John Bellairs Bibliography

The Scholastic

The Scholastic is the official student publication of the University of Notre Dame. Founded in 1867, it is the United States' oldest continuous collegiate publication. 

• "Permanent Residents" (April 27, 1956)
• "Decline and Fall of the Main Building" (March 20, 1959)

"Escape"

During their senior year (1958-59), students John Bellairs and Charles Bowen co-wrote the humor column, Escape, for the Scholastic.

• "the beginning: a little too much about the author"  (Oct. 3, 1958)
• "the lost harpsichord" (Oct. 17, 1958)
• "a scholarly attempt" (Oct. 31, 1958)
• "short shrifts and sliced shirts" (Nov. 14, 1958)
• "in hoc signo static" (Dec. 12, 1958)
• "schnee, eis, und scheistwetter" (Jan. 23, 1959)
• "bohemian life in our very midst" (Feb. 20, 1959)
• "twice the brinded cat hath mewed" (Feb. 27, 1959)
• "et in arcadia ego, or it was nice, wasn't it?" (March 20, 1959)
• "creativitie runneth amok" (April 24, 1959)
• "a baedeker of sorts" (May 8, 1959)
• "a demi-finale: the arthurian legend continues" (May 22, 1959)

The Critic

The Critic was a Catholic magazine published by the Thomas More Association in Chicago that provided literary and intellectual commentary on post-Vatican II Catholic issues. This was the journal where the story of Saint Fidgeta was first told, beginning Bellairs' career as an author.

• "St. Fidgeta: Her Life and Amazing Times" - June-July 1965

The Censer

While teaching in Minnesota, Bellairs wrote a piece for the College of St. Teresa literary journal.

• "An Anatomy of Abuses: Why Bad Poetry is Bad" - Winter 1965

The Southern Review

While teaching in Minnesota, Bellairs submitted a literary critique to this journal from Adelaide, South Australia.

• "Variations on a Vase" - Winter 1965

The Excalibur

In addition to his teaching duties at Shimer College, Bellairs found time to continue his writing by contributing two short pieces to the student newspaper, the Excalibur. His first article reviewed a student production of Thornton Wilder's "The Skin of Our Teeth". For his second article, Bellairs wrote a "book review" for the student class catalog.

• "Bellairs Reviews Wilder" - Nov. 7, 1966
• "Catalog a Provocative Work" - March 6, 1967

The National Catholic Reporter

Bellairs contributed a column to the NCR while living in Massachusetts.

• "Exterminating Negroes; or, Situation Bears Watching" - March 5, 1969

The Cambridge Phoenix

Bellairs wrote three humor columns for inclusion in the Phoenix.

• "Graffiti" - Oct. 9, 1969
• "Graffiti" - Oct. 16, 1969
• "Graffiti" - Oct. 23, 1969

Books

• Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies (1966)
• The Pedant and the Shuffly (1968)
• The Face in the Frost (1969)
• The House with a Clock in its Walls (June 1973)
• The Figure in the Shadows (1975)
• The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring (Jan. 1976)
• The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn (1978)
• The Curse of the Blue Figurine (May 1983)
• The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt (Nov. 1983)
• The Dark Secret of Weatherend (June 1984)
• The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull (Nov. 1984)
• The Revenge of the Wizard's Ghost (Nov. 1985)
• The Eyes of the Killer Robot (Oct. 1986)
• The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb (May 1988)
• The Trolley to Yesterday (May 1989)
• The Chessmen of Doom (Nov. 1989)
• The Secret of the Underground Room (Dec. 1990)
• The Mansion in the Mist (Aug. 1992)

Completed by Brad Strickland

• The Ghost in the Mirror (April 1993)
• The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder (Sept. 1993)
• The Drum, the Doll, and the Zombie (Sept. 1994)
• The Doom of the Haunted Opera (Sept. 1995)

Short stories

• "The Dolphin Cross" (June 2009)
• The Gargoyle in the Dump (Sept. 2015)