Gothic Mystery Writer, John Bellairs

I discovered John's work...

Gothic fiction for the kid in all of us

When I was just a kid in the 1970's. I was reading all kinds of scary stories written for kids, titles like "The Red Room Riddle" by Scott Corbett, which, by the way was made into an ABC Weekend Special in 1983, anyone remember that? Anyway, John's book, "The House With A Clock In Its Walls" just fit in so nicely with my reading tastes. I loved his first book and was very happy to get my hands on his second work, "The Figure in The Shadows" and I have been a fan of his work ever since.

Fate changes John's plans

The Face In The Frost

I have heard it said that fate has a way of changing or rearranging our plans in some strange, wonderful and mysterious ways. We end up going places, doing and experiencing things that we never imagined. That is what happened to John. He didn't start out as a writer of gothic fiction for kids. While living in Britain, he read Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and got the idea to write a book of his own in the Tolkien style. His attempt was called The Face In The Frost which has been called by some, one of the best fantasy novels of all time.

I believe the cover of the book used as illustration is from 1981 edition of John's story. It is interesting to note that the original title for the book was simply "Prospero" which is the name of the lead character in the book, a wizard.

Magic Mirrors

A compilation of John's earlier adult writings

Going from writing adult fantasy fiction

to writing gothic fiction for the young adult

In 1973, John's book The House With A Clock In It's Walls was written as an adult fantasy story. But, at that time, there wasn't much of a market for that kind of story and it was suggested to John that he do a rewrite and gear it toward the young adult audience. Following that advice, John's career of writing gothic mysteries for young adults began.

The House With a Clock In Its Walls

The thing was ticking away, markin off the minutes until doomsday

Commentary: I have to admit that stories about old spooky houses with secret rooms and staircases has always had a special place in my heart. It was the description of Lewis' uncle's house that fit perfectly in with my idea of the kind of house I always wanted to live in. I related to Lewis in a way, how he is described as being over weight, and clumsy, always picked last for the sports teams at school, being picked on for how he looked and more. I think that there was a little bit of John Bellairs in Lewis and that he was created by some of the first hand experiences John had as a kid. That is what makes some writers have the ability to connect with their audience, because they have, in a sense "been there, done that". I think that most of us, at some point in our childhood knew a Lewis or worse yet, actually was a Lewis. But, like Lewis most of us turn out to be "ok" eventually. :)

Another thing that is memorable, to me about this book, is the description of the car chase between Uncle Jonathan, Lewis and Mrs. Zimmerman and some unknown driver..." Jonathan came running back to the car. He slammed the door and started the motor. With a squealing of tires, he turned the car around and headed back the way they had come.....but no matter how fast he drove, the two cold circles of light still burned in his rear view mirror."

Book Description:Lewis always dreamed of living in an old house full of secret passageways, hidden rooms, and big marble fireplaces. And suddenly, after the death of his parents, he finds himself in just such a mansion--his Uncle Jonathan's. Unfortunately, what Lewis doesn't bank on is the fact that the previous owner of the mansion was a wizard--- an evil one who has placed a tick-tocking clock somewhere in the bowels of the house, marking off the minutes until the end of the world. And when Lewis accidentally awakens the dead on Halloween night, the clock only ticks louder and faster. Doomsday draws near--unless Lewis can stop the clock..

The Figure in the Shadows

Venio....I Come

Commentary I read this book as a kid and here it is all these years later, I still can remember, in the copy I had, a drawing done by Edward Gorey of a figure cresting the top of the hill. The figure, walking, was draped in a long coat and you could see it was blowing in the wind. This figure was not something ordinary, no way indeed, it or he was the one responsible for sending Lewis those little scraps of paper with the Latin word Venio" written on them....the Latin word for "I come". As I looked at that drawing and read John's description of what was happening, I could just imagine myself right there watching that "man" walk down that hill toward me, in no hurry, taking his time, one step, two steps, getting closer and closer, and me listening to wind blowing, hearing the downed leaves scatter on the ground making their getaway and there I stood, rooted to the spot. Geesh, it still gives me goose bumps.

