We’ll Take Calvinism for $100

One of us on staff read the final book in Stephen King’s Dark Tower series and there’s a group of people known as the Calvins who study the works of Mr. King religiously, making all sorts of cross references to people and places and even brand names.

Gosh, who would be so crazy as to do something like that?

Happy New Year.

Grasshopper Ramblings' Postcard

Blogger Grasshopper Ramblings shared some of the people the blogger looked up to as a child. It's a John Bellairs testimonial – and, to boot, it notes John sent the then 10-year-old blogger a postcard. We've known some people who would give teeth – preferably someone else's – for their own Bellairsian postcard.

Cram These Words

Have you read many collage poems?  Have you ever heard of such a thing?  Here’s an interesting collage poem we found, written by user Four_Thorns. As noted, all words are taken from The House with a Clock in its Walls, though not necessarily in John's original or intended order:

Or was it glue? He couldn’t remember.
Out in the front hall the mirror
on the coat rack was talking to itself
little bursts of static.

A Legacy in Multimedia

Wayne Bose writes asking what could be done to further the legacy of John Bellairs.  His idea?  Video games.  Hear him out --

The Edward Gorey Documentary

An update from filmmaker Christopher Seufert of Mooncusser Films documenting his time with illustrator Edward Gorey.

Something About a Bellairsian Musical

We found a rather odd story earlier this week from our friends at the Online Museum of Hoaxes: a musical about the Cardiff Giant. If you're not familiar with the stone colossus we invite you to read a bit about it...and the replica...and the fact a group of people in Iowa came together to sing about it.

Time Capsule: The Subject of Fidgettine Scholarship

November, 1966: Of all the silly things we’ve read, heard, and seen about the life of Saint Fidgeta, nothing seems more absurd then it being used as a classroom textbook.

In a college class.  Taught by John Bellairs. 

Really.

Unexplained Noises are Best Left Unexplained

by the Chronicler of Mare Caelorum (Oct. 16, 2006)

(Originally published at thousandbookchronicle.blogspot.com)

Review: Spell "As Creepy As It Was When I Was Eleven Years Old"

Book review: The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull

Book Alert: The House Where Nobody Lived

The High Street wizards are coming back to you! Today!

After a three-year hiatus, Brad Strickland returns as author of the newest spooky adventure of John Bellairs's Lewis Barnavelt and Rose Rita Pottinger. The House Where Nobody Lived is the eleventh book in the long-running and popular Barnavelt series, centering on the strange Hawaii House of New Zebedee, Michigan.

Welcome back, Lewis - and a tip of the hat to Brad, too!

Chicago and the Places of His Dwelling

The second in an occasional series about where John Bellairs lived during his time in Chicago.

We've already touched upon Bellairs's first residence, the International House (or I-House) at the University of Chicago. He left at the end of the spring 1961 term and where he went after this is a bit hard to pinpoint.  There are a few gaps in the timeline and, for all we know, he may have returned to the I-House for a semester or two.

Review: Curse "Successfully Creates...the Evocative World Of Fifties Childhood"

Book review: The Curse of the Blue Figurine

Gorey Talks, Moves

One thing led to another recently and the end result was watching the old, eerie extended animated openings of the PBS program, Mystery! The original version's vignettes set the tone but it's the newer, expanded version trying to tell a story we've always liked.  Even though we don't quite get the story.  And that's the point.  However, from these works of Edward Gorey it was but a quick jump to something just as startling: clips of Edward Gorey himself, talking, from the forthcoming documentary project.

Ahoy, Long John Bellairs!

In honor of National Talk Like a Pirate Day we bring forth an exciting account of this roarin’ tale of the sea from one Long John Bellairs, that of Ye Cabin with a Timepiece in Thee Walls.

2006 Living History Portrayal Walk

Oakridge Cemetery, one of the oldest continuously operated cemeteries in Michigan, is home again this year to the annual Living History Portrayal Walk. This guided walking tour will feature actors portraying seven significant persons from Marshall's past at each of those individual's gravesites. The event will take place rain or shine so participants are encouraged to bring flashlights, wear comfortable walking shoes, and carry an umbrella.

