shaggy replied with a smile on his face; with that Shaggy and Scooby went in one direction to search the tent, while Velma began walking in the other direction to begin her search.

"Rhaggy, rou really rove her ron't rou?" Scooby inquired.

"Like of course I do Scooby, she's smart, she's pretty, her eyes are beautiful, and she's wonderful; by the way, are you sure you're okay with us dating Scooby?" Shaggy asked.

"Rof rourse Rhaggy, ri rnow rhat reople rike to rate rand reople rike raving royfriends and rirlfriends, rust rike rogs rometimes rall in rove" Scooby replied.

"Somehow I thought you would say that, now come on let's look for that Ghost Clown" Shaggy remarked as he and the cowardly Great Dane headed of in search of the gang's latest foe.

Meanwhile on the other side of the tent Velma was searching for any sign of the spectral clown that had been making so much mischief at Mr. Barnstorm's circus, but had been unsuccessful, at least for the moment; however, as she searched along the back of the tent among the lion cages, Velma was unaware that she was about to receive a visit from the villainous clown himself, who was plotting to make the young woman a part of the circus.

As she examined one of the cages for any signs of worn or broken metal, or anything that might give her a clue, she heard a faint rustling sound, which sounded to her like someone besides her was in the tent so she turned around to try and figure out what it was; at first she thought it was Shaggy and Scooby, but she knew they were searching on the other side of the tent, so she shrugged it off as nothing and turned back around to search the cages.

However after she turned around, she was unaware that someone wearing a red clown's outfit, complete with hat, nose and makeup was slowly approaching her from behind; the figure walked stealthily, almost silently up to behind Velma, or he would have been silent of it weren't for the fact that his shoes rustled the straw that was on the ground of this area of the tent.

Once Velma heard this sound, her instincts told her to immediately turn and see who was in the tent with her, which she did, although as she turned around she could now see that she was face to face with the Ghost Clown, which made her quite nervous, even though she was one of the bravest members of the team of high school aged sleuths

The bespectacled young woman stood in fear of the man with the clown makeup on his face and was speechless on what to say to the man, although for a moment she thought about screaming for someone to come help her, but that was a moot point because before she could let out a sound, the man's gloved hand was clamped over the young woman's mouth, which frightened her to no end.

"I'm sorry I had to do that miss, but I don't want to let anyone know that I'm here; now I'm going to take my hand away from your mouth and then you can speak to me, okay?" the man asked; Velma then nodded and the man relented, taking his hand away from her mouth.

"Why d-did you d-do that?" Velma asked nervously, now being able to speak again.

"Like I told you miss, I don't want anyone to know I'm here" the man replied.

"Well that's going to be difficult considering you're, you're the ghost c-clown" Velma said, her hands shaking as she spoke.

"Yes, I am the ghost clown; and I have my reasons for being here, which I cannot divulge to you, miss… what is your name by the way?" the ghost clown asked.

"I-it's Velma" the young woman replied.

"Velma, that's a very nice name" the ghost clown remarked.

"T-thank you" Velma replied, still nervous as she spoke.

"Tell me Velma, you look a bit nervous and your hands seem a bit shaky; you seem to be nervous about something, would you mind if I asked what it is?" the ghost clown inquired.

"Well, it is kind of unusual for a ghost to ask me what's the matter but all right; it's just t-that, well I'm kind of afraid of clowns, I have a phobia of them" Velma replied.

"Afraid of clowns? But Velma my dear, why would you be afraid of clowns? Clowns are fun and lovable, why would you be afraid of something like that?" the ghost clown inquired.

"I just am, a lot of people are afraid of clowns and I'm no different" Velma replied, fighting the urge to scream in front of the ghost clown.

"Well, maybe you can tell me why you're afraid of clowns, and then maybe I can help you" the ghost clown stated.

"I doubt that, but I g-guess I can tell you; there were two moments in my life, both when I was a little girl that made me afraid of clowns, one was when I was 8, I went to a friend's birthday party and there was a clown there; after he got done performing, he went through the backyard to leave, there was a pool in the backyard and he slipped on the water and fell in, everybody ran to try and help him but it was too late, he drowned right in my friend's pool" Velma explained, her nerves still shaking as she spoke.

"Oh dear, that must have been very traumatic for you Velma, now what was the other occurrence?" the ghost clown asked.

"The other was when I was 11, I had gotten a new encyclopedia set for my birthday, I was so excited because I love books; but my mom got a clown to entertain at my birthday party, and he used a paper shredder as a prop, I guess you can tell what happened then" Velma replied.

