Television Adaptations of the Bellairs Corpus include two programs that first aired in 1979 and 1980.
Once Upon a Midnight Scary[]
Uncle Jonathan (Severn Darden) talks with his nephew, Lewis (Michael Brick), in "Once Upon a Midnight Scary" (1979).
The House with a Clock in its Walls was one of three stories chosen for inclusion in the Vincent Price-hosted anthology program, "Once Upon a Midnight Scary". Released in 1979 as part of a CBS-TV children's mystery anthology series, the program featured Price wandering a gloomy mansion and introducing spooky yet entertaining tales that also included Richard Peck's The Ghost Belonged to Me and Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. While the program more-or-less follows the plot of House, fans will immediately notice the absence of Mrs. Zimmermann and that the 179-page book was condensed into 23 minutes. As such, it was not a faithful adaptation but simply a way to encourage viewers to seek out the book.
The House segment was later released as a stand-alone program under its original name.
The Clue According to Sherlock Holmes[]
Anthony (Keith Coogan) and Miss Eells (Dody Goodman) cry over spilt milk. Or sugar. Whatever. From The Clue According to Sherlock Holmes (1980).
The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn was adapted for broadcast as part of the CBS-TV "Children's Mystery Theater" on December 26, 1980. The program was produced and released as "The Clue According to Sherlock Holmes". As the title suggests, interactions between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are used a framing device for the story of Anthony Monday hunting a treasure associated with the city of Winterborn's library.
The Holmes portions were later excised and a shorter version of the program was released under the title of the source material.