Book Description: Lewis returns in another scary adventure. While investigating his Grandfather Barnavelt's trunk, he finds an old coin that he hopes is an amulet that will protect him from bullies. With the help of his friend, Rose Rita, Lewis performs a magic test to find out the coin's powers, but he isn't prepared for the strange events that begin to happen to him after his test. What scares him most is the figure that he see lurking in the shadows, and the scrapes of paper with the word, "Venio" written on them in Latin... just who or what is it that is telling Lewis "I come"

The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring

A magic ring and and old rivalry

Commentary:Probably the image that best stays with me from this book is when Mrs. Zimmerman, while out on a drive (in Bessie her car) with Rose Rita, gets ill and ends up not being able to drive the car back home. Who has to plop herself down into the driver's seat....that's right Rose Rita and as she slowly works her way back home, up and down the hills, around twists and turns on the old dark road, she looks into the rear view mirror she see reflected back the outline of a head and two glittering eyes. I think John touches on a common fear that we all share, even if just in a small way... the idea of some unknown person or thing behind us in a scary dark place.

Another thing about this book, is that, how many of us (don't be afraid to raise your hand) can relate to having our best friend away for a while, leaving us to find things to do to occupy our time till they come back? We sometimes take people for granted and don't realize just how special they are to us, until they are not there for one reason or another.

Book Description Rose Rita's best friend, Lewis is off at summer camp, and that leaves her all alone to try to fill the long summer vacation without her "partner in crime". So, when she gets an invite from Lewis' next door neighbor, Mrs. Zimmerman to go to Michigan she jumps at the chance. It seems Mrs. Zimmerman has received a letter written by her cousin Oley shortly before he died, telling her of how he has found a magic ring....

The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn

A millionaire's hidden fortune, did it really exist?

Commentary: I always thought that Anthony's mom was a rather mean person with her harping about money all the time and generally not being very kind to Anthony. That is why he had developed such a friendship with the town librarian Miss Eells who behaved just the opposite, she listened to Anthony, taught him how to play chess, took him places and the like. I sometimes wonder if John, growing up, had someone like Miss Eells in his life and patterned her on that person.

The thing about this book is that it doesn't really have too many elements of the gothic or supernatural in it... it is more along the lines of a good kids mystery story.

Book Description: Has Alpheus Winterborn, Hoosac's eccentric millionaire really hidden a treasure in the Hoosac town library? Anthony Monday is sure that there is something to the story and sets out find the treasure. But, he isn't the only one who is searching for the old man's millions, Hugo Phipotts, Alpheus' nephew has his sight set on the treasure too and is willing to let Anthony do all the work and then when the time is right, he will just snatch the treasure away.

The Curse of the Blue Figurine

Is that little blue figurine enchanted with an evil spell?

Commentary: It seems that John liked to create a surrogate parent of sorts for his characters and that is no exception here with Johnny Dixon; his mother has died and his father is away being a pilot in the Air Force during the Korean War. This leaves Johnny to live with his grandparents, two people who love Johnny dearly, but because of their advanced years aren't your typical parent material. So, Johnny finds as a friend and sort of mentor, his neighbor across the street, the sometimes ill tempered, but very kind man, Professor Childermass. I wonder what drove John to write about characters like this....characters who take on, as their friends, older people. Again, is this something left over from his life and writing about it in the characters he created was a form of therapy for him?

Book Description: One day while Johnny Dixon is looking around in the town church basement, he finds and old blue figurine that has a message scrawled inside of it whoever removes these things from the church, does so at his own peril. By accident, Johnny takes the figurine home and odd things begin to happen. He calls on his friend and neighbor, Professor Roderick Childermass to help him figure out what is going on and how to put things right.

The Mummy, the Will and the Crypt

Not who, but WHAT lived in the old Glomus Mansion

Commentary: The beauty about John's books is that all of his heroes are just plain ordinary people with real ordinary problems and situations; Lewis is chubby and picked on, Rose Rita is a tom boy, Anthony is tall and awkward, Johnny Dixon is shy and intelligent....well you see my point... real honest to goodness traits that are familiar to us because we either have some of those traits ourselves or know someone who does. This book is also touted as a sequel to the "Curse of The Blue Figurine"

Book Description: Wealthy H. Bagwell Glomus' will is missing and there is a $10,000 reward that will go to anyone who can find it. Johnny Dixon wants the reward and believes that the clues to it's hiding place is in Glomus's diary but that is filled with strange and weird riddles that Johnny intends to solve. He also thinks that the clues to solving those riddles can be found in the old spooky Glomus mansion...and he decides to sneak in and look around. Once inside, a sudden bright flash of light stops him in his tracks and he discovers he is not alone in this mansion.....

