Witches by their very historical nature are humans with spiritual connections. Generally (disregarding Glenda, the Good Witch of The Wizard of Oz) they are thought to be malevolent or at least mischievous. When Rice switched from the once-were-humans, the undead vampires, to humans with extrasensory powers, witches, it might be supposed she wished to bring a verisimilitude to her stories that is not possible with her vampire or mummy characters. After all, witches are living people, albeit with unnatural powers, and are therefore obviously more believable than vampires. Reports of ESP and other psychic phenomena that appear in the news from time to time make The Witching Hour seem less fantastical. To be pondered is why Rice saw fit to switch from vampires to witches: Had the well run dry? Did her move from California to her childhood home of New Orleans trigger a new creative...