Editing John Bellairs (section)

=== Books for children ===
Bellairs's next novel was originally written as a contemporary adult fantasy. To improve the novel's marketability, his publisher suggested rewriting it as a young readers' book. The result was ''[[The House with a Clock in Its Walls]]'' (1973), which was named as one of ''[[The New York Times]]'' Outstanding Books of 1973 and nominated for other awards.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Heinecken |first=Dawn |date=2011 |title=Haunting Masculinity and Frightening Femininity: The Novels of John Bellairs |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-010-9127-7 |journal=[[Children's Literature in Education]] |language=en |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=118–131 |doi=10.1007/s10583-010-9127-7 |issn=1573-1693 |s2cid=144558619}}</ref>

Following the success of ''The House with a Clock in Its Walls'', Bellairs focused on writing Gothic fantasy adventures aimed at elementary and middle-school children.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/childrensliterat37hedb|title=Children's Literature Review|publisher=Gale Research|year=1996|isbn=0810389517|editor-last=Hedblad|editor-first=Alan|location=New York|pages=1–29|chapter=John Bellairs|issn=0362-4145|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> "I write scary thrillers for kids because I have the imagination of a 10-year-old," remarked Bellairs. "I love haunted houses, ghosts, witches, mummies, incantations, secret rituals performed by the light of the waning moon, coffins, bones, cemeteries and enchanted objects."<ref name=":4" /> Bellairs also wrote his hometown influenced his creative bent: “In my imagination I repeatedly walk up and down the streets of the beautiful old Michigan town where I grew up. It’s full of old Victorian mansions and history, and it would work on the creative mind of any kid.”<ref name=":7" />

Writing for ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Marilyn Stasio]] characterized Bellairs' children's books as fast-paced, spooky adventures involving "believable and likeable" characters, generally a child and an older person (usually a "lovable eccentric")<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|last=Gardner|first=Craig Shaw|date=1984-11-11|title=Reading on the Edge of Your Seat|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1984/11/11/reading-on-the-edge-of-your-seat|access-date=2021-09-08}}</ref> who are friends and must go on adventures and solve a mystery involving supernatural elements such as ghosts and wicked sorcerers. Beyond these supernatural elements, Bellairs's novels evoked "a child's concern with comfort and security in his ''real'' world," addressing childhood fears of abandonment, loneliness, and bullying, as well as coming of age.<ref name=":4" /> His stories are described as spooky but ultimately reassuring as the characters conquer evil through friendship.<ref name=":6" />

The books have proved especially popular among [[Middle school|middle-grade]] readers between the ages of 9 and 13 but also have significant young adult and adult readerships.<ref name=":4" />