Most Popular Books by John Bellairs

A haunting gothic tale by master mysery writer John Bellairs--soon to be a major motion picture starring Cate Blanchett and Jack Black! "The House With a Clock in Its Walls will cast its spell for a long time."--The New York Times Book Review When Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan. comes to stay with his uncle Jonathan, he expects to meet an ordinary person. But he is wrong. Uncle Jonathan and his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Zimmermann, are both magicians! Lewis is thrilled. At first, watchng magic is enough. Then Lewis experiments with magic himself and unknowingly resurrects the former owner of the house: a woman named Selenna Izard. It seems that Selenna and her husband built a timepiece into the walls--a clock that could obliterate humankind. And only the Barnavelts can stop it!

It was a warm summer day in 1951 when Rose Pottinger and Mrs. Zimmermann entered the tunnel. When they had emerged, it was snowing...and the year was 1828. Mrs. Zimmermann had felt that the ghost of Granny Wetherbee, who had taught Mrs. Zimmermann witchery, was in trouble and needed help. So she and Rose Rita had traveled to Pennsylvania where Granny had lived. They never dreamed that they would also journey back to a time long ago where they would encounter a sorcerer more terrifying than either could have imagined. Books by John Bellairs: The Doom of the Haunted Opera The Figure In the Shadows The Ghost in the Mirror The House With a Clock In Its Walls The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring The Mansion in the Mist The Specter From the Magician''s Museum The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder

From his adventures in The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn teenager Anthony Monday returns to take on a storm of sorcery. Anthony can always count on his friend, sixty-eight-year-old librarian Miss Eells, to break up Hoosac’s hot summer days with some adventure or other, but this one takes the cake. On their way to get ice cream, they make a side trip to the abandoned mansion of the late J. K. Borkman, a once rich and weird eccentric who was obsessed with the weather. When Anthony finds a diary there, the pages seemed filled with the ramblings of a crazy old man, until Borkman’s son starts fixing up the dilapidated house—and the storms come. Hail, lightning, and dangerous winds descend upon Hoosac. And when Anthony and Miss Eells connect the wild weather to the diary, they uncover a diabolical plan, black magic, and a son more than willing to finish what his father started . . . “A wild, ghoulish plot . . . There’s a nice balance most of the way through between folksy charm and gently intense suspense.” —Kirkus Reviews “The atmosphere Bellairs creates is creepy and a little chilling . . . So, wait for a dark and stormy night, grab a blanket and a flashlight and enjoy this eerie mystery.” —SF Site “Fast, witty and intricate entertainment.” —Publishers Weekly “Pure Bellairs.” —School Library Journal

A rich, magical gothic mystery from the legendary John Bellairs Rose Rita wishes she could go to camp like her bets friend, Lewis. She''s sure that boys get to have all the fun.--until Mrs. Zimmermann offers her an adveture of her own. Mrs. Zimmermann''s cousin Oley has left her his farm, as well as a ring that he thinks is magic. But when the two arrive at the deserted farm, the ring has mysteriously vanished. What power does it have? And will the person who took it use the ring to do evil?

A “spooky[,] spine-tingling” time travel adventure that takes a boy and his eccentric professor friend to the mysterious Byzantine Empire (Publishers Weekly) . . . [Description] Johnny Dixon is worried about Professor Childermass. The professor has always been an odd duck, but lately his behavior has been positively bizarre. He’s been talking to himself and stalking down the street with his collar turned up and his hat over his eyes, and now he won’t return Johnny’s calls. Johnny’s afraid that the professor’s old age is starting to get to him, but he will soon find it’s something far more amazing—and far more dangerous. The professor has discovered a trolley that can carry them five hundred years back in time, to the last days of the Byzantine Empire. In the dark and winding streets of Constantinople, he and Johnny confront crusaders, mystics, and thieves as they attempt to save the ancient empire from destruction at the hands of the advancing Turkish armies. Created by the award-winning author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls, Johnny Dixon is one of the most charming young heroes in literature—a spunky, bespectacled young man whose curiosity often gets him into trouble—and his “wonderfully warming friendship with cantankerous old Professor Childermass makes them an endearing detective team” (The New York Times).

