The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb

Book Information

Author: John Bellairs

Adaptations: None

Allusions: None

Awards: 1989 - Edgar Allan Poe Award, Best Juvenile Division, Nominee

Plot Summary

Anthony Monday and Miss Eells live in Hoosac, Minnesota where odd things are beginning to happen. It all starts when Miss Eells buys an antique oil lamp. It seems like an ordinary oil lamp until Anthony lights it. One night at his high school, Anthony burns the lamp as part of his science project. On his way out of the school, Anthony sees a strange-looking man who makes his blood freeze. Anthony drops his flashlight and runs outside, where he tripped over the dead body of the school's watchman.

Anthony reports the murder to the police, but even after an autopsy, there are no clues about the death. Later, while walking home from the library, Anthony sees the withered corpse of the watchman in an antique shop. Miss Eells tells Anthony that she has seen the man Anthony saw at the school on the night the watchman was murdered. Miss Eells calls her brother, Emerson, for help because he knows about magic. Emerson discovers that the lamp was stolen from a rich man's tomb. When they try to retrieve the lamp from the school, the lamp is gone.

It turns out that the woman who first sold Miss Eells the lamp has stolen it back and made it appear as if she has been killed by the spirit that haunts the lamp. The woman from the antique shop tries to gain immortality and the power of a god by using the lamp. She almost succeeds by paralyzing Miss Eells and her brother when they try to stop her. Anthony saves Miss Eells and Emerson by breaking the chimney of the lamp. When he does that, the wind puts out the flame and all the spells that the woman has performed are undone. When the lamp is put back in the tomb, evil is conquered.