The Curse of the Blue Figurine is set in the imaginary town of Duston Heights, Massachusetts, in 1951, but many of the details of the novel are drawn from memories of Bellairs's own childhood in Marshall, Michigan. In this novel, Johnny accidently revives the evil spirit of a long-dead priest, Father Baart, and he and Professor Childermass must prevent the wraith from assuming an earthly form. The novel's Father Baart is named after a real-life Father Baart (actually a highly respected parish priest) who lived in Marshall during the nineteenth century, and Professor Childermass is modeled loosely after Bellairs's own grandfather.