A classic fantasy/mystery from critically acclaimed novelist John Bellairs Lewis thought the amulet would bring him good luck--instead, it brought nothing but evil. Lewis is sure that Grandpa Barnavelt''s 1859 lucky coin is really a magic talisman in disguise. With its power, he could do anything he wante--like get back at bully Woody Mingo. But as soon as he begins wearing the coin around his neck, strange things start to happen. Mysterious letters arrive in the dead of night. A strange, shadowy figure seems to be tracking him. And when Lewis finally gets his revenge on Woody, he feels as if someone else is inside his body, urging him to go even further. Has Lewis awakened a force beyond his control?

A bookish boy searches for his missing best friend in this spooky tale by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls On a country lane in snowbound 1950s New Hampshire, a car goes skidding off the road. Professor Childermass and Johnny Dixon escape unscathed, but their car is stuck, and they are forced to walk into town. Johnny doesn’t mind. A curious young man, he has fun anytime the professor takes him out, because he’s treated like an adult. Together they’ve gotten into all sorts of supernatural scrapes, and this winter night, they’ll face their toughest challenge yet. When Childermass suddenly vanishes, Johnny is the only one who can find him. The mystery is linked to a tiny skull taken from a child’s dollhouse, which seems to have powers too terrible to guess at. With the help of a crusty old Irish priest, Johnny chases the clues to his friend’s disappearance all the way to the rocky coast of Maine, where something evil hungers for revenge. From the author of the series featuring Lewis Barnavelt and Anthony Monday, the Johnny Dixon novels are charmingly old-school and shot through with suspense, and The Spell of the Sorcerer’s Skull may be the most chilling of them all.

A clever young man and an eccentric professor search for a missing fortune, in this spooky adventure full of “marvelous surprises” (Publishers Weekly) H. Bagwell Glomus built an empire out of cereal. In the 1920s, his Oaty Crisps were the most popular breakfast in the United States, and Mr. Glomus was the wealthiest man in the little town of Gildersleeve, Massachusetts. But he was not a happy man. In 1936, he took his own life and his will was never found. Legend has it that his last will and testament is hidden somewhere in his office, but so far, no one has been able to find it and claim the $10,000 reward. Yet, no one has looked as hard as Johnny Dixon. A precocious young boy who’s happier reading old books than playing outside, Johnny has a best friend in the eccentric old Professor Childermass, who knows every detail of Mr. Glomus’s story—except the location of the will. Together, along with a new pal from Boy Scout camp named Fergie, they intend to crack the puzzle—but before they can claim their prize, they must defeat an ancient evil force: a living mummy intent on destroying them. From the award-winning author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls, the Johnny Dixon stories are a refreshingly old-fashioned series of adventure and supernatural mystery. In the world of young adult suspense, few authors have the magic touch of John Bellairs.

A camping trip with his Scout troop leads Lewis straight to a strange, old grave and a mysterious, magical silver whistle. When Lewis discovers that this whistle has the power to stop the boys in his Scout troop bullying him, he is overcome with relief - finally he can enjoy being part of the Scouts. What Lewis doesn''t know is that the whistle also has a more sinister power: it summons a powerful vampire! Lewis is drawn into battle with this ancient evil, and with the help of Rose Rita, Unlce Jonathan and Mrs Zimmermann, he must save his own life and the lives of those he loves. Is Lewis strong enough to destroy the potent spirit? For fans of Goosebumps.

A young boy discovers a clue that points to an incredible treasure… When Miss Eells gives young Anthony a job at the library, he thinks he’ll just be dusting shelves and filing books. Instead, he discovers a hidden clue leading to the treasure of eccentric millionaire Alpheus Winterborn. Miss Eells thinks the clues are a practical joke left by the odd, old Winterborn before he died. But then why do things suddenly start getting so strange? And terrifying? This first book in John Bellairs’ Anthony Monday Mystery series will have young readers on the edge of their seats, desperate to race ahead the story’s final surprise. Books by John Bellairs: The Doom of the Haunted Opera The Figure In the Shadows The Ghost in the Mirror The House With a Clock In Its Walls The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring The Mansion in the Mist The Specter From the Magician''s Museum The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder

