Confinement and imprisonment are prevalent in Fablehaven. Mull explores this motif through the imprisonment of Bahumat, the imprisonment of Muriel, and the confinement of the other magical creatures on the preserve.

Bahumat is an ancient demon that is as close to evil as any of the magical creatures are shown to be. As Grandma Sorenson tells Seth and Kendra, he was imprisoned by European settlers in exchange for the Native-owned land that he terrorized. In this example, Bahumat is imprisoned for the good of others. Without his fearful presence looming over the land, the European settlers were able to colonize it and live there for centuries.

Muriel, the witchwhoSeth meets at the beginning of the novel, is also imprisoned. Grandpa Sorenson tells Kendra and Seth that “the shack is not her home. It is her prison. She personifies the reasons why exploring the woods is unwise” (83). Muriel was once an ordinary mortal woman, but she encountered the evil forces in the woods and was corrupted by them, becoming an agent of the dark creatures that lurk on the preserve. Muriel is imprisoned both for her own good and for the good of others.