Famously cantankerous author Lemony Snicket wasn’t always such a scrooge, but now we get to learn what odd things happened in his childhood to make him turn out that way. We first got to know Snicket from his best-selling A Series of Unfortunate Events books. His upcoming series, All the Wrong Questions, focuses on his perplexing youth and his apprenticeship at a mysterious organization. Who Could That Be at This Hour?, the first of four volumes in the new series, comes your way Oct. 23, but EW has an exclusive sneak peek at chapter one. Check it out at your own risk below!