Few books capture the strange magic of October like Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. First published in 1962, this dark fantasy novel still stands as one of the best explorations of childhood fears, aging, temptation, and the sinister carnival lurking just beyond the safe borders of small-town life. It’s a story where the smell of cotton candy and popcorn can just as easily make your skin crawl as it can make your mouth water.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Back of Book Cover Blurb

From GoodReads:

One of Ray Bradbury’s best-known and most popular novels, Something Wicked This Way Comes, now featuring a new introduction and material about its longstanding influence on culture and genre.

For those who still dream and remember, for those yet to experience the hypnotic power of its dark poetry, step inside. The show is about to begin. Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. A calliope’s shrill siren song beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. Two boys will discover the secret of its smoke, mazes, and mirrors; two friends who will soon know all too well the heavy cost of wishes…and the stuff of nightmares.

Few novels have endured in the heart and memory as has Ray Bradbury’s unparalleled literary masterpiece Something Wicked This Way Comes. Scary and suspenseful, it is a timeless classic in the American canon.

–Something Wicked This Way Comes (by Ray Bradbury) (on GoodReads)

The Setup: October Comes Early

Bradbury drops us right into Green Town, Illinois—a stand-in for his own hometown of Waukegan—where two best friends, Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway, are on the cusp of their 14th birthdays. They are mirror images of each other: Will is cautious, golden-haired, and reluctant to step into danger; Jim is impulsive, dark-haired, and constantly peering over the fence into adulthood.

Their bond is tested when Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show rolls into town. A traveling carnival that doesn’t arrive with trucks and trailers but with storms, smoke, and a foreboding sense of inevitability. On the surface, it’s the standard fair: Ferris wheels, sideshows, and barkers. But soon the boys realize this carnival doesn’t just offer fun—it offers your deepest desire, at a steep and terrible cost.

Themes: Fear, Temptation, and Time

At its heart, Something Wicked This Way Comes is about the passage of time and how we wrestle with it. Charles Halloway, Will’s father, is one of the most memorable characters in Bradbury’s canon. A janitor at the town library, he feels the ache of middle age—too old to be young, too young to be old—and struggles with what it means to be a good father. His late-night musings in the library are some of the most hauntingly beautiful passages Bradbury ever wrote.

Then there’s the carnival itself. Mr. Dark, the Illustrated Man, tempts townsfolk with what they think they want most: youth, beauty, power, or escape. The carousel at the heart of the carnival is both wondrous and horrifying—it can spin you forward into adulthood or backward into childhood, but it always exacts a price. The deeper message is classic Bradbury: beware of shortcuts. Life is meant to be lived through, not skipped over.

Bradbury’s Prose: Poetry in the Dark

Bradbury is never just about plot—he’s about language. His sentences crackle and dance with metaphor, like carnival lights flickering in the distance. Some readers find his prose dense, but for those willing to sink into it, Something Wicked is pure literary hypnosis. He describes October in ways that feel eternal, as if he captured the very essence of autumn and poured it into ink.

This isn’t a “sit down and skim” book—it’s a novel that demands you savor each page. The imagery of lightning rods, circus tents, and illustrated tattoos lingers long after you’ve finished.

Why It Still Matters

Sixty-plus years later, Something Wicked This Way Comes remains eerily timeless. Its themes of temptation, fear, and the fleeting nature of youth are universal. For teenagers, it’s a thrilling gothic adventure. For adults, it’s a mirror held up to the anxieties of aging, parenting, and responsibility.

It’s also a quintessential “October read.” Few novels so perfectly evoke the mood of chilly nights, whispering winds, and the sense that something—good or bad—might be waiting just around the corner.

Final Thoughts

Something Wicked This Way Comes is both a carnival ride and a meditation on life’s greatest mysteries. It’s spooky without being gruesome, profound without being pretentious, and endlessly re-readable.

If you want a book that makes you feel 14 again, standing on the edge of childhood with your best friend at your side and a storm rolling in over the horizon, this is it.

Rating:

I give it 4 stars on GoodReads, and 3.5 on LibraryThing.

Average GoodReads rating is 3.90 (as of 5.2.25).

Perfect for: fans of gothic fantasy, autumn reading lists, and anyone who loves their horror tinged with poetry and philosophy.

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We are also now on BlueSky as well, so make sure to check us out there also. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server).

We also now have a SLACK channel – which acts as a hybrid chat room, message board, Reddit style; workspace and posting area for us. You can hang out with us there and chat about all kinds of things – not just beer, but “off topic” things like movies, TV, books, podcasts, hiking, sports, and more! Join us at: The Beer Thrillers on SLACK.

We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written. The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #5 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of May 2025.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

I’ve been saving this review for today – Halloween. All Hallow’s Eve. Because, lets be honest – what a perfect beer for Halloween right? Well… I mean… there’s literally thousands of other craft beers with Halloween inspired names I could choose from too…. but meh… I chose this one.

Anyway, as per the Britannica definition of Halloween and All Hallow’s Eve:

Halloween, contraction of All Hallows’ Eve, a holiday observed on October 31, the evening before All Saints’ (or All Hallows’) Day. The celebration marks the day before the Western Christian feast of All Saints and initiates the season of Allhallowtide, which lasts three days and concludes with All Souls’ Day.

