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The books
- Awesome Art: The majority of the books were illustrated by noted Goth artist Edward Gorey. Gorey was so associated with Bellairs that the film adaptation of The House with a Clock in its Walls features a closing credits sequence based on his artwork.
- Complete Monster: Selenna Izard is a cruel old witch who helped construct the titular clock with her late, equally nasty husband Isaac. The clock itself is a powerful artifact with the power to end the world when it strikes at a certain time. When freed from her tomb, Selenna pursues the young hero Lewis Barnavelt, murders her henchman to create a Hand of Glory and attempts to murder Lewis's protectors to get to him for the clock. Selenna then tries to threaten Lewis into giving up the clock by threatening to torture his uncle and the good witch Florence, intending on using the clock to end the world out of, evidently, sheer spite.
- Fridge Horror: In The Letter, The Witch and the Ring, thinking about all the various ways Asmodai could have screwed over Rose Rita if she'd gone through with her wish.
- Nightmare Fuel: Selenna Izzard being released from her tomb. Lewis's possession by Eliphaz Moss. And that's just for starters.
- Older Than They Think: The Doom of the Haunted Opera feels a LOT like Harry Potter, but it predates the first book by a couple of years.
- They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: It's pretty clear at what point the new books really cease being 'based on' any notes from Bellairs, and for fans who grew up on Bellairs's books alone, the changes can feel wrong and jarring, to the point it feels like a typical ghostwritten YA series. (Most notably, Strickland doesn't seem to have the handle on the late Forties-early Fifties slang and references Bellairs did, making many of them feel shoehorned.)
- Special mention should be made of The Beast Under the Wizard's Bridge. The novel retcons the origin of the bridge so it was built to trap an Eldritch Abomination. The original explanation is much more interesting: a man builds the bridge and adds something to the iron so that the ghost of his dead uncle won't be able to cross it and get him. (There's more, but Jonathan tells Mrs. Zimmerman to shut up.)
- What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: Main character is possessed by a homicidal ghost. Main character about to be eaten by an evil zombie snake lady. Main character being hunted by, effectively, the Weeping Angels.
The film
- Heartwarming Moment: After the climax, Lewis and Mrs. Zimmerman have a touching moment in which he expresses sympathy for the loss of her family so many years earlier, then invites her to join his and Uncle Jonathan's "bevy of black swans." She agrees (on the condition that she may be a purple swan instead) and they embrace.
- Hilarious in Hindsight:
- This is the second time Eli Roth worked with a cast and crew member of Twin Peaks (Roth had hired the show's composer Angelo Badalamenti to co-score the music for his film Cabin Fever, while for this film he cast the show's star Kyle MacLachlan as the Big Bad).
- In Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, JB sang "Baby" (and cried like one) before he was attacked by guys dressed up like droogs. Here, he turned into a baby while inside a clockwork.
- Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: Tarby and Woody are more loathed than Isaac the Big Bad.
- Just Here for Godzilla: It's quite likely the biggest reason why it came out on top on an otherwise typically dreary September weekend is because the IMAX release in North America had a 3D-converted music video for Michael Jackson's "Thriller" attached to it.
- Strawman Has a Point: Tarby suggesting Lewis stop wearing goggles to school. While Tarby is written to be loathsome, and this is framed as not respecting Lewis's individuality, it's genuinely good advice. Lewis is desperate for friendship, and most of his peers find the goggles off-putting.
- Visual Effects of Awesome: The film has some incredibly beautiful visuals, such as the moving stained glass window and the pool of water with the Moon's reflection in it.