A fantasy classic by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls—basis for the Jack Black movie—and “a writer who knows what wizardry is all about” (Ursula K. Le Guin). A richly imaginative story of wizards stymied by a power beyond their control, A Face in the Frost combines the thrills of a horror novel with the inventiveness of fairy tale–inspired fantasy. Prospero, a tall, skinny misfit of a wizard, lives in the South Kingdom—a patchwork of feuding duchies and small manors, all loosely loyal to one figurehead king. Along with his necromancer friend Roger Bacon, who has been on a quest to find a mysterious book, Prospero must flee his home to escape ominous pursuers. Thus begins an adventure that will lead him to a grove where his old rival, Melichus, is falsely rumored to be buried and to a less-than-hospitable inn in the town of Five Dials—and ultimately into a dangerous battle with origins in a magical glass paperweight. Lin Carter called The Face in the Frost one of “the best fantasy novels to appear since The Lord of the Rings . . . Absolutely first class.” With a unique blend of humor and darkness, it remains one of the most beloved tales by the Edgar Award–nominated author also known for the long-running Lewis Barnavelt series.

A boy sneaks into an old church to confront a mad ghost in this adventure by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls It’s the 1950s when Johnny Dixon’s mother dies, his father goes to fight in the Korean War, and he goes to live with his grandparents. Although life in a new house is strange, Johnny’s “Grampa” listens to his favorite ballgames, takes him on long walks, and tells him stories of the strange mysteries that lurk in the shadows. Best of all, he’s friends with Professor Childermass, an eccentric academic who’s about to take Johnny on the adventure of a lifetime. When the professor learns Johnny loves ghost stories, he tells the boy the spookiest legend in Duston Heights, Massachusetts—the tale of the haunted church on the edge of town, with demonic carvings on its altar, and the troubled spirit of mad Father Baart, who is said to have killed two people before vanishing long ago. With the professor as his guide, Johnny sets out on a quest that will put him face-to-face with the crazy, long-dead priest. The first book in the delightful Johnny Dixon series by the author who provides “suspense and action aplenty” (Booklist), The Curse of the Blue Figurine is a good old-fashioned Gothic adventure.

A collection of three of John Bellairs'' eerie tales.

Johnny and his friends must unravel the baffling riddle in Peregrine Childermass''s will--or an evil madman will unleash a force so powerful it could destroy the world! Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

A young man is possessed by an evil spirit in this “gothic spine-chiller” by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls (Booklist) The abandoned schoolhouse sits just outside the town of Duston Heights, Massachusetts, and Johnny Dixon is not sure what called him there. Inside the darkened building, he finds three chilling stained glass windows which show a hooded monster, a vengeful angel, and the hateful, staring face of Zebulon Windrow. Impossibly, the old man speaks to Johnny, threatening revenge on behalf of one of his descendants—and then the room is filled with horrible insects. As they cover Johnny’s body, moving closer toward his mouth, he awakes and escapes the nightmare. But is Johnny’s vision of the schoolhouse really just a dream, or is it a warning? When Johnny falls into a strange trance from which he cannot be awakened, his friend Professor Childermass races to save him. To rescue the young boy, the professor must unlock the secret of the dream, and delve into the terrible mysteries of the Windrow estate. The Revenge of the Wizard’s Ghost is suspenseful, spooky reading for fans of R. L. Stine or anyone looking for a story featuring a middle-school-aged hero facing down grown-up-sized scares.

John Bellairs, the name in Gothic mysteries for middle graders, wrote terrifying tales full of adventure, attitude, and alarm. For years, young readers have crept, crawled, and gone bump in the night with the unlikely heroes of these Gothic novels: Lewis Barnavelt, Johnny Dixon, and Anthony Monday. Now, the ten top-selling titles feature an updated cover look. Loyal fans and enticed newcomers will love the series even more with this haunting new look!

Based on John Bellairs'' mystery-adventure series, this thrilling story will keep you on the edge of your seat! John Bellairs, the name in Gothic mysteries for middle graders, wrote terrifying tales full of adventure, attitude, and alarm. For years, young readers have crept, crawled, and gone bump in the night with the unlikely heroes of these Gothic novels: Lewis Barnavelt, Johnny Dixon, and Anthony Monday. And this installment by Brad Strickland is no exception! After Rose Rita Pottinger cuts her finger on an enchanted Egyptian scroll, Lewis must work together with his neighbor Florence and sorcerous uncle Jonathan to rescue Rose Rita from the tomb in which she''s imprisoned.