When: October 14, 2005
Time: 7:00 pm

For more information, please contact the Marshall Chamber of Commerce.

Review: Curse "An Excellent Volume For A Child And Adult To Share, Especially On A Grim, Stormy Evening"

Book review: The Curse of the Blue Figurine

Moments of Clarity, Ambiguity

Maybe it's the fact we've been doing this for years and all our research is taking its toll. Maybe it’s the expectation of trying to top ourselves year after year. Do we subconsciously associate mundane items and events thrown at us by life, misconstrue them, and then try to find some veiled Bellairsian reference or influence? Maybe we need a rest.

Time Capsule: 1992

August, 1992: 14 years ago this August, John's last book was published a year after his untimely death. The Mansion in the Mist, with a working title of The Mansion at the End of the World, is the fourth, and as of this writing, the final book in the Anthony Monday series.

Anthony, Miss Eells and her brother, Emerson, endure a jolting ride in an old wooden chest and find a sinister world whose inhabitants are...planning...heh...we won't spoil it for you. Let's just say it involves a guy named Marius Ambrose and some of his friends.

Dedicated Words Which Writers Use

One of the first things we did when setting out to find people with memories of John when we began this project was identifying those individuals that played such an important part of his life that he dedicated his books to them. Who were they? Old friends from college? Family members? Other authors? People he’d met in since moving to Massachusetts? To cut to the chase...well...yes, some of all of the above.

43rd Annual Historic Home Tour

The Marshall, Michigan Home Tour is in its fifth decade of offering exquisite private homes and businesses for public viewing and enjoyment. The tour will feature eight vintage homes and will include five historic museums covering diverse specialties such as unusual architecture, antique home furnishings, Civil War memorabilia, and a restored antique post office. To close out the tour's sixteen structures will be three businesses from Marshall's well-maintained historic business district. Marshall's Home Tour was voted the Best Home Tour by the readers of AAA's Michigan Living magazine.

Of special interest to fans of John Bellairs is the inclusion of the G.AR. Hall (402 East Michigan Avenue) and Honolulu House Museum (107 North Kalamazoo Avenue) in this year's tour.

When: September 9-10, 2005
Time: Saturday 9:00 to 5:00, Sunday 10:00 to 5:00

For more information, including cost, please contact the Marshall Chamber of Commerce or Marshall Historical Society.

Review: Curse "Intertwines Real Concerns With Sorcery In A Seamless Fashion"

Book review: The Curse of the Blue Figurine

Happy Birthday, M.R. James

We celebrate what would have been the 144th birthday of historian and author Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936), long remembered for his series of ghost stories. Following English tradition, many of his 30-plus stories were written and read aloud during Christmas Eve gatherings of friends.

Book Alert: Le Tramway Qui Voyageait dans Le Temps

Le tramway qui voyageait dans le temps is set for publication in October, 2006; its the French edition of The Trolley to Yesterday.  As before, Lalex will be creating the colorful, contemporary cover artwork.

Book Marketing Goes to the Movies

NPR had a story recently about publishers finding new ways to promote forthcoming titles: “now, companies are producing trailers for books — like movie previews, but for literature.”

The story notes some of these trailers are online only, while others are on the big screen across theaters.

That got us thinking of the next Lewis Barnavelt book – of course, due on shelves in just over three months – and what kind of “preview” could be created to pique the interest of readers. Or, perhaps a campaign highlighting the entire Barnavelt series?

Build His Statue to Make him Glorious

The city of Marshall is thinking about decorating their already historical community with public art: sculptures, statuary and the like.  Vee Kalnins, an artist at the Blue Hour Gallery in Marshall, was quoted in the Battle Creek Enquirer as saying that, if approved by the Marshall City Council, art would be placed throughout the city encouraging local artists to display their work in a public venue.