"Oh, I see; well, that's in the past my dear, you shouldn't be afraid of something that happened in the past, you should like clowns because they are a lot of fun and entertaining, plus they're lovable, enjoyable and they put smiles on lots of little children's faces" the Ghost Clown explained.

"Well maybe they do, but not me; now if you don't mind, I'm going to tell my friends about you and they will come and find you" Velma replied.

"I really wish that you wouldn't do that just yet, because from what you just told me, I might be able to help you my dear" the Ghost Clown remarked.

"Help me? How can you possibly help me?" Velma asked.

"I'm glad you asked, you see I have something that might be able to alleviate your problem, or get rid of it for good; would you like to see it?" the ghost clown inquired.

"I suppose so, just don't try anything" Velma replied.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of trying anything" the Ghost Clown remarked; the strange man then retrieved a small golden coin hanging from a string, as he brought it out to show Velma, the bespectacled young woman was a bit entranced by the strange object, so she decided to ask the man about it.

"What exactly is that anyway?" Velma inquired.

"This? Well, you see this is a gold coin; it's unlike any other in the world, because with it I can hypnotize anyone I choose, I can make anyone do anything that I want, anytime I want" the Ghost Clown replied.

"Wow, I might have to try something like that on my boyfriend some time" Velma quipped.

"If you did, I wouldn't tell anyone; now, with this gold coin, I might be able to help you get over your fear of clowns, but you must do something for me" the Ghost Clown replied.

"That depends, what is it?" Velma questioned.

"If I were to use this gold coin on you, when the trance is broken, you must not tell anyone, not even your friends that I talked to you, because if you were to tell anyone about our conversation, I would get in a lot of trouble" the Ghost Clown explained.

"Hmm… well, it would be nice to not have a fear of clowns any more, and it would be nice to alleviate some of my other fears as well, so I suppose I could let you use the coin on me and hypnotize me" Velma replied.

"Good, good; now, you don't mind being in a trance correct?" the Ghost Clown asked.

"Well, if it's part of being hypnotized, then no I don't" Velma replied.

"Wonderful, and yes being in a trance would be part of the hypnotism; also, there is something else I might be able to do for you" the Ghost Clown remarked.

"Besides hypnotizing me and getting rid of my fear of clowns, what else could you do?" Velma asked.

"Well, you strike me as a young woman who wants to be the center of attention, you want to have all the credit for figuring out something complicated, but no one pays attention to you, am I right?" the Ghost Clown explained.

"My friends do give me a lot of attention, and they do listen to me when I'm explaining something; although Shaggy, my boyfriend is another story, I mean he likes me but he pays a lot of attention to Scooby Doo as well, that's his Great Dane and our group mascot" Velma replied.

"Oh yes, I do remember hearing that you and your friends were amateur sleuths when you were talking to the ringmaster earlier" the Ghost Clown remarked.

"How did you? Wait, you were listening in on our conversation weren't you?' Velma asked, with a shocked tone in her voice.

"Yes, I was, but it was only because I wanted to know if I could trust you; you seemed to be responsible, so that's why I looked for you; now would you like to know what else I can do for you or not?" the Ghost Clown stated, sounding quite annoyed with the young woman.

"Oh very well, go ahead and tell me what else you can offer; before I call my friends and Mr. Barnstorm here and I tell them what's going on" Velma replied, folding her arms in annoyance.

"Good, I'm glad you decided to listen to me; now, as I mentioned before you seem like a young lady who wants to be the center of attention, you want to be a leader, not a follower, am I right?" the Ghost Clown clarified.

"I'm listening, and I'm curious as to what you're talking about sir" Velma replied.

"Fine, now what would you say if I could provide you with an opportunity to be the center of attention, in addition to be cured of your clown phobia" the Ghost Clown replied.

"That depends on what you mean by the center of attention" Velma remarked.

"Very simple, all I would like to do is use my gold coin on you, which will hypnotize you and put you in a trance, then I will give you hypnotic suggestions which will tell you to be unafraid of clowns anymore, in addition I will use my coin to make you the star of the entire circus, all the eyes of the big top will be on you including Shaggy's" the Ghost Clown replied.

"Now that sounds wonderful, his gaze would be locked on me no matter what; and I would be the only thing he would be watching, well except for food of course" Velma said dreamily.

"Ah, I take it the idea strikes your fancy, does it not?" the Ghost Clown asked.

"Yes it does, now how would I be the star of the circus and how would it make me the center of attention?" Velma responded with a question of her own.

"Well, as you may or may not know, in any circus the star of the show and the person who gets the most attention is the ringmaster; now, what would you say if I were to make you the ringmaster of this very circus, would that make you happy?" the Ghost Clown asked.

