The Figure in the Shadows

John Bellairs is best known as the author of sixteen gothic mystery novels for young adults comprising the Lewis Barnavelt, Anthony Monday, and Johnny Dixon series. "The Figure in the Shadows" (1975) is the second book in the Lewis Barnavelt series and is preceded by "The House with a Clock in Its Walls" (1973). So far from what I've read of this author, his characters tend to be elderly eccentrics, or ordinary children (no superkids, here). Lewis is resourceful, but with a child's fears and limitations. Most especially, he is afraid that his uncle Jonathan might send him off to reform school if he discovers that his nephew has been dabbling in magic. Lewis is a newly orphaned, plump, pre-adolescent boy who wears "purple corduroy trousers, the kind that go `whip-whip' when you walk." He went to live with his Uncle Jonathan (who is also a wizard) in New Zebedee, Michigan after his parents were killed in an automobile accident. It is the late 1940s, and New Zebedee bears a strong resemblance to Marshall, Michigan, where the author was born--- The Cronin House and the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) Hall still stand in Marshall, just as their counterparts do in New Zebedee. Lewis wants desperately to believe that an old coin belonging to his Great-Grampa Barnavelt has magical powers. He and his best friend, Rose Rita sneak a book out of Uncle Jonathan's occult library and perform a ceremony to `activate' the coin or `magical amulet' as Lewis likes to think of it. He is being bullied at school by a nasty character who stole his new Sherlock Holmes hat, so Lewis starts to wear the old Civil War coin around his neck for protection. Finally he turns on the bully and beats him up, but soon learns that the coin has other, even darker powers. Late one night, Lewis hears the mail slot on the front door clang. When he picks up the postcard addressed to him, a line of writing appears on the back: "Venio" which means "I come" in Latin. Lewis picks up a crumpled piece of notebook paper on the sidewalk with the same Latin message, and soon he begins to see a shadowy figure in a long coat. One night as he is walking home from the library, Lewis spots the figure standing under a street lamp. He goes up to it and "the figure walked forward out of the circle of lamplight. Now it was standing before Lewis. Lewis smelled something. He smelled cold ashes. Cold wet ashes." After he manages to escape, Lewis is so frightened that he asks his friend, Rose Rita to take the coin and throw it away. She wrestles the coin away from him, but instead of throwing it into the storm drain, she hides it. The bully starts in on Lewis again, and he decides he'll do anything to get the coin back again, even steal it from Rose Rita. By the time we figure out who the shadowy figure is and why it smells like wet ashes, this story has taken a very frightening turn. Lewis has disappeared and it is up to his Uncle Jonathan, his neighbor, Mrs. Zimmerman, and his fr

Lewis Barnavelt (introduced in THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS) is having problems. He's picked on by bullies and he's afraid his best friend, Rose Rita, doesn't respect him because he's not rough-and-tough. When he finds his great-grandfather's lucky coin, he starts wearing it, hoping it will bring him luck...only to discover that it's actually a powerful talisman and a sinister hooded figure is watching over him.This isn't quite up to the level that HOUSE was, but it's still a grand entertainment. We feel Lewis' pain and rage at being a target and at his inability to intervene when Rose Rita is attacked by bullies. Lewis' love/hate relationship with the talisman can also been seen as a symbol of drug addiction.It all ends well, with a good message about loyalty and a caution against using outside props (talismans or drugs). Next in the series: THE LETTER, THE WITCH AND THE RING.

This was a great book! It was a spine chiling tale that I read in one day. It was almost as good as The House with a Clock in its walls. The Figure in the Shadows is a story of a boy who finds a magical amulet and says a spell that raises the powerful spells on the coin. It allows him to have good luck, but that all changes when he starts getting followed by a shadowy creature. I reccommend this book to other kids. And I will be willing to give more than 5 stars.

I read this book 25 years ago, when I was 9. Since then, I have read thousands of books, but I remember this story, almost by heart. I did not know it was a series. I am going to buy everything by Bellairs, to read myself, and for my son, who will soon be old enough for this. I recommend this book heartily. Bellairs is quite the equal of Rowling. If Stephen King wrote youth horror, his charactorization and style would be close to this.

I read this book in the 70s or early 80s. I was so frightened by it that I stored it under my sister's bed at night just to keep it out of my room and away from me. It scared me that much - It's very vivid. To this day, the smell of wet ashes reminds me of the book. I mean this all in the best way, of course. I was, perhaps, a little unprepared for the depth of spookiness found in this book, but now I realize that while it frightened the living daylights out of me, it also thrilled me. I credit this book and MacBeth (also read when far too young and impressionable) for my love of "unseen" psychological horror fiction today. Definitely talk with your child after they read this, though. You don't want them spooking at every imagined figure in the shadows.