When Lewis, his uncle Jonathan, and their friends Rose Rita and Mrs Zimmermann take a trip to a small town near Lake Superior, they expect a pleasant holiday. Instead, they find themselves facing the ghastly Ishmael Izard, son of the fiendish creator of the Doomsday clock that was once hidden in the walls of Uncle Jonathan''s house. Ishmael is a cruel and heartless sorcerer, and he is determined to wreak vengeance on the entire world. Will Lewis and his friends be strong enough to defeat him, or will their fate be decided by their most formidable foe yet? For fans of Goosebumps.

A murderous surprise comes to light in this thrilling mystery featuring teenager Anthony Monday, from the author of The Dark Secret of Weatherend. Ever since librarian Myra Eells bought an antique oil lamp, weird things have started to happen in Hoosac—including the murder of a high school maintenance man. Anthony Monday is convinced it’s haunted, but Miss Eells thinks he’s just being silly—until she sees a terrifying vision. When they call in Miss Eells’s brother for help, they learn that the lamp has been stolen from the strange tomb of a Wisconsin lawyer who was involved with the occult. Convinced that evil forces exist inside the lamp, the trio plans to return it to the underground vault. But someone else will do whatever it takes to steal the lamp—and unleash a dark and ancient power upon the world . . . “Half-mockingly using the colloquial style made familiar in such series books as the Nancy Drew stories, Bellairs keeps the action moving right along.” —Kirkus Reviews

A boy tries to stop a rampaging robot in this “deliciously wicked fun” tale by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls (School Library Journal) When feared Yankees slugger Cliff Bullard goes barnstorming around the northeast, offering $10,000 to any local pitcher who can strike him out, Professor Childermass and Johnny Dixon get a sneaky idea. There’s a local legend about a crackpot inventor who once built a robot capable of throwing a baseball 110 MPH, and the professor thinks that if they find the machine, they can win Bullard’s prize. They discover the rusted old monstrosity in an abandoned workshop and put it back together, piece by piece. But when they screw in the robot’s eyes and it comes to life, they realize they have made a terrible mistake. As soon as it’s activated, the robot attacks, trying to kill Johnny and the professor. Was it made to be a killing machine, or have its circuits been corroded? To save the town and get a crack at the $10,000, Johnny and the professor will have to tame the steel beast. The adventure stories featuring Johnny Dixon, from the award-winning author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls, are a delightfully imaginative treat, and this book in the popular series features “a unique plot, marvelous characters, and non-stop suspense” (School Library Journal).

A flu epidemic ushers in a plague of dark magic in this spooktastic mystery featuring teenage sleuth Johnny Dixon from The Wrath of the Grinning Ghost. Though forty miles away, Duston Heights is not safe from the flu that’s raging through Boston. When Johnny Dixon’s grandmother falls ill, he’s sent to live with his neighbor to avoid infection. So many locals are getting sick that school is canceled for a week, and the reclusive Dr. Abram Ashburn comes out of retirement to make house calls. After seeing a scary vision of his bedridden grandmother outside of a window, Johnny starts to feel on edge. Then he and his best friend find what looks to be a weird map of a cemetery in Dr. Ashburn’s house. One specific grave is marked with an “X,” the burial place of a woman who practiced witchcraft in the seventeenth century. The townspeople recover from the flu, but they can’t escape the terrifying illusions and shadow people that now haunt them, unless Johnny and his friends find the key to unlock the secrets of the graveyard before a dreadful prophecy comes to pass . . . Praise for The Wrath of the Grinning Ghost “Fans of the series will enjoy this new supernatural adventure, which reads so much like Bellairs’s books that they won’t believe he didn’t write it.” —School Library Journal “Strickland’s story is eerie, suspenseful, and true to the personalities and writing style of Bellairs, who began the Johnny Dixon series . . . This is good reading for adventure enthusiasts as well as for series fans.” —Booklist

