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Summary: In the town of New Zebedee, Michigan, a widow named Mrs. Zimmermann has been seeing strange pictures in a mirror and on the walls and ceiling at midnight. Could they be a message from the long-dead woman Mrs. Zimmermann calls Granny Wetherbee? Rose Rita Pottinger notices that Mrs. Zimmermann is not acting like herself. When Mrs. Zimmermann says she is going to Pennsylvania to take care of some business, Rose Rita asks to go along. Her parents give her permission to go.
At the entrance to a tunnel, Rose Rita senses that something is wrong. She feels like she is entering a tomb. Near the end of the tunnel there is a strange white light. The light seems out of place on a warm summer day in the 1950's. When they come out of the tunnel, they are no longer on a highway in Pennsylvania, and it is not a summer day in the 1950s. Rather, they are on a country road in the winter of 1828. After their car slides into a snow bank, Rose Rita and Mrs. Zimmermann are rescued by the Weiss family, who invite them to stay at their farm.
After talking to Hilda (the girl who would grow up to be "Granny" Wetherbee), Rose Rita finds out that everyone in their town thinks Hilda's grandfather, Grampa Drexel, was a hex witch, an evil wizard. Actually, he was a good witch, as Mrs. Zimmermann had been before she lost her powers. Mrs. Zimmermann tells Rose Rita they have been transported to the past to save Grandpa Drexel. If they cannot change the past, Hilda's family will be forced to leave their home and Grampa Drexel will fall ill and die. Mrs. Zimmermann attempts to use the magic mirror to find out who is blaming all of the bad events and weather on Grampa Drexel. An evil force glares at her through the mirror, making Mrs. Zimmermann lose her memory. Now it is up to Rose Rita to save Grampa Drexel and find a treasure buried somewhere on the Weiss's property by one of the Weiss's ancestors.
That night, after being awoken by a barking dog, Rose Rita goes downstairs where she sees a large dog, as still as a statue, and a man holding two mirrors. The man has the same hate-filled eyes as the face that had appeared in Mrs. Zimmermann's mirror. Suddenly Rose Rita finds herself in a cemetery. Headstones extend in all directions, and when she steps on a grave, Rose Rita hears a voice say "Who is up there? I want company." All around her, bony arms and skeletons in rotting clothing burrow through the ground to the surface like giant moles. The skeletons throw her into a grave with a headstone that reads "Here lies a spy." Then she faints.
When she is revived, she finds herself back in the hall of the Weiss's house. After two weeks, Mrs. Zimmermann begins to regain her memory. Grampa Drexel gives Rose Rita a crystal that has the power to restore Mrs. Zimmermann's magical powers. Following Grampa Drexel's instructions, Rose Rita buries the crystal. The crystal must stay buried for seven years to soak up magic from the earth.
Rose Rita and Heinrich, Hilda's younger brother, use the mirror to save Grampa Drexel. In the mirror they see Mr. Stoltzfuss, the man Rose Rita suspects of being the Hex witch, digging in a graveyard. They go after him, but do not realize that an evil spell is luring them to Mr. Stoltzfuss. When they arrive at the graveyard, Mr. Stoltzfuss uses a curse. The children can only move when Mr. Stoltzfuss orders them to move. Mr. Stolzfuss commands them to walk to his house. He ties Heinrich to a chair. They are going to be sacrificed to a demon!
Meanwhile, Mrs. Zimmermann has a feeling that Rose Rita is in trouble. She soon figures out what has happened and goes with Hilda to save Rose Rita and Heinrich. Rose Rita is lying on a table, unable to move, when they arrive at the house. While Mr. Stoltzfuss is busy talking to the demon, Hilda unties Heinrich. Just as the knife begins to descend upon Rose Rita, Heinrich throws a sword at Mr. Stoltzfuss. Mr. Stoltzfuss drops the knife, and Rose Rita is free. Mrs. Zimmermann uses her magical mirror to reflect Mr. Stoltzfuss's mirror. The two mirrors show a dark figure with gleaming red eyes. Mr. Stoltzfuss steps in between the two mirrors, and the demon eats him. After his death, people realize that Mr. Stoltzfuss, not Grampa Drexel, was the Hex witch. Rose Rita discovers the code in the poem and finds the buried treasure. Rose Rita and Mrs. Zimmermann are allowed to return to their own time, where Rose Rita digs up the magic crystal. When Mrs. Zimmermann picks up the magic crystal, she becomes a witch again.
Amazon.com: * * * * *
Behind the Books: A Closer Look at John Bellairs: "The first time travel book in the Lewis series is very exciting." * * * * 1/2
