The Secret of the Underground Room: A Johnny Dixon, Professer Childermass Book [Hardcover]

John Bellairs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 17, 1990 | Age Level: 10 and up | Series: Johnny Dixon

Professor Childermass is stunned when Father Higgins claims that a ghost is trying to contact him. Then the priest disappears. When the professor and Johnny catch up to him, they make a terrifying discovery -- Father Higgins is possessed by Masterman, the spirit of a long-dead knight determined to rule the world. And it looks as if Masterman is going to get his way. "Has enough chills to satisfy readers not quite ready for Stephen King."-- School Library Journal

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- Once again Johnny Dixon and Professor Childermass are called upon to battle the forces of evil, this time to rescue their friend Father Higgins, who has somehow fallen into the clutches of the ghost of a medieval English knight. After reporting a series of strange and upsetting events that have happened to him in his new parish, Father Higgins disappears and the trail leads Johnny and the Professor to Glastonbury, England. There they meet the diabolical Rufus Masterman, whom the Professor recognizes as Father Higgins under the control of an evil spirit. Just how evil is soon made clear as Johnny, his friend Fergie, the Professor, and the Professor's brother Humphrey follow the few clues they have to the island of Lundy in the Bristol Channel. There, Masterman intends to locate and reanimate the bodies of seven evil brother knights who sold their souls to the devil in ancient times. As usual, Bellairs moves things along briskly, with enough chills to satisfy readers not quite ready for Stephen King. Characters are drawn with broad brush strokes, and new readers will soon know as much as old fans about the irascible but wise Professor Childermass, dependable Fergie, and loyal Johnny, whose sense of duty gives him the courage to face danger. Where Bellairs's other books are popular, this will be a welcome addition. --Elaine Fort Weischedel, Turner Free Library, Randolph, MA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 279 pages
• Publisher: Dial; 1St Edition edition (December 17, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803708637
• ISBN-13: 978-0803708631
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,491,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book Found In Underground Room!!!, May 8, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Secret of the Underground Room (Library Binding)

The Secret of the Underground Room by: John Bellairs

Have you ever been in an underground room full of dead knights? Well, see how Johnny Dixon handled it in The Secret of the Underground Room.

This book is about a boy named Johnny Dixon who traveled all the way to England to try and help a friend who is possessed by an evil spirit. What I learned was that friendship can go a long way.

I really liked this book because it was full of magic and very exciting. Will Johnny save his friend or will he lose him?

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very captivating, I couldn't stop reading., February 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Secret of the Underground Room: A Johnny Dixon, Professor Childermass Book (Mass Market Paperback)

I like this book because it gives an eerie sense of evil lurking around every corner. Even though Johnny Dixon is the main character, Professer Childermass always plays a huge part in the story. The settings are vivid and interesting, they include an crumbling church, a cemetery, and the inn, where Masterman, the evil knight, uses a spell which knocks the Professer unconscious. This is a very involved mystery with a few ups and downs.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ghastly ghosties, September 11, 2002

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret of the Underground Room: A Johnny Dixon, Professor Childermass Book (Mass Market Paperback)

Gruff and lovable Father Higgins is one of the better supporting characters in John Bellairs' many books. Now the evil-battling priest slips into the spotlight in an intriguing ghost story. Though not Bellairs' best, it's a chilling and fast-paced thriller for the pre-Stephen King set.

Johnny Dixon is depressed when his friend Father Higgins is transferred to a different parish. Father Higgins isn't much happier, since he dislikes his new congregation, and his estranged mother has just died. Soon he visits his friends Johnny and Professor Childermass, claiming that a ghost has been trying to contact him, that he is sleepwalking, and he shows them a strange glassy half-plate with golden fishes in it, and a cryptic rhyme.

Soon afterward, Father Higgins vanishes. The professor, Johnny, and Fergie go to England in an effort to track him -- and find that he is in the grip of a demonic dead knight, part of the pirate De Marisco knights that died long ago -- after some sold their souls to the devil. Now the evil knight known as Masterman is trying to set his old comrades free...

This book has the staples of a good Bellairs book -- evil sorcerers/ghosts/monsters/beasties that will either destroy the world or conquer it, spinechilling chapter endings, cryptic rhymes, and a lot of witty banter between Childermass and other characters. It's not quite as horrifying as some of the other Bellairs books, but it's definitely a good ghost story. Perhaps its greatest weaknesses are that the pacing seems to meander, and some of the plot twists are a bit strained. (Where did Bellairs get the line, "And in case you're wondering, he has developed his powers of ESP"?)

Johnny and Fergie are good as always, the meek Charlie Brown altar boy and the cocky gutsy kid who complement each other like peanut-butter and jelly. Father Higgins is given extra dimension, provided with his sad past with his estranged mother and his wish that he had reconciled with her. And Professor Childermass is his usual grumpy, irritable, generous and brave self.

"Secret of the Underground Room" is not Bellairs' best, but it's definitely a solid ghost-story with