The House with a Clock in Its Walls facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | John Bellairs |
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| Illustrator | Edward Gorey |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Lewis Barnavelt |
| Genre | Fantasy, mystery fiction |
| Published | 1973 |
| Publisher | Puffin Books |
| Media type | Print book |
| Pages | 179 |
| ISBN | 978-0-451-48128-3 |
| OCLC | 1048899765 |
| Followed by | The Figure in the Shadows |
The House with a Clock in Its Walls is an exciting mystery book for young readers. It was written by John Bellairs in 1973. Edward Gorey drew the pictures for the book. This story is the first of twelve books about a boy named Lewis Barnavelt. You can find out more about his adventures in the list of Lewis Barnavelt novels.
Story Summary
Lewis Barnavelt has recently lost his parents. He moves to a town called New Zebedee in Michigan. There, he goes to live with his mysterious uncle, Jonathan Barnavelt.
Lewis soon learns that his uncle Jonathan is a warlock. A warlock is a male magic-user. Jonathan is not the most powerful warlock, but he means well. Their neighbor, Florence Zimmermann, is a very strong and good witch.
Jonathan's house used to belong to Isaac and Selenna Izard. They were a scary couple who used dark magic. They wanted to cause the end of the world. Before they died, Isaac built a special clock. He hid this clock somewhere inside the walls of the house. The clock keeps ticking. It is trying to pull the world into a magical position. This would let Isaac destroy everything.
Lewis becomes friends with a local boy named Tarby Corrigan. Tarby is popular and good at sports. But soon, Lewis and Tarby start to drift apart. Lewis tries to get Tarby's friendship back. He decides to show Tarby how to bring the dead back to life. He tries this in the local cemetery on Halloween.
However, Lewis accidentally frees Selena Izard's ghost from her tomb. The ghost of the sorceress starts causing more and more trouble. The story builds to a big fight in the basement of Jonathan's house. Lewis must be brave. He has to stop the Izard couple from finishing their evil plan. He must prevent them from bringing about the end of the world.
Real-Life Inspiration
The Cronin House is in Marshall, Michigan. This is the town where John Bellairs, the author, grew up. This house was the real-life inspiration for the house in his book.
In 1992, the Cronin House received a special historical plaque. This plaque shows its importance. When the movie based on the book came out in 2018, the people of Marshall were very excited. They offered walking tours and other fun activities related to the book and the film.
Other Versions
- The book was part of a TV show in 1979. It was one of three stories in Once Upon a Midnight Scary. Vincent Price was the host of this show.
- The book was also made into a movie in 2018. The movie has the same name.
See also
In Spanish: The House with a Clock in Its Walls para niños
