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

John Bellairs

John Anthony Bellairs was an American author, best known for his well-respected fantasy novel The Face in the Frost as well as many gothic mystery novels for young adults featuring Lewis Barnavelt, Anthony Monday, and Johnny Dixon.-Biography:After earning degrees at University of Notre Dame and...

 and Brad Strickland

Brad Strickland

William Bradley Strickland is an American author known primarily for his fantasy and science fiction. He was born in New Holland, Georgia....

.

The series is set in the late 1940s and early 1950s in the fictional town of New Zebedee

Zebedee

Zebedee is a name which may refer to:-People:* Zebedee , father of James and John* Zebedee Armstrong , an American outsider artist...

, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. Rose Rita is the best friend of series lead, Lewis Barnavelt

Lewis Barnavelt

Lewis Barnavelt is a fictional character who appears in a series of children's gothic horror novels by John Bellairs and Brad Strickland. In each book, Lewis and his group of friends face and overcome various evil forces usually bent on ending the world....

 and makes up a quartet that includes Lewis' uncle, Jonathan Barnavelt (a wizard), 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

Tomboy

A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...

 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).

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
  The House with a Clock in Its Walls
  The House With a Clock in Its Walls is a gothic horror novel directed at child readers. It was written by John Bellairs and originally published in 1973. The book was illustrated by Edward Gorey.-Plot:...
  
  (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)