Water is the primary motif in Scritch Scratch. It is one of the most important clues in the mystery. The first time Claire sees the ghost of Willie Novotny, he is soaking wet. When she investigates the seat where he was sitting on the tour bus, she notes that it is damp, as is the paper that reads “396.” On Monday morning, her dresser is flooded with water, and one night, the ghost leaves wet footprints on her floor. He often haunts bathrooms: on the bus, at school, and twice in Claire’s house. He turns on faucets, flushes toilets, and makes the bathtub overflow.

All of these incidents are his way of telling Claire that he died by drowning. Readers who are paying close attention to the list of stops on the ghost tour at the beginning of the story might notice that only one of them has to do with water: the wreck of the SS Eastland. It is very common in ghost stories for ghosts to have traits related to their manner of death, and Willie Novotny is no exception. Mystery stories sometimes include enough information for readers to figure out the answer on their own, and the water motif in Scritch Scratch is intended as just such a hint for readers.