A young hero and his professor friend set out to save a priest from a ghost, in this novel by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls Aside from the eccentric Professor Childermass, young sleuth Johnny Dixon’s best friend may be Father Higgins, the kindly priest at the local church. When Higgins is transferred to the congregation in the tiny town of Rocks Village, Johnny and the professor are afraid they won’t see their old friend ever again. But they’ll be reuniting with Father Higgins sooner than they think—and the thing that brings them together will be positively out of this world. No sooner has Father Higgins moved than he begins seeing a ghost lurking around the church. The apparition is a young girl who never speaks, but has a habit of leaving cryptic notes around Higgins’s house. When Higgins disappears, Johnny and the professor follow his trail, embarking on a haunting quest that will lead them all the way to England. In The Secret of the Underground Room, this multimillion-selling, Edgar Award–winning author offers a good old-fashioned ghost story packed with adventure and suspense.

Originally published: New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, c1985.

As Lewis and Rose Rita investigate all the supernatural happenings in New Zebedee, they get more than they bargained for when a new family moves into the Hawaii House. Lewis and Rose Rita are soon drawn into a mystery involving forces far beyond the shores of their imagination. Why are there strange drumbeats emanating from the top floor of the Hawaii House? And why is Lewis having dreams about Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire? For fans of Goosebumps.

It is finally the summer holidays, and Lewis is looking forward to the break from school and spending time with his best friend Rose Rita, his Uncle Jonathan and his neighbour Mrs Zimmermann. But Lewis''s hopes for a peaceful summer holiday are shattered as one accident after another plagues him. Is all his bad luck really just a coincidence? Or does it have something to do with the mysterious hooded figure he keeps seeing? For fans of Goosebumps.

Something evil has taken over… Lewis Barnavelt and his uncle are in England, visiting a cousin at Barnavelt Manor. Lewis quickly becomes friends with the housekeeper’s son, and as the two boys explore a garden maze, Lewis accidentally unleashes demonic forces that summon the ghost of an evil wizard bent on destroying his entire family. Can Lewis fight the maniacal wizard, or will all the Barnavelts perish? * “Chock-full of deliciously spooky details and narrated in a voice that is as cozy as it is ornery, this tale is utterly spellbinding.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “The well-devised plot and the spooky atmosphere will please the series'' many fans as well as new readers who like their mystery stories scary.” —Booklist “Satisfyingly hair-raising.” —Kirkus Reviews Books by John Bellairs: The Doom of the Haunted Opera The Figure In the Shadows The Ghost in the Mirror The House With a Clock In Its Walls The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring The Mansion in the Mist The Specter From the Magician''s Museum The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder

When Lewis and his best friend Rose Rita set out to explore old Wilder Creek Bridge and the deserted farm nearby, they discover shocking secrets: the destruction of the bridge threatens to release a horrifying monster, the legacy of a long-dead evil magician. Even Lewis''s Uncle Jonathan and the magical Mrs Zimmermann may not be able to vanquish this ferocious creature! For fans of Goosebumps.

A young man fights to save his father from a spirit’s curse in the epic finale to a series starring “a terrific hero” (The New York Times) The sea is calm, the air is fresh, and the bobbing boat feels like a living creature underneath Johnny Dixon’s feet. Johnny hardly ever sees his father, who trains Air Force pilots in Colorado, and their annual Florida fishing trip is the highlight of his year. They’re on their way back to Duston Heights, Massachusetts, where Johnny lives with his grandparents, when a visit to a fortune-teller puts a terrible fright into Johnny. Inside the seer’s crystal ball, he sees a grinning ghost who cackles out a fearsome message: “The universe shall be mine!” Johnny tries to forget what he saw, but when he and his father return to Duston Heights, his dad falls into a coma, and Johnny is certain that the ghost is to blame. With the help of his old friend Professor Childermass, Johnny will defeat the smirking ghoul—or never see his father again. The Johnny Dixon series, from the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls, is full of fun, adventure, and supernatural chills, along with “believable and likable characters” who are a delight to spend time with (The New York Times).

This classic is now reissued with a brand-new look. A boy goes to live with his magician uncle in a mansion that has a clock hidden in the walls which is ticking off the minutes until doomsday.