Something Wicked This Way Comes has served as a direct influence on several fantasy and horror authors, including Neil Gaiman and Stephen King.[15] Gaiman paid tribute to Bradbury's influence on him and many of his peers in a 2012 The Guardian article following Bradbury's death.[16] King discusses this novel at length in his 1981 non-fiction book Danse Macabre and also in his 2024 fantasy book Fairy Tale.
The book influenced R. L. Stine, who said: "Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors. I always tell people that the scariest book I ever read was one of his books—Something Wicked This Way Comes".[17] Clive Barker also placed the book fourth on his list of greatest books about good and evil, number one being Moby Dick.[18]
