Rose Rita Pottinger

Rose Rita Pottinger is a fictional character who appears in a series of children's gothic horror novels by John Bellairs and Brad Strickland.

The series is set in the late 1940s and early 1950s in the fictional town of New Zebedee, Michigan. Rose Rita is the best friend of series lead, Lewis Barnavelt and makes up a quartet that includes Lewis' uncle, Jonathan Barnavelt (a warlock), and neighbor Florence Zimmermann (a witch). Rose Rita has a special relationship with the elderly Zimmermann, who acts as a mentor and "older sister." In each book, the group faces and overcomes various evil forces usually bent on ending the world.

Rose Rita is a tomboy who is usually involved in sports. She and Lewis also share an interest in military history. As the series progresses, she matures and becomes somewhat more interested in traditionally female activities (such as school dances). She was first mentioned in The House With a Clock in Its Walls.

Her weaknesses include an inclination to tell tall tales, an impatience that causes her to rush into things, and a fear of enclosed places.

Books in the Lewis Barnavelt Series in which Rose Rita appears

• The House with a Clock in Its Walls (1973) (brief mention only)
• The Figure in the Shadows (1975)
• The Letter, The Witch, and The Ring (1976)
• The Ghost in the Mirror (1993)
• The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder (1993) (brief mention only)
• The Doom of the Haunted Opera (1995)
• The Specter From The Magician's Museum (1998)
• The Beast Under the Wizard's Bridge (2000)
• The Tower at the End of the World (2001)
• The Whistle, The Grave, and The Ghost (2003)
• The House Where Nobody Lived (2006)
• The Sign of the Sinister Sorcerer (2008)