Something Wicked This Way Comes

The police drive Will and Jim home from the carnival. The paramedics swear Mr. Cooger was dead before being electrocuted, but the police continue to laugh it off. After lying about their address and being dropped off near the police station, the boys argue about what they have witnessed. Will believes Mr. Crosetti has also been transformed by the ride. He wants to report the carnival, but Jim says no one will believe them.

Will confronts Jim about his desire to ride the carousel. He accuses Jim of wanting to ditch him, but Jim claims he would never leave Will. Suddenly they hear Miss Foley and Charles inside the police station where she is accusing them of the robbery. Will reveals himself, and he and Jim “confess” to the crime.

Charles, Will, and Jim walk home. Charles lets Jim sneak into his house if he promises to confess everything to his mother in the morning. Jim and Will show Charles their secret ladders, each under their respective windows, that they climb to sneak in and out of their rooms. Charles feels nostalgic for his youth, when he too used to sneak out and run around town.

Charles knows Will did not commit the robbery. Will admits that he only pretended to confess to appease Miss Foley, although he is unsure about her intentions. Will almost tells his father about the magical carnival, but instead keeps quiet to protect him.

Before Will and Charles go inside, Will asks his father if he, Will, is a good person. Charles tells him that he is. When Will asks if Charles is good, he says he is. Will wonders why his father does not seem happy. Charles tells him that good people are often not happy because they spend their time trying very hard and giving up things to be good. He says bad people can be happier because they are not concerned with right or wrong, only with what makes them happy.

When Will asks if he can do anything to make his father happier, Charles says that he would like to live forever. Will assures him that he is still young even if he was “sick a few years ago” (127), suggesting Charles has recovered from an illness. Will warns his father to stay away from the carnival. They climb up the ladder into Will’s room, Will cheering so Charles can feel young again.

After sleeping for an hour, Will wakes and discovers Jim has removed the lightning rod from his roof for fun. Both boys watch as a hot air balloon approaches Jim’s roof. Inside the balloon is the “Dust Witch,” one of the carnival workers. Somehow, Will and Jim know she is blind but powerful, able to sense whomever Mr. Dark sends her to find. She flies over Jim’s roof and disappears into the night. The boys discover she has left behind a wet marking on Jim’s roof so Mr. Dark can find Jim later. Jim regrets removing the lighting rod. The boys wash the marking off with the garden hose and go back to bed.

Will can’t sleep. He suddenly wishes the witch would return; he hates the anxiety of waiting for her or for Mr. Dark to strike. Deciding to take action, he grabs his bow and arrows and telepathically calls for the witch. Somehow he senses that even though the witch cannot read minds, she can hear and smell his feelings.

When he senses her coming back, Will climbs out his window and leads her to an abandoned house. They battle on the roof, and Will tries to spear the balloon, which she is psychically linked to, with an arrow. Finally, he pierces the balloon, and the witch cries out. Will falls and lands in a tree as the injured witch and her balloon float away. Eventually, Will climbs out of the tree and goes home.

“Nothing much else happened, all the rest of that night” (141).

It is raining the next day when Miss Foley hears the carousel music and heads to the carnival. Will and Jim head to the police station where they plan to apologize again to Miss Foley and explain the robbery again to the police. On the way there, Jim reveals he dreamt last night of a funeral parade. Inside the coffin from his dream was a dried-up balloon-shaped object.

They continue walking when they hear a young girl crying under a tree. The girl recognizes the boys. Will suspects the young girl is Miss Foley, transformed by the carnival ride. Will wants to help her but Jim refuses to believe the girl is Miss Foley. They find Miss Foley’s house empty, confirming Will’s suspicions. When they go back to the tree, the girl is gone. They hear the sounds of a carnival parade approaching and decide to hide, knowing Mr. Dark is looking for them.

Charles receives a phone call from Will, who explains that he and Jim must hide for a few days because someone is hunting them. Will promises to explain everything in detail later. Charles is confused but wishes them luck.

Will and Jim hide beneath the sewer grate outside the cigar store in town as the carnival parade marches above. The boys see Charles walk by but remain hidden. They also see the carnival workers scouring the town in search of them. A young child drops his gum into the grate and bends down to retrieve it. When he sees Will and Jim, he yells for his mother and draws attention.

Charles is at the local coffee shop. Mr. Dark walks in and asks the owner if he has seen Will and Jim. Charles notices the stranger’s hands are tattooed. They stare at each other before Charles exits. Outside, the “Dwarf,” who was formerly the lightning rod salesman, approaches the sewer grate and peers down into it. The salesman’s transformation into the “Dwarf” has left him like a robot without memories or higher thoughts; he takes a mental “picture” of the boys and leaves. Will knows he will report this to Mr. Dark.

Charles suddenly desires a cigar, and after buying one, he drops it near the grate. He spots Will and Jim under the grate, but the boys tell him to look away. Charles stares at the town clock while Will quietly warns him about the man with tattoos.

Mr. Dark then comes up to Charles and claims to be looking for two boys who have won a carnival prize. Mr. Dark has Will and Jim’s faces tattooed on his palms and knows their true names, which Will assumes Miss Foley has revealed. Charles denies knowing the boys. Mr. Dark squeezes his palms in frustration, which makes the boys’ heads hurt and the man’s palms bleed.

The “Dust Witch” approaches the men, and Will is shocked to see her alive after their fight. She tries to smell Will and Jim, but Charles blocks her with his cigar. Before Mr. Dark and the witch leave angrily, Mr. Dark asks Charles his name. Charles shares it with him willingly, unsure why he tells the truth. Will is proud of his father for protecting them. Charles tells the boys to hide elsewhere and meet him in the library that evening. He promises to have a plan to help them.