Report the Features of the Octagon House

We received word a few weeks ago the Winterborn House in Marshall is for sale. Actually, it’s the Pendleton-Alexander House and here’s the scoop:

Goth-y Gorey Goodness

by Soozcat (Jan. 10, 2009)
(originally published at laundryfaerie.blogspot.com)

Enquirer: Input Sought for Marketing Marshall

We linked to a recent story about a possible historic district in Marshall; today, a story from the Enquirer about ways to better market Marshall:

Review: Figure "Sending Shivers Down My Spine"

Book review: The Figure in the Shadows

Whoever Removes These Things Does So at Her Own Peril....

Jenny had “heard some good things about John Bellairs” but when she tried one of his books, she didn’t finish it because she wasn’t in love with it. But now, as Jenny says, “if you like John Bellairs, you may profit from my guilt.”

Haverhill And The Squirrel's Hoard

The ComicBookResources site featured Comic Book Legends Revealed #188 recently and included this bit of about another of Haverhill's inspirations involving a shirt emblazoned with an S:

Comic Legend: There is no explanation for the S that Jughead wears on his shirt.

The Metal From the Stars

Some fans are writing some fan fiction, including this piece by David Hines called The Metal From the Stars:

Gotham Book Mart Holdings Are Given to Penn

The Gotham Book Mart was a famous midtown Manhattan bookstore and cultural landmark that operated from 1920 to 2007.  News of its priceless artifacts was noted by Sewell Chan in the January 2 New York Times:

Therein Illustrated & The Honour Of It

We came across this article about the decline in artwork used in children's books. For an example the author cites John's novels and the differences in artwork between those published in the 1970s and those released during the 80s. We thought we'd re-publish it here to gain some more insights:

Comments of Praise, Richly Compiled

Catherine Dalek commented on some of her summer reading list, including few Bellairs titles:

Obviously I’m not the target audience. however, I’m not sure how well novels written in the 1980s but set in the 1950s resonate with today’s ten year olds.

What say you, readers of today?  Do you enjoy reading of the world 50+ years ago or is too strange a time and place to bother with?  We wonder how John would have been affected by - or would have affected - children’s literature trends were he still around.

More About Widow's Walk Lake

Filmmaker and Bellairs-fan James Strayer got in touch with us earlier this year about his latest work, Widow's Walk Lake, a film inspired partly by some of Bellairs’ spooky stories. The story is set in the 1930s and follows a young man as he goes off to war leaving his wife behind.

Enquirer: Marshall Historic District Possible

Darby Prater reports in the Battle Creek Enquirer:

In a town known as "Historic Marshall," it might seem appropriate that downtown buildings be required to maintain an historic appearance. But, while preservation of traditional architecture is encouraged, Main Street Manager Diane Larkin said without establishing a local historic district, the city has no legal control over it. Representatives and volunteers from 17 Michigan communities convened Tuesday [December 9] at Schuler's Restaurant to discuss the role of design in historic preservation. Marshall is one of four cities nominated for the master level of the Michigan Main Street Program, which will help Marshall attract tourism and industry, Larkin said.

Book Alert: Magic Mirrors

There is news this holiday season of what appears to be a new John Bellairs anthology on the horizon. This one is a collection of his non-YA books entitled (appropriately enough) Magic Mirrors. The anthology looks to include:

Something About a Magician Disillusioned

If there's one thing we learned from The Specter of the Magician's Museum it's the men and women who practiced stage magic came up with some interesting stage names. Much of Specter has its roots in the American Museum of Magic in Marshall as well as Colon, the magic capital of Michigan. There are more names buried out in Colon's Lakeside Cemetery, too. The Magnificent Fraud. The Amazing Conklins. The Conjuring Humorist.  America's Greatest Pickpocket. You get the idea.

Ion Zwitter shares the story of one such magician, The Great Lumache:

The Grave of the Unknown Stranger

I found the vignettes in this article interesting – and in one case, a bit Bellairsian. Even the title of this post strikes me as a potential book title.