Halloween | Definition, Origin, History, & Facts | Britannica

Its that perfect time for brews and boos and scares and jeers and leers. Walking around town doing Trick or Treat with the kiddos, and a nice craft beer in hand, enjoying the company of other scary bats and ghouls and goblins (or most likely a ton of kids in Marvel inspired outfits like Spider-Man or Iron Man). Nice fall weather, cold, but not frigid, light breeze, hoodie weather. Halloween is always just one of those perfect nights.

Shout Out to Emily

Firstly, I want to give a shout out to Emily at work for giving me the beer. Thanks a lot Em! Definitely one of the benefits of working at a brewery – is all the beer everywhere, and who doesn’t love that?

You can also see my initial impressions of the beer here: YouTube Review: Futurama: How the West was 1010001.

And in this article: Futurama Episode Review – How the West was 1010001 and Beer Review: The Shining (Foam Brewers)

Beer Review: The Shining by Foam Brewers

Beer: The Shining
Brewery: Foam Brewers
Style: IPA – Imperial / Double New England / Hazy
ABV: 8%
IBU: N / A
Untappd Description: tasting notes: pineapple, mango, smoothie

All Work and No Play Makes Ben A Dull Boy… All Work and No Play Makes Ben a Dull Boy…

Or as Homer says:

So let’s dip into this great beer, enough thematics and dramatics. Lets just get down to it.

On appearance – this is a beautifully bright yellow hazy IPA. Almost a Simpsons’ yellow one might even say. This is a gorgeous looking beer. The hue is spot on for a New England (literally a New England) Hazy IPA; and the foam and retention is exactly what you expect from a brewery named “Foam Brewers”.

The aroma is wonderful as well with this, you could just stick your nose in the can, and inhale all day and be a happy hoppy IPA boy. Certainly not a dull boy. A powerful blast of hop notes assails you as soon as you are cracking the can open. A ton of passionfruit, mango, and pineapple overpower the senses almost immediately. All wonderfully blended together for one fantastic and terrific smell.

This certainly doesn’t feel like an 8% IPA. (For comparison’s sake – Perpetual IPA by Troegs Independent Brewing is a 7.5% West Coast IPA.) This is so clean, so smooth, so easy to drink, you would think it was a 4% Session IPA or something. This is a wonderfully rich, delicious drink, it is easy to see why it has tasting notes of “smoothie”, as its just so smooth, so rich, so delicious, and such a great blend of pineapple, mango, and passionfruit notes. The beer is overwhelmingly strong with pineapple and mango notes with background noise of passionfruit flavors. This isn’t a milkshake IPA but it certainly gives you ‘smoothie’ like feelings and ideas, and I’m all here for it. This is definitely one of my favorite ‘gift beers’ I’ve gotten, and I am very appreciative of Emily for it, as well as for the others my co – workers and people visiting the brewery have given me. But, this has been very much top of the pack so far.

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 4.26 (as of 10.31.23)

The Shining

So lets get the question out there – which do you prefer? Stephen King’s novel The Shining or Stanley Kubrick’s movie adaptation The Shining? They are certainly two different beasts. Which do you prefer? Let me know in the comments!

Halloween

What is everyone’s plans for Halloween tonight? Amy and I will be taking Scarlet out trick or treating tonight. It will be her first trick or treat, so we’ll see how it goes. We have an Ewok costume for her. We might have pictures on Instagram, if we do, stay tuned for them.

Cheers!

All of Our Nerd Content

Here’s all of our nerd content, served up best in one single place. Enjoy!

I know ya’ll here for the nerd reviews. So check out our other nerd reviews below:

Star Wars:

• Beer Review: The Pandalorian (Tattered Flag)
• Beer Review: Wookie Monster (Fourscore Beer Co)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Blue Milk (RAR Brewing) (Batch 1)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Tatooine Tart (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: RAWRGWAWGGR (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Droid Juice (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Wookies and Cream (Tall Tales Brewing)
• Revenge of the Fifth / Cinco de Mayo
• May the Fourth Be With You
• Beer Review: This is Nut the Fluff You’re Looking For (Fourscore Beer Co)
• Beer Review: This is the Way (Broken Goblet Brewing)
• Beer Review: This is the Whey (Bolero Snort Brewery)
• Beer Review: Java the Stout (Jackie O’s Brewery)
• Beer Review: The Mangolorian (Brewery Fire)
• Beer Review: BoBull Fett (Bolero Snort Brewery)
• Mead Review: The Meadalorian (Space Time Mead and Cider Works)
• Beer Review: Let the Haze Flow Through You (Black Flag Brewing Co)
• Book Review: The Jedi Path and The Book of the Sith (Daniel Wallace)
• Book Review: Guardians of the Whills (Greg Rucka)
• May the Fourth Be With You (2022)
• RAR Out of Order Star Wars Drop!
• Beer Review: Vader (Mispillion River Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Green Milk (RAR Brewing Company) (Batch 1)
• Beer Review: The Phantasm Menace (Second Sin Brewing Company)
• RAR Brewing – Out of Order – Star Wars Can Drop (2023)
• May the Fourth Be With You (2023)
• Brewery Fire Celebrates Their Fourth Anniversary: The Power of the Fourth