The Dark Secret of Weatherend

Wizard wants to freeze the world

Commentary: We get to meet Emerson Eells in this story, although he has been mentioned before briefly. Emerson is Miss Eells younger brother and he is a lawyer by trade with a bit of a know it all attitude. He is also a little bit scared of his big sister. :) He smokes pipes, cigars and cigarettes and likes to drink beer. See what I mean about creating characters that are real people with real traits. :)

Book Description: Anthony and his best friend, Miss Eells discover the diary of J.K. Borkman, a mad man who wanted to bring about the end of the world via a horrible ice age. In his diary, Borkman, had created a spell that he carefully hid in cryptic riddle form. When Anthony innocently solves some of the riddles, the ice age is set into motion. Anthony is convinced though, that there is a counter spell also hidden in the riddles in Borkman's diary... can he figure it out before the entire world and everyone in it, freezes.

The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull

Professor Childermass has vanished!

Commentary: This book is a direct prequel to "The Revenge of The Wizard's Ghost". Oh, and something to keep in mind is that even though John wrote his books in the 70's and 80's.... the setting of his books mostly always during the 1950's which of course would be the time frame that he was growing up in.... so, again, I think we are seeing bits of his childhood realities and dreams coming to life on the pages of his books?

Book Description: Johnny Dixon and his friend Professor Roderick Childermass discover an old clock. Inside it, Johnny discovers a miniature room that is exactly like the room that a murder had taken place a long time ago. Inside this room, Johnny finds a miniature skull that has magical powers, but the minute he picks it up he unleashes demonic forces. Worse yes, his friend Professor Childermass has vanished and this leaves Johnny having to ask his best friend Fergie and the town's priest Father Higgens to help him stop the diabolical plan set in motion by the Sorcerer's Skull!

The Eyes of the Killer Robot

The robot wants...your eyes!

Commentary:The beauty of reading a series of books using the same characters is that as time passes and the characters develop we get to learn new things about them, which makes for a great friendship between the reader and the characters. We learn in this visit with Johnny that his grandfather was, years before, the star pitcher on the local baseball team. I know that doesn't sound very exciting, but it's still nice to know that we haven't learned everything there is to know about a character; that would be boring, wouldn't it, having a character stay the same again and again and again. We don't behave like that in real life, do we? We change, we learn new things about the people we know and care about as they do about us.

Book Description: Johnny Dixon and Professor Childermass, along with their friend Byron "Fergie" Ferguson, are back in another imaginative chiller. Here the three are pitted against Evaristus Sloane, an insane wizard and inventor who some 50 years earlier had invented a robot to look like a baseball player and to pitch balls. But, there is a darker side to the invention as the Professor, Johnny, and Fergie discover when they find the dismantled robot and put it back together.. But after placing its eyes back in the empty sockets, the Professor realizes too late that he has resurrected a killer machine. Not only must the robot be stopped but also its mad inventor before Johnny loses his eyes and his life to a terrifying scheme...

The Lamp From the Warlock's Tomb

Underground tombs, an evil warlock and an enchanted oil lamp

A Brief Snippet From The Book: His blood froze. There seated in the rocker, was the pale, withered corpse of Mr. Yurchak. He was dressed in his rumpled blue watchman's uniform, and his glazed, unseeing eyes stared straight ahead. That should get your attention? :)

Book Description Anthony Monday's best friend, town librarian, Miss Eells buys an old Dutch oil lamp only to discover that it had been stolen years before from an underground tomb where occult rituals had been held. Anthony borrows the lamp for a school project and lights it which unleash demonic forces that threaten to take over the world unless he and Miss Eells can figure out a way to stop them.

The Trolly to Yesterday

A trolly car that's really a time machine

Commentary: I have to admit that the idea of time travel into the past or even into the future has never been a favorite topic of mine. This isn't one of my favorite books by John, but that doesn't make it a bad book. From what I have read, it seems that John's concerns about his heath issues could possibly have been the reason this book doesn't seem as fine tuned as some of his other work.

