In my second novel, Bewitching Hannah, the reader can follow in my main character’s footsteps and relive her bewitching drama as it unfolds in present-day downtown Annapolis. The lettered locations on the map are listed below and I’ve included a few others in the book that are not on the map.

Sixteen-year-old Hannah makes a lot of stops along Main Street, so why not pop into the Historic Annapolis Museum Store at 77 Main Street (A on the map) to learn more about historic downtown Annapolis. Then head to McGarvey’s Saloon & Oyster Bar (B). McGarvey’s, a dockside restaurant, is where Hannah orders an Annapolis favorite–crab dip pretzel (click this link for the recipe).

The next stop is close by. Every Annapolitan knows that Ego Alley (C) is where seagulls flock above visitors’ boats and tourists follow the scent of Old Bay seasoning in search of steamed blue crabs. It’s also the perfect spot for Hannah’s two love interests to face off.

Next stop, the beautiful James Brice House (D) on East Street. The house was built in 1766 and is featured in the novel because the head of the coven, Mallory Blackstone, is the fictional president of Historic Annapolis and those offices are located at Brice House. Fortunately, this wicked witch is replaced by the affable Mr. Robert Clark who actually heads Historic Annapolis today. Hannah makes a few stops here to deal with her nemesis and even peers into the gardens at William Paca House (E).

Hannah and her quirky aunt attend a Chesapeake witches meeting at McDowell Hall (F) on St. John’s College campus. The exquisitely restored interior of McDowell Hall resembles a colonial meetinghouse, which creates an enchanting atmosphere for a coven gathering, wouldn’t you agree?

St. Anne’s Episcopal Church (G) is the setting for a scene where a mysterious clue leads Hannah to William Bladen’s sarcophagus in the cemetery. FYI-William Bladen was the Attorney General who oversaw the last Maryland witch trial in 1712. Let’s just say all kinds of magic ensues.

Charles Carroll House (H), situated behind St. Mary’s Church off Spa Creek, is the setting for the final climactic scene that begins with a celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Annapolis Tea Party. (Has anyone seen the The Burning of the Peggy Stewart on display at the State House? Yup–that tea party.) The coven prophecy calls for one young witch’s death…will it be Hannah’s? Under a spectacular blood moon lunar eclipse, Hannah discovers who her true enemy is at Charles Carroll House. She has to summon all her inner strength and magic, but she isn’t sure that will be enough to save herself and the ones she loves from her nefarious rival.

Hannah visits Witch’s Grave in Truxton Park. According to local lore, the crooked tree marks the burial site of three witches who were hung and buried there. She’s reminded that being a witch, even if she doesn’t want to be one, is a dangerous business with deadly outcomes–a lesson she learned from her parents’ fates.

There is one stop outside of Annapolis that is worthy of a shoutout in Bewitching Hannah—Baltimore House at Riverdale Park. The reason this place is special is not because of the house, but rather the grounds. Several Calvert descendants are interred in the cemetery there and a few fictional witches from Annapolis take it upon themselves to unearth a Calvert family secret during their fiendish field trip. Click here for visitor information.

If you’ve ever driven over the Severn River Bridge from Annapolis you may have noticed the cliffs on your right. The Severn River cliffs and Winchester Pond are the backdrops for a tribal endurance test and a ferocious wolf attack. *Spoiler Alert–Hannah mysteriously survives the wolf attack with help from a mysteriously scarred Calvert descendant, but this only leads to more questions about the dark secret he’s hiding.

Hannah’s best friend, Mateo, is a boy of tribal Indian descent who is in touch with nature. He invites Hannah to join him at Quiet Waters Park to search for his animal spirit guide. During their adventure, she happens to find her witch’s familiar, a white raven. Ravens are known as messengers and this one symbolizes the fulfillment of a prophecy. Fun fact–the cover art for the book depicts this scene.

BUY LINK

If you’d like to follow in Hannah’s footsteps, you can purchase a copy of Bewitching Hannah at Amazon.com and visit downtown Annapolis. For more information on the historic sights, click here.

Exclusive Excerpt:

“Good. Now, I need you to deliver that.” My aunt gestured toward a pretty, white gift bag on the main counter.

“Sure. Rusty’s in the back, right?” The moped wore a coat of red flaky dust, but was a ton of fun to ride.

“You can walk. It’s not that far.”

“Where to?” I grabbed a broom from the back and swept up bits of snipped greenery and fallen petals. She reached in the pocket of her bell-bottom pants and handed me the name and business address.

“Mallory Grey Blackstone, Historic Annapolis offices at Brice House on Forty-Two East Street,” I said, reading the information out loud. “Her daughter’s Emme, right?”

“You met her?”

“At school today.”

“Her mother heads the historic foundation, among other things.”

I guessed that was how she knew so much about everyone that mattered, although I still didn’t know how we ended up on her VIP list. “Wait. Her middle name is Grey?”

“Yes, it’s her maiden name. Why?” Her tone implied unnecessary suspicion.

“Doesn’t her family have something to do with the urban legend of the Arundell Curse Mom told me about when I was little?”

She hesitated. “It’s historic lore more than urban legend.”

My eyes widened. “So you know it?”

A spark of knowledge glimmered in her brown eyes. “Yes, I know it. The night of October nineteenth, seventeen seventy-four, the Peggy Stewart ship laden with British tea was docked in Annapolis Harbor and set ablaze. During the tea party, a local patriot was injured. His love—a beautiful Fitzgerald witch, who happened to be your seventh great aunt—attended him. The head of the coven foresaw the offense and quickly discovered the young witch and her forbidden mate. She had broken a serious coven rule so the Grey witch cast the Arundell Curse upon the forbidden ordinary. The curse ensured that if the two stayed together their progeny would forever bear the horrendous scars of her transgression. The irony is that the Grey witch didn’t realize that by imparting the spell with such blackness in her heart she also cursed her own descendants. You see, the Arundells born bearing the curse feel terrible pain when they’re near a Grey. The only way to quell that pain is to remove the source of it…permanently.”

I shuddered. “I still have strange dreams about that story.”

She tilted her head. “You do?” There was a hint of nervousness in her voice.

Just last night, I thought. “Yeah. I never understood why Mom liked that one so much.”

“Maybe it’s because stories like that impart valuable lessons.” She frowned in grim silence. “Speaking of the Peggy Stewart, did you know the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Annapolis Tea Party is in a few weeks?”