Futurama

• Good News Everyone, Futurama is Back: Exploring Futurama – Inspired Craft Beers
• Book Review: Futurama and Philosophy (edited by Courtland Lewis)
• Futurama Episode Review – The Impossible Stream and Mead Review: Omicron Persei 8 (SpaceTime Meadery)
• Mead Review: Omicron Persei 8 (Space Time Mead and Cider Works)
• Futurama Episode Review – Children of a Lesser Bog and Beer Review: Stay on Target (Allusion Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: I Apologize For Nothing (Fourscore Beer Co.)
• Beer Review: Fing-Longer (Turning Point Beer)
• Futurama Episode Review – How the West was 1010001 (and Beer Review: The Shining by Foam Brewers)
• Futurama Episode Review – Parasites Regained and Beer Review: Mow and Flow (Eleventh Hour Brewing)
• Beer Review: Leela Wake Up (Launch Pad Brewery)
• Beer Review: Hop Bender (Local Craft Beer)
• Futurama Episode Review – I Know What You Did Next XMas and Beer Review: Bo Katan Red IPA (Brewery Fire)

Lord of the Rings:

• Book Review: An Atlas of Tolkien (David Day)
• Book Review: The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Magic the Gathering:

• New Belgium Teams Up with Magic the Gathering for Vastwood Seer IPA

Zelda:

• Zelda and Craft Beer
• Beer Review: Motueka’s Mask (Black Flag Brewing Company)

Rick and Morty:

• Beer Review: Peace Among Worlds (Cushwa Brewing Company)

Space Balls:

• Beer Review: Moon of Vega (Equilibrium Brewery)

Game of Thrones:

• Beer Review: Game of Thrones: My Watch Has Ended (Omnegang Brewery)
• Book Review: The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister (George R.R. Martin)

The Simpsons:

• Beer Review: I Voted for Kodos (Second Sin Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: I Voted for Kang (Second Sin Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Ned Flanders Red (AleCraft Brewery)

Back to the Future:

• Beer Review: Back to Reality (Three 3s Brewing Co)

Scrooged:

• Beer Review: Scrooge IPA (Iron Hill Brewing)

Groundhog Day:

• Beer Review: Prognosticator Pils (Logyard Brewing Company)
• Logyard Brewing’s Prognosticator Pils is the Official Beer of Groundhog Day (2022)

A Christmas Story:

• Beer Review: The Soft Electric Glow of Sex (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out! (Eight and Sand Beer Co)

The Peanuts:

• Book Review: The Philosophy of Snoopy (Charles M. Schulz)
• Book Review: You Don’t Look 35, Charlie Brown! (Charles M. Schulz)

Pro Wrestling:

• Beer Review: Broken Skull – Stone Cold Steve Austin’s IPA (El Segundo Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Macho Man (Couch Brewery)
• Beer Review: Royal Rumble (Funk Brewing)
• Stone Cold Steve Austin and the WWE Are Celebrating 3:16 Day

Soccer:

• Beer Review: Pulisic Pilsner (Jackass Brewing Company)
• Book Review: Pulisic – My Journey So Far (Christian Pulisic)

Stephen King:

• Beer Review: The Shining (Foam Brewers)

World Cup:

• Qatar Bans Alcohol Sales at World Cup in Last Second Decision
• Breweries Opening Early For the USA vs Netherlands World Cup Ga

Phillies:

• Drunk Phils Fans and Rotunda Brewing Company Collaborate Together on Jam the Batter sWheat Tart

Philadelphia Eagles:

• The Philadelphia Eagles Running Back – D’Andre Swift – Visits Bald Bird Brewing Company

Matrix:

• Matrix Monday
• Downriver Brewing Company Runs into Keanu Reeves

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

• Beer Review: Terpenes in Time (BAREBottle Brewing Co)

HP Lovecraft / Cthulhu:

• Beer Review: Azathoth (Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company)

The Shining:

• Beer Review: The Shining (Foam Brewers)

A Nightmare on Elm Street

• Grandma SueAnn Helps Review More Pumpkin Beers: A Nightmare on East Elm Street (Conshohocken Brewing Company)

Seinfeld:

• Beer Review: Jon Voight’s Car (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Airing of Grievances (Black Flag Brewing Company)

The Muppets:

• RAR Brewing – Out of Order – Muppet Series Can Release
• RAR Brewing Brings the Nostalgia with Muppets Out of Order Series

Other:

• Beer Review: Super Villain (Urban Village Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Pixels (Seminar Brewing)
• Beer Review: Villeinage (Elder Pine Brewing and Blending)
• Beer Review: Intergalactic Deals (Levante Brewing)
• Beer Review: Galactic Space Circus (Creature Comforts Brewing Co)
• Beer Review: The Death of Civilization in Slow Motion I (Ghost 907) (Adroit Theory)

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #8 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2023.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)