Something Wicked This Way Comes
core novel 1962 Something Wicked This Way Comes
Record
| First published | 1962 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.89 (159,599 ratings, collected 2026-09-24) |
| Page count | 293 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9781501167713 |
Synopsis
In Green Town, Illinois, in the last days of October, two best friends on the edge of their fourteenth birthdays, cautious Will Halloway and restless Jim Nightshade, hear a carnival train pull in at three in the morning, long after the season for carnivals has passed. Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show seems ordinary enough by daylight, but the boys soon learn that its carousel adds a year to a rider's age with every turn forward and takes one away with every turn back. Its proprietor, the tattooed Mr. Dark, tempts the town's children and adults alike with promises of youth, adulthood or forbidden pleasures, at a terrible price. As the carnival turns its attention to the two boys, Will's aging father, Charles Halloway, the town librarian, becomes their unlikely ally against it.
Where it sits
- Universe: Something Wicked This Way Comes
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Ray Bradbury
Notes
- A dark carnival arrives in the small Illinois town of Green Town days before Halloween; two 13-year-old best friends discover its sinister, supernatural nature and the temptations it offers the townspeople.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/something-wicked-way-comes-ray-bradbury
- https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/something-wicked-way-comes-analysis-major-characters
- https://www.litcharts.com/lit/something-wicked-this-way-comes/summary
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