A real house that may or may not have a clock in its walls

The House With a Clock In Its Walls has always been a good, scary read, but I think I might have been much more freaked out as a kid if I knew that it was inspired by a real house in my own state of Michigan.

In fact, the whole town that John Bellairs lived in (Marshall, Michigan) was an inspiration for places in his books; the owner of a local bookstore even created a tour. One of the places you can visit is the American Museum of Magic, with a collection that includes thousands of books. Its focus is on stage magic, so need to worry about the kind of trouble Lewis gets into with his uncle’s books.

Fans might also enjoy poking around Bellairsia, a website about John Bellairs, his books and related topics (like news stories about the new movie). Trailers for the movie prompted me to read the book all over again, and I highly recommend it as an exciting book with wonderful language.