Cate Blanchett welcomes you to The House with a Clock in Its Walls in first trailer

Do you hear the ticking? It's coming from The House with a Clock in Its Walls. The first trailer for a film based on John Bellairs' children's classic, reveals Cate Blanchett and Jack Black welcoming you to a curious house with a curious ticking and even more curious inhabitants.

Eli Roth of Death Wish and Knock Knock weaves a gothic tale about 10-year-old Lewis (Owen Vaccaro of Daddy's Home 2) going to live with his uncle in a creepy, creaky old house. While there seems to be a lot going on in the preview footage between moving portraits, hostile dummies, and Blanchett's magical umbrella, the story comes down to a world of witches and warlocks Lewis discovers when he inadvertently wakes the dead.

Black now goes from grappling with all manner of ghouls and goblins in Goosebumps to hurling fireballs at evil spirits. Blanchett, too, seems to be keeping some semblance of her chic Cinderella wardrobe, but getting in on the action with a bewitched umbrella or two.

The original book, the start of a series, featured spine-tingling artwork from Edward Gorey. Amblin Pictures, which is releasing the film through Universal Pictures, promises Roth & Co. won't water down the scares.

Kyle MacLachlan, Colleen Camp, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Vanessa Anne Williams, and Sunny Suljic costar in The House with a Clock in Its Walls, which was written by Supernatural series creator Eric Kripke.

"When I was 10, I fell in love with this book," Kripke tweeted on the trailer's release day. "The only fan letter I ever wrote was to its author. It's one of the main inspirations for [Supernatural]. Now we got to make it into a movie. Dreams do come true. If you like [Supernatural], see where it all began."

The film will open in theaters on Sep. 21. Watch the trailer above.