Marshall to roll out red carpet for 'The House with a Clock in Its Walls'

Nick Buckley of the Battle Creek Enquirer reports on some of the ways that John Bellairs's hometown of Marshall will welcome in the film adaption of The House with a Clock in its Walls:

An Interview with #PriscillaBellairs

Back in May, Priscilla Bellairs sat down with Dr. Chris for an enlightening interview on the Radio of Horror . If you missed the original broadcast, here's the audio. Happy listening!

Film: Composer Builds Scoring Stage Just for Classic Wurlitzer Pipe Organ

Variety reports [June 6] how composer Nathan Barr is giving new life to a decades old Wurlitzer pipe organ and how  it's 21st-century debut for movie audiences comes this September in The House With a Clock in its Walls:

Memoriam: Richard Peck

Author Richard Peck has died at the age of 84. 

Don't Look and It Won't Hurt (1972) was his first of 40 novels for young readers.  His writing earned him the 1990 Margaret Edwards Award, the 1990 National Council of Teachers of English/ALAN Award for outstanding contributions to young adult literature, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award.

His 1975 novel, The Ghost Belonged to Me, introduced readers to Blossom Culp who would go on to feature in four of Peck's novels.  Ghost was one of three stories included in Once Upon a Midnight Scary, the 1979 program hosted by Vincent Price that included, in addition to Peck's novel, adaptations of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The House with a Clock in its Walls.

A Glimpse Inside 'The House with a Clock in its Walls'

A delightful article from the Gloucester Daily Times about Priscilla Bellairs and the upcoming film adaptation of The House with a Clock in its Walls:

In mid-November, Bellairs was invited to visit the film set in Atlanta, Georgia, where she received a warm welcome from the film crew and cast members, including Jack Black, who she recalls was dressed in "hideous makeup," and Blanchet.  There, Bellairs witnessed the filming of three different scenes, which she said took place on "deeply elaborate sets" with an outstanding attention to detail in keeping with the settings of John's imaginative novel.

Plus, for those in or around the Newburyport area:

Coming up on Tuesday, May 15, Priscilla Bellairs will host a program at the Emma Andrews Library in Newburyport, during which she will give an eyewitness account of how an idea in the mind of John Bellairs more than 40 years ago became a children's classic book — and now, a feature film by Universal Pictures.  During the program, she will discuss her unique perspective on the film, which is sure to come with some surprises for Bellairs fans; though many readers speculate the house in "The House with a Clock in its Walls" is based on a Victorian in John's hometown of Marshall, Michigan, and others argue that it is based on a Haverhill mansion, Priscilla Bellairs revealed that it wasn't entirely based on either, but on a composite of the two.

Radio Of Horror Highlights /bɛl ɛrz/

Our friends at the Radio of Horror have highlighted John Bellairs, both in text and video:

John’s books really help me get thru a lot of crap in my child hood and was the first book series I ever latched onto as a kid to really embrace. Stories of teenage kids teaming up with an old mentor to stop a doomsday weapon surrounded by Supernatural forces black magic and more really appealed to me. The cover jackets and front page had some of the best art by the late Edward Gorey I ever saw and loved it.

And our best guess, of the pronunciation, is /bɛl ɛrz si ʌ/.

#HouseWithAClock Trailer Reviews (III)

Trailer reviews: The House with a Clock in it Walls

#HouseWithAClock Trailer Reviews (II)

Trailer reviews: The House with a Clock in it Walls

#HouseWithAClock Trailer Reviews (I)

Trailer review: The House with a Clock in it Walls

Film News: Things Are Quite Different Here #HouseWithAClock

The first trailer for The House with a Clock in its Walls was released today. It's our first chance to see Uncle Jonathan (Jack Black), Lewis (Owen Vaccaro), and Mrs. Zimmermann (Cate Blanchett) in action.  A mere 177 days until the September 21 debut.  The clock is ticking....

Film News: Photos From Inside "House"

USA Today features the first photos of The House with a Clock in Its Walls (in theaters Sept. 21), horror director Eli Roth's new family-friendly magical adventure that stars Jack Black as a small-town warlock and Cate Blanchett as the witch next door. (The debut trailer drops Tuesday morning.)

Chastising The Pedant and the Shuffly

So, we mentioned a dozen days ago that we were celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Bellairs's second book, The Pedant and the Shuffly. We also noted some of the Chicago influences on the book and hinted there was another Chicago story to tell. And here it is.

Celebrating The Pedant and the Shuffly

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of The Pedant and the Shuffly, the second book of John Bellairs and his second collaboration with illustrator Marilyn Fitschen. The short, 79-page illustrated fable details the encounter of the two titular characters: the pedantic wizard Snodrog, who submits logic traps to his fellow countrymen to transform their weak-minded bodies into linen napkins, and the fury, mop-topped creature known as the Shuffly, whose cheery and playful mindset constantly circumvents the Snodrog's best laid plans.

Remembering Ursula K. Le Guin

Forty years ago The Face in the Frost was first released in paperback through Ace Books, a well-known publisher of science fiction and fantasy titles. In a June, 1978, letter to his friend Gerald Kadish, Bellairs briefly mentions his book and then shares the good news:

"[Face] is coming out in November in paperback! I was sent the lurid jacket sample by a girl who works for Ace Paperbacks. The jacket has blurbs by Lin Carter and Ursula K. Le Guin, and I am tickled."

Le Guin died last week at her home in Oregon, leaving behind a celebrated body of work, including the Earthsea series, stories in the Hainish Cycle, and numerous standalone novels and short stories. Awards for her work include the National Book Award, the Newbery Medal, and multiple Hugo and Nebula awards.

(For the record, Le Guin says Face is “authentic fantasy by a writer who knows what wizardry is all about.")

Time Capsule: Jan. 27, 1938

We noted John's eightieth birthday earlier this month on Jan. 17.  Today’s the eightieth anniversary of his coming home from the hospital.  It’s not surprising to see he was born in Oaklawn Hospital, likely similar to the hospital Lewis visits at the end of The Figure in the Shadows (1975).