Letting Thee Play the Scribe

We came across the a rather ambitious chap calling himself gollum42 whose summer goal is "writing a feature length screenplay adaptation of The Curse of the Blue Figurine, by John Bellairs."

We wish him well and hope we hear – or see - some of his endeavors. This may, naturally, bring up questions regarding films of John's books and all we can say for now is that something might surface someday but at the moment we're out of the loop of any such news.

Roger Bacon, Chewing the Fat?

Does this story sound familiar to anyone outside of The Face in the Frost? We're wondering if this may be another legend surrounding Roger Bacon (like the brazen head story) Bellairs borrowed and gave his own twist.

Review: Curse "A Chilling Mystery With Fascinating Characters...Riveting Suspense"

Book review: The Curse of the Blue Figurine

Time Capsule: 1966

June, 1966: We celebrate John Bellairs's fortieth year as an author this month, as his first book, a collection of silly stories about bizarre bishops, confused cathedrals, and numerous naughty nuns, was published.

Researching the PMLA

We are interested in figuring out John Bellairs’s contribution, if any, to the Publication of the Modern Language Association, or PMLA.

Strange Maine

Founded in 2005, the blog Strange Maine documents some of the odder things happening in the Pine Tree State. John Bellairs wrote of some weird happenings in Maine in The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull, particularly some spooky happenings in Vinalhaven. Michelle Souliere notes the book is one of her favorites as well, plus passes along a story about some recent events in Vinalhaven:

Six Hundred and Sixty-Six

In celebration of the 157 day of the year, and the supposed significance that today's date (June 6, 2006, corresponds to 6/6/06 – 666, the Sign of the Beast) we fetch for you one of the most terrifying, soul-crushing, horrific monstrosities Bellairs ever referenced.

16th Annual Marshall Garden Tour

You may have heard by now that Marshall, Michigan has more than a handful of historical houses. Many of these homes are surrounded by unique gardens of vividly colored flowers and raised vegetable garden beds. All this and more awaits visitors to the 16th Annual Marshall Area Garden Tour.

Scattered among these "work in progress" gardens are antiques, unusual plants, stained glass sculptures, rustic twig furniture, and a seated area under a picturesque pergola. The Marshall Area Garden Club sponsors the tour. 

When: Saturday, July 8 to Sunday, July 9

Time: 10:00 to 4:00 Rain or Shine!

Cost: $6 advance; $8 day of tour

For more information visit the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce.

Review: Curse "Concocted...Realism And Fantasy Don't Mesh"

Book review: The Curse of the Blue Figurine

Time Capsule: 1453

May 29, 1453 - Bust out your copy of The Trolley to Yesterday and read along as the Byzantines and their city of Constantinople fall to the Ottoman Turks - 553 years ago today!

A Look Back: the University of Notre Dame, 1955-56

I suspect you can call us enthusiasts with this: we’ve tracked down a copy of the 1955-56 Dome, the University of Notre Dame yearbook. We’ve thumbed through the thing and found a few items of interest, which we’ve highlighted below - plus with added commentary.

Book Alert: The House Where Nobody Lived

The cover of the new Lewis Barnavelt mystery, The House Where Nobody Lived, has been released.

Tales of a Sixth-Grade Library

Jim Roeg asks what you were reading in sixth grade? He says he chose that year because it’s an awkward time for most.

“As the oldest kids in primary school, we’d just reached the pinnacle of the social hierarchy…and were about to slide right back down it, into the scary and unforgiving world of junior high.”

Sounds like Lewis Barnavelt in The Figure in the Shadows.

Memoriam: Elaine Lund

Elaine Lund passed away May 1, 2006.  Elaine (b. 1926) along with her late husband, Bob (1925-1995), founded the Marshall, Michigan landmark, the American Museum of Magic, in 1978.

The Lunds were dedicates of Brad Strickland's The Specter from the Magician's Museum, in which Lewis and Rose Rita visit a similar museum in New Zebedee and stumble upon spells, scrolls, and spiders.

