She was correct about them being Witches balls. Some were referred to merely as Spirit balls and they had a hole in one end and some were hung...this is where Christmas ornaments came from. In the Victorian era they became the ideal of wealth and people had fancy ones and they weren't hung on trees because they were too heavy but they are of the same background. It just depended on use and who had them and location on the name attached. In Germany they are called Kugels.