In The Tale of Laughing in the Dark , Zeebo is the famous mascot and main attraction of the Laughing in the Dark spook house at Playland amusement park. In 1924, he was a clown who stole the money from the circus he was working at and was chased into Laughing in the Dark. The spook househad a fire while he was in it, probably because he threw out a cigar, and he died. When Laughing in the Dark was rebuilt, a Zeebo face decorated the entrance at a dummy of him was placed at the end as the most famous one, with its recorded laugh audible all the way outside.The spookhouse gets a reputation for being haunted for real by Zeebo, though Josh doesn't believe it as Weegee and Kathy do, and teases them. When Weegee challenges Josh to prove he himself isn't hiding fear by entering Laughing in the Dark on his own, Josh acts as Zeebo before a funhouse mirror then briefly sees the ghost. After it's disappeared, he calls to the odd carney outside that he knows what trick he's playing. At the end, Josh is scared by the dummy but, to prove he went through the whole ride, resolves to take its nose for Weegee to wear. The dummy seems to lean toward him as it reaches for it, though Josh reasons that's normal, steals the nose, and leaves laughing and mocking Zeebo. After he goes, smoke can be seen blowing from the closed door the dummy is kept behind.The next day, after Josh retrieves the nose Weegee threw in his yard and goes in with Kathy tired of Josh's boasting and taunting, Josh smells cigar smoke. He doesn't see anyone around, but Zeebo can be heard laughing where he secretly watches. That evening, Josh gets a phone call from Zeebo using his clown voice to order him to return the nose. Josh finds the spaghetti he put in the microwave now has cigars in it and the pudding he spilled has a Z drawn in it. Panicked, he locks himself in his room and phones Weegee, learning he didn't call acting as Zeebo. Someone picks up a phone on their conversation and Weegee says it must be on Josh's end since he doesn't have more than one phone, and Zeebo threatens to come claim the nose if Josh won't return it. Josh escapes out the window, returns to the now-silent spookhouse, and sets a bag before Zeebo's door but finds the exit locked. To prove he came through, he shows the bag holds not only the nose but some cigars for Zeebo. Zeebo's door opens revealing it's empty but the exit opens and Josh runs out. Zeebo's door then reopens and the dummy sticks his head out, and outside the carney laughs smoking a cigar, giving the impression that he might have been the ghost of Zeebo. Show less «