The Spell of the Sorcerer’s Skull

By John Bellairs

(1984) ISBN 0803701225

In the midst of a February fun get away, Johnny Dixon and his companion, Professor Roderick Childermass, find themselves stranded when the professor’s vehicle loses a battle with the snow.  Their only choice is to take shelter in the closest inn and that chance decision will color their lives for the next few months and lead to a life or death situation.

The first thing that happens when the travelers settle down for a quiet night is that they learn the innkeeper has in his possession a clock with the name Childermass engraved on it.  Johnny and the professor accept the offer to take a look at this timepiece.  As they view this clock, the professor states that the dollhouse portion of the clock is a replicate of the Childermass parlor and that the figure in this dollhouse parlor represents an uncle who died mysteriously within the actual family parlor of the family home in Vermont.  There is an accidental touching of a skull that is the contained within the clock’s parlor.  This incident leads in a short time to Johnny having to reach out for help from others when the professor turns up missing, nowhere to be found.

With the help of several friends, Johnny succeeds in finally locating the professor but not before several scary moments which include encounters with witches and warlocks.  Johnny finds he must not leave much to chance.  Not to be overlooked is the diligent library research work in which Johnny and his friends engage in during their search for the actual location of the missing professor.