Book Description: Johnny, Fergie and Professor Childermass leave their native New England far behind when they ride an old trolley back in time to 15th-century Constantinople. The Professor dreams of saving the ancient city's citizens from slaughter at the hands of the Turks. Johnny and Fergie are more concerned with simply keeping their crotchety old friend out of trouble. Among the companions' adventures are an encounter with the ghosts of long-dead Crusaders, the opportunity to outwit a would-be Inquisitor, a run-in with another 20th-century time-traveler and the chance to explore Constantinople's supernaturally guarded reservoir....

The Chessmen of Doom

The most evil man on earth!

A Brief Snippet From the Book: Without any more talk, Johnny and the Professor followed Fergie to the base of the column where the bust had once stood. Among the weeds lay pieces of broken plaster, and in the middle of everything, staring grimly up at them, was a human skull.

Book Description: Professor Childermass and his young friends Johnny and Fergie are swept up in a madman's plot to rule the Earth. Childermass stands to inherit his brother Peregrine's multimillion dollar estate, but only if he can stay on the estate all summer, plus interpret a cryptic rhyme. As usual, apparitions, vague warnings, deep forebodings, magic effects, tombs, corpses, and the like abound in this story.

The Secret of the Underground Room

Someone wants to bring the dead back to life!

Commentary: I miss the Edward Gorey illustrations. The new stories lack Gorey's wonderfully creepy artistic touches and that's a shame because Gorey had a the ability to get right to the heart of John's character descriptions.

Book Description:Professor Childermass is stunned when Father Higgins claims that a ghost is trying to contact him. Then the priest disappears. When the professor and Johnny catch up to him, they make a terrifying discovery -- Father Higgins is possessed by Masterman, the spirit of a long-dead knight determined to rule the world. And it looks as if Masterman is going to get his way

The Mansion In the Mist

A doorway to another world in an old chest?

Commentary:This was the last book that John wrote and was published in 1992, a year after his death.

Book Description: Anthony and his klutzy librarian friend, Miss Eells, plan to spend an uneventful summer with her brother Emerson in an isolated old cottage in Canada. Events quickly take a sinister turn when Anthony finds a mysterious old chest that turns out to be a doorway into a parallel world in which a mad group of beings are plotting the destruction of Earth. The key to their success is a magical object, the Logos cube. Unfortunately for the Autarchs, a former member of their society has realized their evil ways and hidden the cube. Anthony, Miss Eells, and Emerson experience a series of harrowing adventures as they explore the strange world of the Autarchs and search for the object so that they can save the Earth

The Ghost In The Mirror

Lost in another time, Mrs. Zimmerman has also lost her memory!

Commentary: It had been a long while since we had seen much from Rose Rita, in fact, it had been over 20 years since we tagged along on one of her adventures. Don't you love the magic of books, where characters don't ever have to grow old.

Book Description: Having lost most of her magic in the The Letter, The Witch and The Ring, Florence Zimmerman travels back in time to recover it, taking along her friend Rose Rita Pottinger. Together, the two rescue a Pennsylvania Dutch family from an evil sorcerer, uncover an old chest of Revolutionary War gold, and activate a crystal ball that restores Mrs. Zimmerman's powers--not, of course, without negotiating plenty of cryptic instructions, apparitions, lurking evils, spells, and narrow escapes, plus a slavering demon or two.

The Vengeance of The Witch Finder

An fun filled adventure in England

Commentary: The Ghost in The Mirror takes place in 1951 as does "Vengeance"... two different stories, happening to different characters during the same year. Pretty cool, and isn't that how life works, you are off doing your thing and your friends are off having adventures of their own? In a way, doesn't that almost make you believe that these characters really lived... and in fact, in a way, I believe they did, if on paper for us and in John's mind.

Book Description: This is the 4th book in the series that features Lewis Barnavelt and his magician uncle, Jonathan. When Uncle Jonathan and Lewis go to England to visit a distant cousin at their ancestral home, Lewis unwittingly releases a ghost who cursed his family centuries before and now threatens to destroy them. This book was completed by author Brad Strickland after John's death.

The Drum, The Doll and The Zombie

Voodoo, zombies and cults...oh my!

