Witch Catcher / Mary Downing Hahn / 236 pages

In 1990, Mary Downing Hahn was wandering around a craft fair in Frederik, Maryland.  At a glassblower's booth she discovered glass globes about the size of a softball with swirling patterns of iridescent color.  Each globe had a spout on the side.  When asked, the glassblower said that the spout was to catch the witch.  "In the old days, folks hung them in windows.  If a witch came to the house, she's see the swirl of color in the glass.  She couldn't resist..."   Miss Hahn bought a witch catcher and hung it in the window of her writing room.  She did not catch a witch, but she did get inspiration for this story.  Twelve-year-old Jen finds a witch catcher in the tower of Mostyn Castle, an ancient home filled with invaluable antiques inherited by her widowed father from his Great Uncle Thaddeus.  Her father's mysterious new girlfriend, Moura, wants the witch catcher...