"Hmm… being a ringmaster and being cured of my Clown Phobia…" Velma replied, as she began thinking to herself.

"So, what do you think my dear? Do we have a deal?" the Ghost Clown asked.

"Well, I've been hoping to get rid of my phobia and I would love to be the center of attention, so… okay, I'll do it" Velma replied.

"So we have ourselves a deal?" the Ghost Clown asked.

"Yes, we have a deal" Velma replied as she reached over to shake the Ghost Clown's hand; the young woman smiled as she prepared to be put under a trance by the strange man, who held up the shining gold coin to her face.

The Ghost Clown then prepared to speak once again, informing Velma of what she needed to fulfill her end of the bargain with the mysterious villain; the strange ghost clown smiled as he prepared to give Velma her hypnotic instructions, hoping that she would listen to them to the letter.

"Now my dear, watch the pretty going of gold, and you will do as you are told; you were afraid of clowns for a long time, but that will no longer happen in your mind, when you see a clown you will chuckle, because clowns are friendly, fun and wonderful for everyone" the Ghost Clown said, while as soon as the Ghost started his suggestion, the young woman's eyes were unmoving and unblinking as she listened intently to his words.

"I understand, I will no longer be afraid of clowns" Velma replied in a trance like voice.

"Good, and now for the second portion of my hypnotic suggestion; now watch the pretty coin of gold, and you will once again do as you are told, you are a star and that's a fact, the center of attention is where you will be at, so with these words I do beckon, I hereby proclaim you the ringmaster for many a second" the Ghost Clown said as the young woman's eyes remained unmoving and unblinking, in fact at that moment it looked as if a strange sparkle or glow twinkled in front of her eyes, keeping her under the ghost clown's power.

"Now my dear, let's prepare you for your debut as a ringmaster" the ghost clown remarked as he led the young woman away, with her eyes still unblinking and unmoving all the while.

Meanwhile Shaggy and Scooby were continuing their search in the middle of the big top, the two of them looked over everything in the tent including all manner of animal cages, props and other miscellaneous circus items, but didn't find a single thing, so the cowardly pair walked over to a wooden platform and sat down to rest for a few minutes.

"Like I don't get it Scoob, we haven't found a single thing so far; there's no sign of the Ghost Clown anywhere in the Big Top, it's almost as if he's trying really hard to stay hidden" Shaggy remarked.

"Reah Rhaggy, raybe re roesn't rant us ro rind rhim" Scooby replied.

"Maybe Scooby, maybe; but we have to keep looking for him, I mean he has to be somewhere on the grounds right?" Shaggy inquired.

"Right Rhaggy" Scooby replied.

"Like that's the spirit, come on Scoob let's keep looking for that creepy clown" Shaggy said; the cowardly teenager and the chicken hearted Great Dane then got up from the wooden platform and were just about to resume their search when they noticed that some of the house lights in the Big Top were beginning to turn on.

"Rhaggy, rook!" Scooby exclaimed as he pointed skyward; sure enough as Shaggy looked towards where Scooby was motioning, they both noticed that the house lights were brightening and that they were forming what seemed to be a spotlight.

However the two of them were quite perplexed as they watched the lights dance across the tent, to them it looked the spotlights were signifying that there was going to be a performance of one of the members of the circus, or at least that's what it appeared to be, if it weren't for the fact that Mr. Barnstorm informed them that all the performers of the circus had quit because of the jinx, and the Ghost Clown.

The spotlights then lowered towards the floor of the tent and the center ring, where there seemed to be someone standing in the shadows; as Shaggy and Scooby stood and watched this occurrence take place, they were clearly confused, while trying to figure out who this mysterious person was and what they were doing in the tent; at first Shaggy and Scooby figured this was the Ghost Clown himself, but they were surprised and stunned when the person stepped out from the shadows into the light.

The specific reason why Shaggy and Scooby were surprised was that the person who stood in the center ring was wearing a dark red top hat, a dark orange ringmaster's vest and uniform as well as dark red ringmaster's pants; as soon as the person stepped out into the light Shaggy exclaimed in shock, as he and the Great Dane instantly recognized the individual, who for some unexplainable reason looked like a circus ringmaster, when she was clearly not one at all.

"Zoinks! I-it's Velma!" Shaggy declared.

Author's Notes: I thought about making this a one chapter story, but once I got started things kind of got away from me, so I decided to make this a two chapter story; hopefully everyone likes it and also this second chapter might be a bit shorter then the first, but I still hope that people will read this and review it as usual.