Commentary: Dr. Coote is a minor character in past books and is a friend of Professor Childermass'. He lives in New Hampshire and is a professor at the University of New Hampshire.

Book Description: During a party, noted folklorist Dr. Coote shows Professor Childremass, Johnny Dixon, and his friend Fergie a small drum and tells them a strange story about voodoo cults in Haiti and the Caribbean. A few casual taps on the drum set in motion a tale of terror that includes zombies, evil spells, and death threats.

The Doom of The Haunted Opera

An opera to wake the dead by!

Commentary: Brad Strickland and the editors at Dial Books had a bit of a disagreement about the title of this book. The editors thought that the word "opera" would turn off potential readers as kids wouldn't want to read anything about an opera. An alternative title offered was was "The Doom of The Haunted Theater" which Brad didn't like.

Book Description: A school assignment leads Lewis and his best friend Rose Rita to visit an old abandoned theater in the heart of New Zeebedee. While looking around, Lewis, finds some sheets of music stuffed inside a piano that turns out to be an unpublished opera. Soon the entire town is excited about debuting the hidden treasure, but when the music plays, it sets free an evil spirit that is determined to take over the world. Can Lewis and Rose Rita stop it before it succeeds?

Brief Introduction to Some of John's Characters

The things you learn as you read each story

The thing about many of John's characters is that they are believable. Most of us can relate to at least one of them either because they remind us of someone we know....maybe a relative, a neighbor, a teacher or even, dare I say, ourselves. That's one of the ways to get emotionally involved with a character in a book... find the common ground that we share.

Lewis Barnavelt: The year is 1948 and the setting is New Zebedee, Michigan. We are introduced to newly orphaned Lewis Barnavelt in, The House With A Clock In It's Walls. He is 10 years old and his parents have been killed in a car accident. He is taken in by his father's brother, Jonathan, whom he never met prior to having to go live with him. Lewis is socially awkward, not very good at sports and afraid of bullies because he gets picked on a lot by them. Although timid and shy, Lewis can be counted on to do the right thing. It is said in the House with A Clock In It's Walls that Lewis grows up to become an astronomer and works at Mt. Palomar

Jonathan Barnavelt: Lewis' uncle does magic tricks and considers himself parlor magician. He lives on High Street in a three story stone mansion with a tall turret in the front. He is single, but good friends with the lady next door, Florence Zimmerman.

Rose Rita Pottinger: We first hear about Rose Rita in the book, The House With A Clock In It's Walls , but we don't get a full introduction until John's second book, The Figure In The Shadows. She lives on Mansion Street and what really impresses Lewis is that she knows all the different kind of cannon. She is a tom boy, doing all the things that boys liked to do, "fishing and climbing trees and playing baseball". She wears glasses and her hair is "long and dark and stringy".

Florence Zimmerman: Neighbor and friend to Uncle Jonathan. She is a real witch and she is crazy about the color purple. She makes a mean chocolate chip cookie and she likes to call Uncle Jonathan names (in a good way) like "Brush Mush" and "Weird Beard".

Anthony Monday: We first meet Anthony in the The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn". A tall and awkward looking boy with a thin pinched face and long pointed nose. At 14 years of age, he works, part time, at the Hoosac Public Library in Minnesota, along side his best friend, Miss Eells.

Johnny Dixon: Johnny is about 13 years old with short blond hair and a pale complexion. He is a bit on the timid side. He thinks of himself as being weird and the kids at school pick on him because they also think he is weird. He is bad at sports but good at homework. His mother passed away in 1950. Johnny lives with his grand parents in Dustin Heights Massachusetts. He has two good friends, Byron Ferguson and Professor Roderick Childermass.

Byron "Fergie" Ferguson: Johnny Dixon's best friend. He gets involved in a lot of the strange capers that Johnny finds himself involved in. We are first introduced to Fergie in The Mummy, The Will and The Crypt . "His face was long and droopy and his ears stuck out. He had a long blunt-end nose and greasy, curly black hair. His gangly arms hung down and his legs were too long. His feet were enormous. The shoes he was wearing were the kind that kids called gunboats."

