M is for Management:

The man (?) who purchased the Hyde & Teller Co. in 1918 and renamed it Carnivàle is referred to only as Management. He occupies a space in the rear of Samson's trailer and communicates his wishes through Samson. He is never heard or seen by the other carnival folk, but they accept his existence without question. That is, until Samson tells the carnies that they going South, off circuit, to depressed towns like Babylon that other carnivals refuse to play. Samson's bizarre instructions, combined with the tragic deaths of fellow troupe members, lead some to speculate Samson's lying and there really ain't no Management.

"What do you think, that I been lying to you all these years? That I been sitting next to you, telling stories, pulling the whole thing out of my ass? Is that what you think of me? If he don't want to be seen, then he ain't gonna be seen, I suppose. He can do that. He can do lots of things." - Samson (106)

N is for New Canaan:

In one of his visions, Justin foresees a massive building with radio towers. He decides to build a new church in this location. The church, he names The Temple of Jericho. The land, New Canaan. The area becomes a Christian compound of over 17,000 souls. Justin supplies his flock with food, shelter, medicine... and a lot of propaganda. In Jonesy's estimation, the preacher has built himself an army.

"Everyone in New Canaan has something in common. What brings us together, what bonds us as a community, is that everyone one of us at some point has been discarded. Thrown away like scraps. I know that you have been in hurt in the past. Thrown away. But you are with God's people now. You're safe here." - Iris (210)

O is for Old Cherry Blossom Road:

In the hills of Ingram, Texas, there is a road that leads to a house wherein dwells The Crone. Ben's cousins Lee, Alvin, Ern and B-Dub keep The Crone (Emma Hilton) locked in a bedroom on the second story of the house. According to Alvin, the old gal crazy as a shithouse rat. Like most women who give birth to Avatars, Emma went insane and killed nearly her whole family. Emma tells Ben about his father and their noble family line, which included her second husband Hilton... a friend of General Nate Forrest and mighty powerful Grand Dragon. (They had great plans for this country.) Emma then gives Ben the dagger required to kill The Usher and tells him to go where the dog and wolf howl at the moon.

"The night your daddy was born she went and got herself a boning knife. Killed every last one of them. Grandpa Hilton, Uncle Owen, Gilbert... Alvin Senior. She went bed to bed, slit their throats. After she was done she clawed her eyes out. In the morning they found her in the kitchen, sitting there, singing... Abide with Me." - Ern (203)

P is for (Dust) Pneumonia:

The dust storms that plagued the heartland caused the largest migration in the country's history. Some of the migrants, or Okies, settled in camps along the highways of Mintern, California and sought religion with Brother Justin's ministries. Justin considered the ecological disaster that was The Dust Bowl a "harbinger of the Apocalypse" but scientists would later blame the black blizzards on drought, high temperatures, wind erosion, and failures of crop and livestock management. Persons that inhaled unhealthy amounts of loose topsoil sometimes died of Dust Pneumonia. Becca Donovan of Tipton succumbed to this condition shortly after the carnival's arrival in her town. She refused the healing of Ben(jamin St. John) as she knew the costs associated with Avataric powers, having once romanced Henry Scudder.

"Sad thing about the Donovans. Used to own half this here town. Pretty nearly the only thing she's got left now is that big old house... and a shovel full of dust in her lungs." - Farmer (103)

Q is for Queen of the Gypsies:

Sofie's mother Apollonia Bojakshiya was a renowned seer on the Eastern seaboard. She was billed as "The Queen of the Gypsies" and is indeed Roma. Before joining the carnival, she and Sofie had a proper home in St. Paul, Minnesota where they did readings. After Apolonnia's onset of catatonia, the mother and daughter traveled as a tarot act. When Ben joins Carnivàle, Appy insists Sofie read the boy's cards. They are The Moon, Death and The Magician, reversed. The reading prompts Ben accept a truth: he has been squandering his talents for much too long. Although it appears Apollonia psychically feeds such hidden knowledge to Sofie, it is actually Sofie who has always read the cards.

"My mother always told me that my father left her. He didn't. He raped her. I saw it in my head like I hear her voice. She sees things that no one else does. The present, the past, it's all the same to her. And I'm starting to see it too." - Sofie (109)

R is for Roustabouts:

The men that tote junk off trucks, and set up tents and lights, are known as roustabouts. Affectionately, rousties. When Ben comes to the carnival, he joins their esteemed ranks despite Jonesy's disapproval. After the carnival leaves the circuit and starts setting up shows in the middle of nowhere, many of the roustabouts who haven't been paid since Milfay threaten to bolt. Jonesy implores Samson to talk to Management, but Samson knows that won't do a damn bit of good.

"Stick to telling the rousties where to put their tents. That's where your talent lies, little man." - Lodz (110)