A boy sneaks into an old church to confront a mad ghost in this adventure by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls

It's the 1950s when Johnny Dixon's mother dies, his father goes to fight in the Korean War, and he goes to live with his grandparents. Although life in a new house is strange, Johnny's "Grampa" listens to his favorite ballgames, takes him on long walks, and tells him stories of the strange mysteries that lurk in the shadows. Best of all, he's friends with Professor Childermass, an eccentric academic who's about to take Johnny on the adventure of a lifetime.

When the professor learns Johnny loves ghost stories, he tells the boy the spookiest legend in Duston Heights, Massachusetts-the tale of the haunted church on the edge of town, with demonic carvings on its altar, and the troubled spirit of mad Father Baart, who is said to have killed two people before vanishing long ago. With the professor as his guide, Johnny sets out on a quest that will put him face-to-face with the crazy, long-dead priest.

The first book in the delightful Johnny Dixon series by the author who provides "suspense and action aplenty" (Booklist), The Curse of the Blue Figurine is a good old-fashioned Gothic adventure.

The Trolley to Yesterday

by John Bellairs

Published 1 January 1989
A “spooky[,] spine-tingling” time travel adventure that takes a boy and his eccentric professor friend to the mysterious Byzantine Empire (Publishers Weekly) . . .
 
[Description]
Johnny Dixon is worried about Professor Childermass. The professor has always been an odd duck, but lately his behavior has been positively bizarre. He’s been talking to himself and stalking down the street with his collar turned up and his hat over his eyes, and now he won’t return Johnny’s calls. Johnny’s afraid that the professor’s old age is starting to get to him, but he will soon find it’s something far more amazing—and far more dangerous.
 
The professor has discovered a trolley that can carry them five hundred years back in time, to the last days of the Byzantine Empire. In the dark and winding streets of Constantinople, he and Johnny confront crusaders, mystics, and thieves as they attempt to save the ancient empire from destruction at the hands of the advancing Turkish armies.
 
Created by the award-winning author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls, Johnny Dixon is one of the most charming young heroes in literature—a spunky, bespectacled young man whose curiosity often gets him into trouble—and his “wonderfully warming friendship with cantankerous old Professor Childermass makes them an endearing detective team” (The New York Times).

A haunting gothic tale by master mysery writer John Bellairs--soon to be a major motion picture starring Cate Blanchett and Jack Black!

"The House With a Clock in Its Walls will cast its spell for a long time."--The New York Times Book Review


When Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan. comes to stay with his uncle Jonathan, he expects to meet an ordinary person. But he is wrong. Uncle Jonathan and his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Zimmermann, are both magicians! Lewis is thrilled. At first, watchng magic is enough. Then Lewis experiments with magic himself and unknowingly resurrects the former owner of the house: a woman named Selenna Izard. It seems that Selenna and her husband built a timepiece into the walls--a clock that could obliterate humankind. And only the Barnavelts can stop it!

The Figure in the Shadows

by John Bellairs

Published 1 January 1975
A painfully overweight sixth grade boy receives a magic amulet which brings him luck, but also terrifying side effects.

A clever young man and an eccentric professor search for a missing fortune, in this spooky adventure full of "marvelous surprises" (Publishers Weekly)

H. Bagwell Glomus built an empire out of cereal. In the 1920s, his Oaty Crisps were the most popular breakfast in the United States, and Mr. Glomus was the wealthiest man in the little town of Gildersleeve, Massachusetts. But he was not a happy man. In 1936, he took his own life and his will was never found. Legend has it that his last will and testament is hidden somewhere in his office, but so far, no one has been able to find it and claim the $10,000 reward. Yet, no one has looked as hard as Johnny Dixon.

A precocious young boy who's happier reading old books than playing outside, Johnny has a best friend in the eccentric old Professor Childermass, who knows every detail of Mr. Glomus's story-except the location of the will. Together, along with a new pal from Boy Scout camp named Fergie, they intend to crack the puzzle-but before they can claim their prize, they must defeat an ancient evil force: a living mummy intent on destroying them.

From the award-winning author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls, the Johnny Dixon stories are a refreshingly old-fashioned series of adventure and supernatural mystery. In the world of young adult suspense, few authors have the magic touch of John Bellairs.

When Johnny Dixon takes a tiny skull from a haunted dollhouse, demonic forces are released, capturing Professor Childermass and leading Johnny on a harrowing chase to a deserted island off the coast of Maine.




The Doom of the Haunted Opera

by John Bellairs

Published 1 September 1995
Lewis Barnavelt and Rose Rita Pottinger are faced with a dilemma when their discovery of an unpublished opera score unleashes a wicked sorcerer who plans to rule the world by bringing back the dead.


Lewis and Rose Rita battle Ishmael Izard, the son of the evil magician who tried to destroy the world with the Doomsday Clock.

Chessmen of Doom

by John Bellairs

Published 30 November 1989
Johnny Dixon, Fergie and Professor Childermass comply with a strange will left by the Professor's brother, which requires them to spend the summer at a desolate estate where they encounter a madman bent on destroying the world.

Hidden away in the local library, a sorcerer’s book casts an evil spell in a novel by the author of The House with a Clock in Its Walls
 
Johnny Dixon and his best friend Fergie are whiling away a rainy day at the Duston Heights library when Johnny asks a screwy question: “What’s the last book in the library?” After Johnny goes home, Fergie decides to find out. There, under number 999.99, he finds a very peculiar tome, The Book of True Wishes, which is all about Fergie’s favorite subject: himself. The book knows Fergie’s name, and it promises him everything he ever wanted, which means he is about to forget a very important rule: Be careful what you wish for.
 
When the book puts Fergie under the spell of a mad old wizard, Johnny and his friend Professor Childermass will do whatever it takes to break the book’s hold and save their friend.
 
Johnny Dixon and his eccentric professor friend are two of the most delightful characters in literature as well as “an endearing detective team,” and their adventures continue to hold readers of all ages spellbound (The New York Times).