Uncovered: The House where Nobody Lived by Nathan Collins

Artist and book illustrator Nathan Collins posted the image of his latest work, The House where Nobody Lived, to the Twitter yesterday. Similar to his previous book covers in the series this one is full of color and the big bad (Madame Pele, in this case) is front and center and larger than life. Aloha!

Virtual New Zebedee Trivia Night

The Marshall District Library sets the mood this autumnal season with a Virtual New Zebedee Trivia Night on Tuesday, Sept. 29.  Registration is required at the library's website.

'House' Closed: No Further Filming at 155 Greenville Street

The Newnan Time-Herald reports (Oct. 7) the historic Parrott-Camp-Soucy House used as a filming location for several movies and TV shows, including “The House With a Clock in its Walls”, has caused multiple street closures on the busy thoroughfare over the last two years. The HBO series “Lovecraft Country” is set to wrap up filming this weekend, and as the city waves goodbye to Random Productions, it likely will be saying goodbye to the picturesque home’s film career as well.

The House with a Cook in its Kitchen

Longtime readers of John Bellairs no doubt have their favorite scenes and some may even have favorite scenes that include food. How many times, for example, did Johnny scurry over to Professor Childermass's house with plans to discuss or decipher a clue only to be deterred as attention turned to cakes, candies, or tortes? What made Mrs. Zimmermann's chocolate chip cookies so popular? What makes a proper snake year sherry?

#Poll: Your Favorite Marilyn Fitschen Artwork in #FaceInTheFrost

Marilyn Fitschen, artist and illustrator - and one of John Bellairs's oldest friends - created 12 full page illustrations for The Face in the Frost.  In celebration of its 50th anniversary this year, we want to know which one is your favorite.

Perhaps it’s the sight of Prospero’s house, complete with hippopotamus weather vane? Or maybe it’s our old friend, King Gorm (the Wonderworker)?

Or maybe you prefer something darker, more unsettling – there’s something hanging from the boughs of a tree, there’s the eerie entrance to the forbidden forest, and then there's Five Dials. Need we say more?

Pick your favorite from the list below...and use the spell!

Celebrating the 'Year Of #Pompeii'

This opening paragraph in Forbes recently caught our eye:

New excavations have been ongoing at Pompeii for a few years, largely related to conservation work and other attempts to protect the UNESCO world heritage site from both looters and the environment, but 2018 has produced dozens of visually striking artifacts and skeletons that suggest 2018 was the 'Year of Pompeii.'

The ancient town is best remembered for being destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD - some 19-hundred years ago. Some of the archaeological interests that surfaced this year include:

Litany of Saint Fidgeta (rev.)

 As you prepare (or wait) for the film, keep Saint Fidgeta on your mind:

• From the wandering wonder we suffer while waiting in long lines ... sweet Fidgeta, deliver us.
• From the pandering previews that preoccupy our time ... sweet Fidgeta, deliver us.
• From the "Let's Go Out to the Lobby"-like earworm playing incessantly in your head ... sweet Fidgeta, deliver us.
• From the feeling during the film we will see our noses and it will make us cross-eyed ... sweet Fidgeta, deliver us.

Inside One Of Hollywood's Most Famous Wurlitzer Pipe Organs

LAist writer Tim Greiving writes about the Wurlitzer Pipe Organ that shaped The Sound of Music and The House with a Clock in its Walls:

'House' Has Potential for a Universal Franchise #HouseWithAClock

Comic Book Resources (CBR) reports that with the weekend success of "The House with a Clock in its Walls" that Universal Pictures may have stumbled onto its own low-key answer to some sort of franchise.  After all, they point out, there are a dozen novels in the series - from both Bellairs and Brad Strickland:

'House' Wins Box Office with $26.9M

Congratulations are in order for director Eli Roth, writer Eric Kripk, and the entire cast and crew as USA Today reports "The House with a Clock in its Walls" won the weekend box office:

The Gothic family fantasy film exceeded expectations to debut with an estimated $26.9 million in ticket sales at the weekend box office, while audiences showed considerably less interest in Michael Moore's documentary, "Fahrenheit 11/9."  "House" was easily the biggest draw on a quiet weekend at movie theaters, where the other three new wide releases all disappointed or outright flopped.

Fatherly: ‘House’ Seems Like It Wants a Sequel (#FigureInTheShadows)

Alicia Kort at Fatherly writes that the new adaptation of "House" seems like it wants to setup a potential sequel:

For a second, the new creepy children’s movie starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett looked like it might be kicking off a kid’s horror franchise, but as Lewis Barnavelt’s Magic 8-Ball would say “Don’t count on it.”

So, for now, there isn’t any big post-credits scene or ending to tease a sequel — the next book in this series is called The Figure in the Shadows — but don’t expect a new movie with that title to come out anytime soon. Which is too bad, really, these books are great, and the new film is worth your time, too. A sequel could still happen, of course, it just depends on how everyone likes this movie.

NY Post: Roth Goes from Gore to Gorey

Johnny Oleksinsk writes in the New York Post (Sept. 20) about Eli Roth's Edward Gorey-influenced scenes and characters in his adaptation of The House with a Clock in its Walls:

The director of frightful flicks such as “Hostel” and “Death Wish” has his first family film, “The House With a Clock in Its Walls,” out Friday. The movie is based on the 1973 novel by John Bellairs with drawings by famed illustrator Edward Gorey. Interpreting that late artist’s work for the screen was a childhood dream come true for Roth, a superfan. “Edward Gorey is my favorite,” Roth tells The Post. “I have Gorey art all over my house. I’ve found original prints, original drawings of his. I knew instantly the Gothic style.”

Marshall Celebrates Premiere of #HouseWithAClock

WWMT-TV shares some scenes of the Marshall debut of "House" on Friday night:

Marshall Rolls Out the Red Carpet for #HouseWithAClock

Kalea Hall writes in the Battle Creek Enquirer (Sept. 21) about the festivities taking place at the 146-year-old Cronin Mansion in Marshall:

How 'House' Led To All Things 'Supernatural' #HouseWithAClock

Entertainment Weekly discusses how 10-year-old Eric Kripke discovered The House With a Clock in Its Walls as a child and how it led to other Supernatural things: