Review: House "John Bellairs's First Book For Children And...His Best"

Book review: The House with a Clock in its Walls

Review: Weatherend "Pretty Stupid And Poorly Executed"

Book review: The Dark Secret of Weatherend

Review: Secret "Chills to Satisfy Readers Not Quite Ready for Stephen King"

Book review: The Secret of the Underground Room

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

Book review: The Beast under the Wizard's Bridge

Review: Doom "An Excellent Job Of Continuing Lewis' Loony But Chilling Adventures"

Book review: The Doom of the Haunted Opera

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

Remembering Severn Darden

by guest contributor, Alfred Myers:

In browsing the Bellairsia website, I noticed The House With a Clock in Its Walls lists Severn Darden as one of the actors. Darden was a product the famous Second City Comedy Group that originated at the University of Chicago. It, and its direct predecessor, the Compass Players, generated much of the edgiest comedy of the late 1950s and early '60s and produced such stars as Mike Nichols, Elaine May, and Shelly Berman.

Review: Face "Richly Inventive And Deeply Magical"

Book review: The Face in the Frost

Review: Wrath "Enemies Defeated Through...Ordinary Courage and Goodness"

Book review: The Wrath of the Grinning Ghost

Review: Chessmen "Perfunctory Outing for An Author Who Has Done Much Better"

Book review: The Chessmen of Doom

Review: Weatherend "Weak Beginning...Galloping Conclusion"

Book review: The Dark Secret of Weatherend

Review: Treasure "Falls Into A Lazy Pattern Very Early"

Program review: The Clue According to Sherlock Holmes (1980)

Something About Alhambra

A red fortress on the banks of the Wabash?

Review: Curse "Characters are Irresistible and So Are The Flashes Of Humor That Brighten The Macabre Doings"

Book review: The Curse of the Blue Figurine

Review: Weatherend "Lusty, Fast, Witty And Intricate Entertainment"

Book review: The Dark Secret of Weatherend

Review: Face "A Fantasy Classic, Defying Categorization"

Book review: The Face in the Frost

Review: Pedant "Read It To Yourself, Or Better Yet, Read It Aloud...It's Entrancing"

Book review: The Pedant and the Shuffly

Come Under One Body's Hand

Just got through watching a strange little film entitled The Wicker Man. It’s set on an island off the west coast of Scotland where people continue to practice ancient pagan rituals. The film was released in 1973 and it’s fairly dated and all, but there was one curious little scene that made me do a double take.

Something About Bellairs in the Classroom

Are you an educator who has used John Bellairs’s novels in your classroom for a reading assignment? Or perhaps a student who did a Bellairs-related project, such as poster, diorama, or model for an assignment? If so, we'd like to do some homework and discuss lesson plans with you. Drop us a line...even on a school night.