Time to visit the Michigan town that's home to a 'House With a Clock in Its Walls'
Long before Harry Potter cast a collective spell with his wizardly ways, a chubby Midwest kid who dabbled in magic was fending off evil in the fictional town of New Zebedee, Mich.
His name is Lewis Barnavelt, the lovably nerdy protagonist in a series of gothic mysteries that debuted in 1973 with the children's book "The House With a Clock in Its Walls."
Nearly half a century later, late author John Bellairs' best-seller is getting the big-screen treatment. The fantasy film starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett hits movie theaters this month.
You can bet your last Butterbeer that no place is more pumped about the upcoming film than Bellairs' hometown of Marshall, aka the "real"
