"By the pricking of my thumbs/ Something wicked this way comes."

Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourself for the gravest show on earth when a haunted circus rolls into town. Big Top thrills and carnival chills take center ring at the historic Eureka Inn for Cirque de Soulless, the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka's fiendishly fun fundraiser, Saturday, Oct. 24 from 7 to 11 p.m. ($60).

In the vein of Bradbury's Dark Carnival, the evening promises a cavalcade of eerie entertainers that include a contortionist dancer "whose preternatural flexibility will amaze and scandalize," a mermaid singing her siren song, a ghostly pianist, jugglers, hula hoopists, a cartoonist, a balloonist and evil, evil clowns. And for a divining good time, a palm reader and tarot card reader will circulate among the guests. Is that guy in the corner giving you his eye? Settle your nerves a bit with food and drink from the circus buffet and no-host bar serving specialty cocktails, beer and wine. When it's time to further unwind, DJ Goldilocks spins beastly beats for those who want to kick up their heels.

Proceeds benefit Humboldt Senior Resource Center's Home-Delivered Meals Program. So dress for the occasion (you want to blend, right?), frolic with the freaks and mingle with the macabre for a worthy cause.