Book Alert: The House Where Nobody Lived

Here's a brief synopsis about Brad Strickland's forthcoming Lewis Barnavelt adventure, The House Where Nobody Lived, due for publication in October 2006:

Lewis Barnavelt and his best friend Rose Rita investigate a strange old house in their hometown and discover that they may be dealing with powerful ancient Hawaiian spirits.

Review: Curse "Handles The Snug Suspense Expertly"

Book review: The Curse of the Blue Figurine

Golden Time Conventions

We are interested in discovering any information about John Bellairs's connection to science fiction or fantasy conventions or conferences. For example, we know he attended the Boskone conventions held in 1982 and 1983. In 1982 he appeared as part of the entitled "What To Do When Your Prince(ss) Does Not Come," with Jane Yolen, Ellen Kushner, Robin McKinley, Georgess McHarge, C. J. Cherryh, and Joan D. Vinge.

Saving the Best for First

It’s been said by many a fan that Bellairs’s The House with a Clock in its Walls was his best novel because it was first. Our introduction to Lewis and the book’s cozy familiarity have made fans out of readers for years. And while the later tales of Anthony and Johnny – and even Lewis – still send shivers through our fingers as we turn the page, there’s something about coming to New Zebedee that first time....

Time Capsule: 1870

April, 1870 – Marshall is celebrating the official opening of Eagle Hall, or the Eagle Opera House. The first performance was an operetta called The Naiad Queen. For history buffs, the original entrance to the structure was at 101 South Eagle Street; the entrance was later moved to State Street until January 1890 with another entry area back on Eagle Street [Marshall, 186]. You can read about the New Zebedee Opera House – and the Day of the Dead – in the Bellairs/Strickland collaboration, The Doom of the Haunted Opera.

Review: Chessmen "Fast-paced, Exciting Story"

Book review: The Chessmen of Doom

Review: Curse "A Well-Written Alternative To 'Goosebumps'"

Book review: The Curse of the Blue Figurine

Edward Gorey News

The Edward Gorey House honors the work of Academy Award-winning animator, producer, director, and writer Derek Lamb (1936-2005), who brought life to the artwork of Edward Gorey in the opening and closing credits for it’s classic PBS series "MYSTERY". When viewing one of Lamb's animated films, Gorey gave it his highest accolade, "It’s so sinister." The exhibit launches April 15 and runs thru June 18, 2006

Link:
edwardgoreyhouse.org

Allusions Held In The Exchange

(editor’s note: occasional contributor/wiseacre Ron Sharp wrote seeking our help recently as he would soon be taking part in a book discussion club where the featured title would be The Face in the Frost. As such he came to us for talking points:

I had happened to brag that my friend knows all things Bellairsian. Basically these discussions are just interesting and thoughtful tidbits and insights you would like to bring up about the author, or the book, or something that struck you about the book.  Anything you think other intelligent people would find titillating?  Kind of like that article I wrote on the Ace of Nitwits - just observations.

We piled on some of our favorite trivial tidbits about Face and sent him packing. What follows is his review of the proceedings that fateful evening. Proceed with caution.)

Review: Beast "One Of Strickland's Weaker Contributions"

Book review: The Beast under the Wizard's Bridge

Encounters at Chicago's International House

The first in an occasional series about where John Bellairs lived during his time in Chicago.

The International House of Chicago (1414 E. 59th Street) is a student residence for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students on the University of Chicago campus. John Bellairs moved here when began graduate work in 1959 and remained a resident there until around 1961. He may have returned to live there later during his later years as a student in Chicago.

Go with the Green

Happy St. Patrick’s Day – and to celebrate, here’s a portion of the hymn Father Higgins taught us, St. Patrick’s Breastplate. Patrick is supposed to have composed this in his preparation for this victory over Paganism.

Review: Tower "Strickland Continues To Write As If Bellairs Were Guiding His Hand From Beyond The Grave"

Book review: The Tower at the End of the World