Professor Roderick Childermass: A short man close to 70 years old, with a strawberry nose and wildly sprouting mutton chop whiskers. He is Johnny Dixon's best friend and lives right across the street from him in a "big gloomy, gray stucco house." He is an excellent cook, loves chocolate and does have a bit of a temper, but overall he is a kind man and truly cares about Johnny. He teaches history at Haggstrum College.

Myra Eells: The head librarian at the Hoosac Public Library. An "odd bird like little woman with a messy nest of white hair and gold rimmed glasses". She is Anthony Monday's best friend. She is a bit clumsy, too

Father Thomas Higgens : A priest at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Dunston Heights. A good friend to both Johnny and Professor Childermass.

Dr. Charles Coote: A professor at the University of New Hampshire. He is a "tall, gawky man with a bumped ridged nose and big googly glasses."

Bits of Trivia About John's Characters

The little pieces of info you get about each character as you read through the books, helps to bring that character to life. Discovering the real life traits and experiences helps to add depth and dimension and help us achieve a connection to the character.

Johnny Dixon's grandparents were given their first TV set by Professor Childermass as a present. Grandma Dixon was, at first a little hesitant to have one, but soon began to love to watch shows like "The Kate Smith Hour", Milton Berle and soap operas like "Search For Tomorrow".

Professor Childermass had a Cousin Bea who died of a brain tumor. She was misdiagnosed as having bad teeth by Dr. Schermerhorn.

Johnny Dixon's father was a pilot in the Korean War. He volunteered to go back into service in the Air Force because he loved to fly. But, I sort of wonder if he did so to try to block out the recent death of his wife.

Johnny meets his friend Fergie for the first time during a boy scout camping trip to Camp Chocorua in New Hampshire. (The Mummy, The Will, and the Crypt)

Professor Childermass' father had taught at Princeton and named his sons for characters in novels written by Tobias Smollett: Roderick Random, Peregrine Pickle, Humphrey Clinker and Ferdinand Count Fathom.

Anthony Monday's mother was a mean spoken woman who had grown up poor because her father has lost nearly everything they owned by investing in stocks that turned out to be fake. Even when there was no cause to worry about money, she was still not satisfied and believed they were just one step away from the poor house. She was also mean to Anthony, telling him he was "worthless, stupid and selfish".

Professor Childermass' father lived to be 103 years old.

Gramma Dixon never indulged in drinking alcohol and she was diabetic requiring insulin shots daily. (The Curse of the Blue Figurine)

Professor Childermass had been an intelligence agent in WWI and his code name was "The Crab". (The Curse of the Blue Figurine)

John's Gravesite

Greenwood Cemetery, East Broadway Street in Haverhill, Mass

After John's death, his estate contacted writer Brad Strickland in the hopes that he could finish John's incomplete manuscripts. There were also a few outlines for new books and it was hoped that Brad would be willing to take on the daunting task of completing John's work and carrying on with it... and he agreed. Brad has also written his own books, using the characters created by John.

I recently had the chance to make a visit to the cemetery where John is buried. I have to say that if he had a hand in picking this cemetery, it seems to fit him well. It's a quiet and restful place, off the beaten path. There are no large tombstones or ornately decorated family crypts or mausoleums to be seen and if you are in the right frame of mind, the cemetery can be a bit dark and scary. It seems to be the perfect burial place for a man who wrote gothic stories. John's grave is in the front of the cemetery, right along the main road. I stood back a bit and looked at the grave and wondered how many people, who drove by the cemetery, knew that John was buried there....or even had a clue as to who he was. Most people simply hurry on by, and few would even think to stop and walk through a cemetery; I mean what can be learned from doing something like that, right? :)

Time has not been kind to John's stone, the highlighting on it's lettering is wearing off, making the reading difficult. On the front of the stone is John's name, date and place of birth and the date and place of his death. As well as the Latin phrase "Sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt" which has different translations, and the one by Vergil may be the one John preferred, "These are the tears of things, and our mortality cuts to the heart". It's a line from the epic poem, "The Aeneid" by Vergil. On the back of John's stone is a listing of his books.

Buried beside John, is his son, Frank who died in 1999 at 29 years of age. Frank was instrumental in getting author Brad Strickland to take over the "guardianship" of the characters that John created.

