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Summary: This book is the first of 13 books in the Johnny Dixon mystery series. The story begins in the middle of winter in a small town in Massachusetts called Duston Heights. Johnny has just moved there from Long Island, New York, to live with his grandparents. He is beginning to make some friends. His first acquaintance is Professor Childermass, a friend of his grandfather, who stops by the house. The professor, a rather grumpy man, tells Johnny a story about the old church down the street. The old priest of the church has been given some kind of object by an evil artist, who supposedly had dealings with the devil. After the mysterious artist left town, two of the priest's enemies were killed. Though the deaths were allegedly accidental, some people believe the old priest was behind the deaths. The day after the deaths, the priest left and never returned. Many years later, several people claim to have seen the priest's ghost in the church.
A few days later Johnny visits the church, and decides to explore the depths of the church's basement. There he finds a hollow book with a small figure of an Egyptian mummy case and an old and tattered piece of parchment. Written on the parchment is this warning: "Whoever removes these things from the church does so at his own peril. I abjure you by the living God not to endanger your immortal soul. Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the lord. Remigius Baart."
Johnny remembers that Remigius Baart is the priest in the story the professor has told him. Johnny decides that these must be the items that the artist gave to the priest! When Johnny returns home with his find, he decides to visit the professor to show him what he has found. The professor tells Johnny the mummy case and parchment are only souvenirs, and have no magical properties.
A few weeks later, Johnny starts seeing the ghost of the priest. The ghost tells Johnny that he must return the blue figurine to him or Johnny will die. Soon after, the professor becomes worried because Johnny looks so scared. When Johnny tells him what has happened, the professor says that Johnny must have been imagining things. Johnny takes the figurine to a meeting place that he has agreed upon with the ghost, but the ghost fails to appear. The professor then asked if Johnny wants to visit New Hampshire with him and Johnny says yes. While the professor and Johnny are sleeping in their motel in New Hampshire, a mysterious shape comes into the room. Johnny follows it.
When the professor wakes up and finds Johnny missing, he quickly follows Johnny's footprints to the top of a high mountain. The professor finds Johnny on the edge of a cliff with a strange person behind him. The professor quickly pulls Johnny away and and they duck into a cave. The professor realizes the cave is where Baart died. They dig in the dirt and find a box containing the priest's ashes. When the ghost comes into the cave, Johnny throws the box containing the ashes at it and the ghost suddenly disintegrates. When they finally return to Duston Heights, Johnny and Professor Childermass tell Johnny's grandparents what has happened. The professor also apologizes to Johnny for not believing him.
American Bookseller's Pick of The Lists
Publishers Weekly: "Spellbinding... the characters are irresistible."
Kirkus Reviews: "Another of Bellairs' nicely shivery magic tales.... Bellairs handles the snug suspense expertly, never confounding the reader's expectations, but fulfilling them with communicable relish."
The New York Times Book Review: "A hair-raising, grand-whammy climax.... Susceptible young readers should relish this Gothic spine-tingler."
School Library Journal: "Combine flesh and blood characters with an eerie atmosphere as moody as a cold rainy day in March and the result is a horror story to be savored until the final page.... Readers are kept on pins and needles."
Amazon.com: * * * * *
Behind the Books: A Closer Look at John Bellairs: * *1/2
