Something Wicked This Way Comes
Study Guide Short Answer Questions
Prologue
1. What does the prologue say about months of a year from a boy's point of
view?
Chapters 1, 2, and 3
2. What story do Will and Jim tell the lightning rod salesman?
3. What does the lightning rod look like?
4. How does the salesman find out whose house the storm will hit?
5. How do Will and Jim react when the salesman tells them the storm will hit
Jim's house?
6. What does Mr. Halloway say about white hat and black hat books?
7. What does Mr. Halloway think is the difference between Jim and Will?
8. What does the customer talk to Mr. Halloway about when he enters the bar?
Chapters 4, 5, and 6
9. What strange things happen as Jim and Will walk through town?
10. What does Mr. Halloway see when he steps out of the bar?
11. What does Mr. Halloway see in the shop window?
12. How do Jim and Will react differently to watching the Theater?
Chapters 7, 8, and 9
13. How do Jim and Will react differently to the carnival poster?
14. How does Mr. Halloway react when Will notices him looking at the carnival
poster?
15. What does the reader learn about Jim in Chapter 9?
16. What does Jim decide to do at the end of Chapter 9?
Chapters 10, 11, and 12
17. What does the lightning rod salesman think about the woman he sees in the
shop window?
18. What wakes up Jim and Will during the night?
19. What scares Jim and Will about the train?
20. What is strange about the carnival and its people?
Chapters 13, 14, and 15
21. What does Mr. Halloway see in the shop window on the way back from work?
22. What disappoints the boys about the carnival the next day?
23. What are Jim and Will's feelings about the Mirror Maze?
24. What does Miss Foley say she saw in the Mirror Maze?
Chapters 16, 17, and 18
25. How does Jim react when he enters the Mirror Maze?
26. Why do the boys think it is strange that the lightning rod salesman has left his
bag?
27. What is strange about the carousel?
28. What happens when Cooger rides on the carousel?
Chapters 19, 20, and 21
29. What do Will and Jim think about the boy they see run into Miss Foley's
house?
30. How do Jim and Will react differently to meeting Robert?
31. How do Jim and Will react differently when Robert invites them to come to
the carnival with him?
32. How does Jim upset Will at the end of Chapter 21?
Chapters 22 and 23
33. How does Robert react to seeing Will and Jim outside his window?
34. How do Will and Jim turn Mr. Cooger into a 130-year-old man?
Chapter 24
35. What shocking things do Will and Jim see when they go back to the carnival
with the police?
36. What is Mr Dark's new act?
Chapters 25, 26, and 27
37. What does Miss Foley think about the mirrors in her house?
38. Why does Jim want to go back to the carousel?
Chapters 28 and 29
39. What does Mr. Halloway tell Will about being good?
40. What do Will and Jim see outside their windows?
Chapters 30, 31, and 32
41. How does Will call the witch back to their house?
42. How does Will destroy the witch's balloon?
Chapters 33, 34, and 35
43. What does Will tell his dad on the phone?
44. What does Mr. Dark want Mr. Halloway to do for him?
Chapters 36, 37, and 38
45. What does Mr. Halloway research at the library?
46. What information about the carnival does Mr. Halloway show Jim and Will?
Chapters 39 and 40
47. What does Mr. Halloway think is the carnival's method?
48. What happens at the end of the chapter?
Chapters 41, 42, and 43
49. How does Mr. Dark find the boys hiding place?
50. What role does the witch play in Chapter 43?
Chapter 44
51. How does Mr. Halloway defeat the witch?
52. How do Will and Jim react when they see Mr. Tetley during the parade?
Chapters 45, 46, and 47
53. How does Mr. Halloway get the crowd on his side?
54. What does Mr. Halloway draw on the bullet?
Chapters 48, 49, and 50
55. What happens when Mr. Halloway shoots the witch?
56. How does Mr. Halloway break the mirrors in the Mirror Maze?
Chapters 51 and 52
57. How does Will get Jim off the carousel?
58. How does Mr. Halloway kill Mr. Dark?
Chapters 53 and 54
59. Why does Mr. Halloway not want Will to cry?
60. How do Will and his father wake up Jim?