“We rarely get what we imagine in this world.”
Still one of the finest Ray Bradbury books, Something Wicked This Way Comes makes for the perfect reading experience during the spooky season. Readers follow Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade, two young boys living in Green Town, Illinois. When Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show arrives in town, it appears as though Halloween has arrived a week early. Entranced by its promises of dreams fulfilled and unmatched magic, the two friends enter the strange world of the carnival, discovering the sinister secrets hiding behind its smoke, mazes and mirrors. Still one of the suspenseful and imaginative works of American fiction, join us at What We Reading as we present the scariest books like Something Wicked This Way Comes!
Twilight Eyes – Dean Koontz
For another imaginative horror book like Something Wicked This Way Comes that utilises the eerieness of a travelling carnival setting, Twilight Eyes is a must-read. Dean Koontz’s New York Times bestseller introduces readers to Slim MacKenzie, a man blessed (or cursed) with Twilight Eyes, an ability that grants him prophetic powers. It also enables him to see Goblins, evil beings who can disguise themselves in human form. Slim and a young woman named Rya wage war on these creatures on a journey that takes them from the fairground to the small mining town of Yontsdown, where the Goblins’ devilish plan for mankind is finally revealed…
Ring Shout – P. Djèlí Clark
Ring Shout is a Goodreads Award-nominated novella from Phenderson Djèlí Clark, blending alternative historical fiction with cosmic horror. Set in the US following the release of the infamous The Birth of a Nation, the book follows a group of Black men and women hunting Ku Kluxes, otherworldly demons masquerading as white racists. Armed with blade, bullet, bomb and a sharp-shooting mouth, Maryse Boudreaux is adept at sending the Klan’s demons to hell. However, something far bigger is brewing underneath 1920s Georgia. Can Maryse stop the Klan before the Klan bring about the end of the world?
Joyland – Stephen King
College student Devin Jones takes a job at Joyland hoping to forget the love of his life who broke his heart. Instead, what he received was a hellish experience inside a funhouse of fear where the legacy of a serial killer, the fate of a dying child and some twisted facts about life will flip his view of the world forever.
Another book like Something Wicked This Way Comes blends mystery with horror, coming-of-age with death that comes before one’s time, Stephen King’s Joyland is a profoundly moving exploration of love and loss.
Geek Love – Katherine Dunn
Katherine Dunn introduces a carny family with an array of human oddities in Geek Love. From Arturo the Aquaboy, who has flippers for limbs, albino hunchback Oly, and lissome Siamese twins Iphy and Elly to Chick, whose mysterious abilities make the family’s dangerous asset, the Binewskis inspire fanatical devotion and murderous revulsion.
However, underneath the surface of their travelling shows, a more Machiavellian approach to sibling rivalry is being held. Dunn’s book is a captivating exploration of our approaches to the beautiful and the ugly, the freakish and the normal. Through the Binewskis and their unforgettable performances, readers will gain a whole new appreciation for what is meant by ‘family values’.
The Traveling Vampire Show – Richard Laymon
Richard Laymon takes readers to the heart of the rural town of Grandville in 1963 for a travelling show like no other. Three local teenagers aren’t going to miss the opportunity to see Valeria, the only known vampire in captivity. A stunning beauty that promises to bite the necks and suck the blood of the audience, the mysterious Traveling Vampire Show has announced a one-night-only performance on Janks Field, a desolate setting with a dark past.
In this spooky, supernatural tale like Something Wicked This Way Comes, readers follow Dwight, Slim and Rusty as they sneak to Janks Field, and the harrowing events that unfolded on that one night. Mirroring the themes of coming-of-age, bravery and loyalty, Richard Laymon’s work is the perfect follow-up for any fans of Bradbury.
What Moves The Dead (Sworn Soldier #1) – T. Kingfisher
Nominated for Best Horror in the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards, award-winning author of The Other Ones T. Kingfisher presents a haunting retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher in What Moves the Dead.
When they receive word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, retired soldier Alex Easton rushes to the ancestral family home in the remote countryside of Ruravia. There, they find Madeline sleepwalking and speaking in strange voices and her brother, Roderick, consumed by nerves. Fungus is sprouting everywhere, wildlife is possessed and a dark pulsing lake surrounds the whole estate. Aided by a British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex is forced to unravel the mysteries surrounding the fall of the House of Usher, before it consumes all of them.
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery – Brom
Abitha arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger, only to find herself quickly widowed when he dies under mysterious circumstances. As she struggles to live in this patriarchal and pious society, a powerful spirit known as Slewfoot enters the frame. Shadows begin to walk, villagers begin to die and it isn’t long before the word ‘witch’ begins being uttered. Both Slewfoot and Abitha are forced to work out who they are and what they are willing to do to protect themselves from a world intent on hanging anyone who dabbles in the dark arts.
Complete with eight pages of Brom’s mesmerising full-colour artwork and chapter illustrations, Slewfoot is a tale of magic, mysteries, terrors and triumphs set against a backdrop of colonial New England.
Dark Harvest – Norman Patridge
A classic Halloween short story, Norman Patridge’s Dark Harvest takes readers to a rural town in the Midwest in 1963. Every year, the locals prepare for a celebration like no other. Reliant on the tourist money it brings, they are forced to prepare for the arrival of the October Boy. Rising from the cornfields, butcher knife in hand, he makes his way toward the town, where groups of teenage boys prepare to confront this legendary nightmare.
Knowing that it may be his only way of escaping his small-town home, Pete McCormick is willing to risk everything, including his own life, for the opportunity of claiming the prize of the October Boy. But, before the night is over, Pete will be forced to look into the eyes of the October Boy and discover the horrifying secret behind it.
Chasing The Boogeyman – Richard Chizmar
For another coming-of-age horror book like Something Wicked,, This Way Comes, Richard Chizmar’s Chasing the Boogeyman is a great go-to. Also tapping into the nostalgia of growing up in a sleepy rural town like Bradbury, Chizmar takes readers on a tour of his hometown in Maryland. However, having returned home from college, this peaceful community is immediately flung into a terrifying paranoia as a series of gruesome murders point to a serial killer living locally.
Chasing the Boogeyman is a heartrending and beautifully-told piece of metafiction that blurs the lines between horror and true crime. Chizmar’s writing prowess is on full display, capturing the suspense and haunting imprint this killer’s reign of terror had not only on him but also on his whole local community.
Check Out Our Chasing The Boogeyman Book Review
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