Once Upon A Midnight Scary

1979 Saturday Morning Show

In 1979, "The House With A Clock In It's Walls" was part of an hour long episode of the "CBS Library" called "Once Upon A Midnight Scary" hosted by Vincent Price. In this special, three stories were presented, "The Ghost Belonged To Me", "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "The House With A Clock In It's Walls. Actor Severn Darden was Uncle Jonathan and Michael Brick was Lewis. I do remember watching the show and being disappointed in how short each segment was. Ghost stories made into a TV show sounded like a great idea, it just wasn't executed as well as it could have been.

This was released on VHS years ago, but as far as I know, has never been released on DVD. It's a shame really, while it wasn't that great of an adaption, it is still worth having simply because it was based on John's work.

See some screen captures from the episode here at The Haunted Closet.

Also, in 1980, there was a show called the "CBS Children's Mystery Theatre" that had an adaption of John's book, The Treasure of Alpheus T. Winterborn which has Dody Goodman as Miss Ells and Keith Coogan as Anthony Monday. You will have a tough time finding it when you search for it using the book's title...instead it was broadcast as "The Clue According to Sherlock Holmes". It had been released onto VHS, but that is long since out of print.

John's Books are Educational

Learn new words, explore new places, meet historical characters and more!

In John's books, you will find many interesting things, like names of real historical figures you may not have ever head of before, real places you can visit, cool words to help expand your vocabulary and more. Just a few of these things are listed here.

Asmodai: the name has different spelling, but Asmodai is usually described as being a demon.

Aziel: A demon that is the guardian of hidden treasures.

Aurelian Townshend was a real English writer and poet who lived during the 17th century. In the Trolley To Yesterday John uses the name Aurelian Townsend (he changed the spelling of the last name) as the previous owner of professor Childermass' house.

bibble babble: Idle talk

flummery: foolish talk or idle chatter

Margaret Mattson: The only woman put on trial for being a witch in Pennsylvania in 1683. Mentioned in The Ghost In The Mirror.

fruor: Latin word meaning "to get pleasure from" or to enjoy.

fungor: Latin word meaning to "occupy yourself" or "to perform or execute an action".

ulciscor: Latin word that translates out to revenge or to take vengeance upon.

Thoth: Egyptian god of writing, knowledge, secrets and scribes and is mentioned in The Curse of the Blue Figurine

ushabti:a funeral figurine used in Ancient Egypt. These figures were placed in tombs and in the after life and if the deceased would be required to do manual labor the figures would do the work instead. There could be a few to hundreds in a tomb depending on the importance of the deceased.

St. Mary Redcliffe in Bristol England

Christmas Steps in Bristol England

Isambard Kingdom Brunel British civil engineer famed for his bridges, docks and for building the first major British railway.

John Dee: Alchemist, Mathematician, Astronomer and Astrologer and is mentioned in John's book, The House With a Clock In Its Walls

Malleus Maleficarum: A real treatise written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger as a guide to combating witchcraft.

Author Brad Strickland keeps John's characters alive and well!

Thank you!

Brad is an author has is known mostly for his books written in the science fiction and fantasy genre. He has written or co written over 60 novels and more than 100 short stories. He is a Professor of English at Gainesville State College in Oakwood, Georgia. His wife, Barbara Strickland is also a successful writer in her own right.

Learn more about him by visiting Brad at his website.

Some of the books written by Brad using John's characters.
* The Whistle, The Grave and The Ghost
* The Sign of the Sinister Sorcerer
* The Tower at the End of the World
* The Specter From the Magician's Museum
* The House Where Nobody Lived
* The Beast Under the Wizard's Bridge
* The Drum, the Doll, and the Zombie
* The Wrath of the Grinning Ghost
* The Hand of the Necromancer
* The Bell, the Book, and the Spellbinder

Edward Gorey lots of illustrations for John's books!

Edward St. John Gorey was born February 22, 1925. He always said that he inherited his artistic talents from his mother's side of the family, in particular, his great grandmother,Helen St. John Garvey, who was a greeting card illustrator during the 19th century. He never claimed to have much formal art training, but he did attend for one semester, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1943. From 1953 to 60 he worked in the art department at Doubleday Publishing and illustrated many book covers. In his later years he would illustrate many of John's books. The Beast Under the Wizard's Bridge is the last published artwork of Edward's before is death in 2000.